Three words: The pound sterling. Greece is screwed because it cannot crank up the printing presses and inflate its way out of debt the way any country which borrows in its own currency can.

The sliding pound will offset many of the stresses created by the UK’s high debt to GDP ratio. A cheap currency will help revive manufacturing and attract investment. By joining the euro, Greece gave up that built-in shock absorber.

In the long-term, sky high inflation could make the UK economy an unattractive investment destination but it would stave off default, the nuclear financial option. The first option is bad, the second option is fatal.