It's not default of the Greeks.

Since becoming independent of the Ottoman Empire in 1832, Greece has spent half of the intervening years in default of debt obligations, so why anyone thinks this time is going to be any different, given the current economic and political situation in the country, is beyond me.

Greece should never have been part of the EU. They cooked the books - plain and simple - to get in. Greeks pride themselves on being wily, cunning individuals. When in Greece, it's not uncommon to hear someone boasting of how they were too clever for a neighbour or a business opponent. The way the outcome swung their way was usually far from being legal, never mind ethical. That is simply the Greek way. After all, this is the country where the national pastime, from the average taxi driver to the highest government official, is tax evasion. It's simply part of the culture.

The average Greek does not want to pay for these bailouts. That's why they're on the streets. They've got what they want from the EU and they want to go back to being the way they were. And the government will have to succumb to their demands. After all, the government is Greek too, with that same sense of national pride, rebelliousness and cunning. Sure, there will be hardship for the country, but when has there ever not been. Greeks are hard-nosed survivors. They won't see it as a disaster, more a symbol of the greatness of the Greek spirit and way of life.

So here's my prediction, when there's no more bailouts left to be had, the Greeks will default. All the Greek government has to do is point at unpaid German war reparations. And, really, who could blame them? As for the IMF, they will be left looking as sorry faced as any German tourist that's been taken for a ride by one of Athen's infamous taxi drivers.