A trader on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange: Greece's debt problems have already dragged down global stocks and some say the U.S. will soon feel the effects.

REUTERS/Eric Thayer

lobal stocks are being dragged down by fears that Greece won't get a bailout in time to avoid defaulting on its sovereign debt. To prevent Greece's troubles from spreading, the European Central Bank, joined by the U.S. Federal Reserve, promised last week to help European banks, which lent a fortune to now-broke countries, and can't find anyone willing to lend them the money they need to stay afloat. The crisis is frightening investors in the U.S. Is there a danger that Europe's debt woes could deepen America's financial troubles?

The euro crisis has already crossed the Atlantic: Europe's debt crisis has "finally, and officially, washed up on American shores," says Gretchen Morgenson in The New York Times. European banks will be devastated if Greece and other "shaky" governments that owe them money default. But the U.S. will face an "economic hit," too. U.S. institutions that insured all that sovereign debt will pay dearly, and American companies that borrow money from these European banks won't be able to get much-needed loans.
"Suddenly, over there is over here"

And the Fed is only making matters worse: The Federal Reserve's rescue attempt "is not going to solve anything in the long run," says The Economic Collapse. This latest move is "a temporary Band-Aid," at best. "You can't solve a raging debt problem with more debt." Now the U.S. just stands to lose billions more than we otherwise would have when the inevitable reckoning arrives for Europe.
"Unelected, unaccountable, unrepentant: The Federal Reserve is using your money to bail out European commercial banks once again"

Hold on. This is still mostly Europe's problem: Nobody will be entirely "immune to the effects of the meltdown," says Rick Moran at The American Thinker. But we won't suffer anything like Europe, which is about to see a huge rise in homelessness from Athens to Lisbon. Europe's "fantasy of cradle-to-grave security" was a sham, and what we're witnessing is an entire continent discovering that government just can't pay for everything.
"Break up of the welfare state in Europe will have consequences"