No relief in Greece

As Greece struggles with a slow-motion financial crisis, unhappy Athenians have taken to the streets. Their violence is inexcusable, and their intentions incoherent.

But they're worth paying attention to, because their intuition is correct. Greece probably can't repay its staggering debts, and ever more stringent austerity programs -- like the one just approved by the Greek parliament -- may well make things worse.

Sooner or later, Greek voters are likely to express at the ballot box the same visceral understanding protesters are showing in streets. A new government elected to end the voters' pain -- by refusing to pay -- would then present Europe with a stark choice: Assume Greek debt or risk a banking crisis that could go global, spreading to the United States.

The world can only hope European leaders are fibbing when they insist there is no "plan B" should Greece give up. Europe seems to be counting on tiding Greece over until 2014, hoping taxpayers elsewhere don't notice they're on the hook for increasingly costly bailouts. That's risky.

If Europe acknowledged reality, it could manage an orderly default that would wipe out enough debt to get Greece back on its feet. Then it could focus on rescuing any banks threatened by their Greek bond holdings. And it could prepare in case trouble spreads to other busted eurozone economies.

Greece has bought all parties a little more time, and myopic financial markets are relieved. They shouldn't be. hN