The finance pages are full of stories pointing to the profligacy of successive Greek administrations and the severe remedies now being put forward by the ECB and the IMF to ensure that the Hellenic banking system doesn't go belly-up. (Greek pensioners, however, will have to fend for themselves.)
You could argue that Greece's predicament has been exacerbated by its membership of the single currency, which enabled the country to borrow at much lower rates than were justified by its ability to meet long-term obligations. The euro was launched for ideological reasons, without any semblance of monetary or fiscal union, so we shouldn't be too surprised that a 'peripheral' nation has been brought to the brink of bankruptcy - only, perhaps, that it took as long as it did.
But before we get too caught up with northern Europe's financial rectitude, we need to take a second look at the increasing level of private indebtedness, particularly our own. The Bank of England (BoE) recently revealed that private debt in the UK has risen to its highest level in almost five years.
The surge in borrowing using credit cards, personal loans and overdrafts reflects "strong consumer confidence", according to the British Bankers' Association (BBA). Well, they would, wouldn't they; the BBA can hardly be relied upon as a dispassionate voice on the subject of lending - a point borne out by its seemingly blithe attitude towards industry debt exposure in the lead-up to the global financial crisis. You could alternatively take the view that, after years of negative real wage growth, more and more British families are simply funding non-discretionary spending through debt - there's certainly no shortage of anecdotal evidence on that score.
But even secured debt in the UK gives cause for concern, particularly if interest rates start to creep up. Sir Jon Cunliffe, the BoE's deputy governor for financial stability, said house prices are still growing faster than incomes, forcing people to take on larger mortgage debts.
