Cliffs Notes version of the debt crisis in Greece

In case you're still a little confused, here's a quick summary from Wonkblog.

Greece had a debt load of over 100 percent of GDP in 2001, when it joined the euro. But joining the euro lowered interest rates on its debt, because the bond markets no longer worried about inflation or a devalued currency. The result was an economic boom fueled by low interest rates, and ever-increasing debt due to a lower cost of borrowing. Greece hired Wall Street firms, most notably Goldman Sachs, to help hide its debt so as not to run afoul of E.U. rules. In October 2009, the conservative government was voted out, and the new socialist government announced that deficits were more than double previous estimates. Greek debt was immediately downgraded. The situation worsened in February 2010, when institutional bondholders started selling off Greek debt and ratings agencies kept downgrading it. Greece responded with a round of austerity measures.

Then, everything got a a lot worse.