It is a mess, for sure, and one with worldwide implications.

I don't understand why the Greeks can't get it under control but speaking to the USA and as a senior citizen, I can't understand why when we are spending billions of dollars every week on Pork in the budget and billions every week propping up governments like Iraq and Afghanistan our government always starts sniffing around Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid etc. etc. As Mike says, don't get me started.

I would assume that you can't let Greece, like a gangrenous limb, infect the whole body of the EU.

My two cents--for what it's worth, today at least, probably less tomorrow.

Greece, retire on a pension in your fifties, yup, fifties--and hairdressers are considered workers in a hazardous field so they get more!  No significant industrial production, they live on tourists!  They are running debt because among other things there is massive tax evasion, not avoidance--that's legal, this is evasion.  For the last year or more the wealthy have moved their money out of the country, think Swiss Francs, so the Greek banks are undercapitalized.  No one wants to pay, every one wants to take--that doesn't work any place.  Now the rest of the Eurozone says, "Live within your means."  Great, but there aren't any jobs so unemployment has gone through the roof.  Fire government workers to save money, great idea, unfortunately those workers spend their pay with their neighbor's grocery store, clothing etc., so now their customers are out of work, and they will be out of business.  Lesson, put the brakes on too hard to fast and you spin out of control--same as a car or a motorcycle, except this is an economy that's going to crash.  So, elect the so called far left or the far right, actually just good old populism that takes any political label available.  No solution, no economic growth pattern.  It's inevitable according to many European economists that Greece has to leave the Euro Zone, whether it stays in the Common Market with the drachma is still to be decided.  At least with the drachma what little they do produce becomes cheaper for foreign buyers so possible growth.  Unfortunately all imported goods, including those from the US, become very expensive, very fast--possible job losses in the US because just like the local Greek grocer, our customer doesn't have money to buy our stuff. 
But what's scary is that the wealthy Spanish, Portugese and Italians are now moving their money out of their banks, their banks are becoming cash poor and the Europeans don't have a Federal Reserve as we do to cushion the cash erosion in their individual banking systems. Real estate markets have collapsed in Europe too!  This is incredibly complex, intertwined and definately will have an effect in the US--20% of our exports go to the Common Market!  That's a lot of people whose jobs are at stake here in the States, and it's going to start getting tight by the end of the year, just when our Congress and political leaders are going to try to deal with our own debt issues.  From past experience our politicians are demonstrating all the wrong characteristics right now and by this time next year these could be the good old days.  Swiss bankers on the other hand have a big problem, lots of money but no one to lend it to, and that's how they make their money!  Everyone has a real interest in this and it's changing daily, hourly.  Google "Euro Crisis" and read what the news in other country's newspapers is--it isn't pretty, not at all. 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/federal-reserve-grants-first-approval-for-chinese-bank-to-purchase-us-bank/2012/05/09/gIQA0VpVDU_story.html

Well, we ain't far behind. I am not an economist and I have really very little interest in the topic other than fear for the future. I just hate the idea of having to shoot someone over the contents of the dumpster behind McDonald's but I'm betting that is pretty much where we'll be here in the good ol' U. S. of A. in fairly short order.

I think the problem is that all these financial meltdowns have been engineered for decades by people waaaay more brilliant than anyone I know. In the meantime the gubmint here at home has been dividing the population into smaller and smaller segments who can never see eye to eye because of single issues like gay marriage or abortion/birth control. Believe me, these folks are not the dummies they make themselves out to be. They are absolute evil geniuses in that they know that the average American would rather shop than read and they are using that to their advantage. And we play right into their hands.

And I'm gonna apologize in advance because I am absolutely certain that my contribution to this thread will result in it being pulled. But I lack the self-control of Koz or Tom, I had to launch the rant. Sorry. 

People are fatigued and jaded by the whole debackle.

Exactly.

I'm starting to think we should let Greece go. But it's difficult to see how.

One suggested course of action would be seal Greece borders, or at least financially seal them. Then all euro notes within the Greece at the point of currency conversation would re-stamped 'new drachma'. At the same, Greeks banks would close while all bank accounts re-dominated from euro to 'new drachma'.

Then watch the new drachma slide in value. Anyone with savings still in Greece would their money disappear - or least when they tried to convert into another currency.

And of course Greece would still owe the rest of Europe hundred of billion of Euros.

I guess it's a question of deciding what is the least worst option. All are awful. And all will reverberate around the rest of the European Union. 

The euro situation is enormously complex

The BBC explains what happens if Greece switches from the Euro to a new currency.

It makes grim reading: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18074674

Almost wished I hadn't read it.