This would seem to be a core evil of the situation: investors chased risky money but are apparently not expected to be capable of weathering a Greek default.

The risk/reward curve is the fundamental idea of investment. If we privatize reward but nationalize risk, the cost of bonds/mortgages/etc. will never reflect reality. I shudder to think of a system where governments are implicitly assumed to insure everything that's "too big to fail."