European economics......................a lil' help if you can.

[Scouse]

We, thats Europe, are now handing Greece £105 bil, thats right BIL.

Now if i were to go on holiday to saaaaaay Athens right now, or anywhere in Greece for that matter, will i get any extra 'bang for my buck'? I only ask because i'm assuming that the gaff is as broke as a joke, so surely they are selling at rock bottom to stay afloat.

Or is that not how it works?

 

[TheFinnFan]

greece is totally fycked up, elections here in finland were all about it.

 

[Scouse]

greece is totally fycked up, elections here in finland were all about it.

Do many Finns holiday in Greece?

 

[TheFinnFan]

yes, it is most popular place in that region, you know,..

 

[Scouse]

yes, it is most popular place in that region, you know,..

So will we all get more "play for our pay" or what then?

 

[TheFinnFan]

we should take those damn islands, until they pay their debts

 

[chicoazul]

You'll get a free dessert in the taverns or a shot in the bars.

Just show you passport to any Greek and say "eisai pushis kai askimos" to claim your prize.

 

[heatmeiser]

You'll get a free dessert in the taverns or a shot in the bars.

Just show you passport to any Greek and say "eisai pushis kai askimos" to claim your prize.

Does that mean "I like to blow eskimos" ?

 

[little old me]

Wasn't part of the condition of them getting the money that they put taxes up, which means it's more expensive to go there?

 

[chicoazul]

Does that mean "I like to blow eskimos" ?

No, it simply means "here fellow European, see I'd like to claim my entitlement" mate. People should memorise and use it this summer.

 

[davek]

Loads of Greeks rioting this week. Government's toppled, defaults, the lot. Smashing stuff. And that dog, Kanellos, mad as a box of frogs.

 

[Hibbert&Ernie]

We, thats Europe, are now handing Greece £105 bil, thats right BIL.

Now if i were to go on holiday to saaaaaay Athens right now, or anywhere in Greece for that matter, will i get any extra 'bang for my buck'? I only ask because i'm assuming that the gaff is as broke as a joke, so surely they are selling at rock bottom to stay afloat.

Or is that not how it works?

The money they are being lent, again, is to be used to pay back earlier loans meant to keep them and the Eruo going. If/When they default, they could end up in a similar position to Mugabe's Zimbabwe - people walking to the shops with wheel barrows full of cash just to be able to afford a loaf of bread.

 

[peteblue]

They're screwed. They have been spending and paying themselves too much for years on borrowed money while not bothering to collect the necessary taxes. The new loans are just putting the day of judgement off for a little longer. They're screwed.

 

[Tubey]

The money they are being lent, again, is to be used to pay back earlier loans meant to keep them and the Eruo going. If/When they default, they could end up in a similar position to Mugabe's Zimbabwe - people walking to the shops with wheel barrows full of cash just to be able to afford a loaf of bread.

Hyperinflation won't occur. They'll simply be forced to leave the Eurozone, default on their loans and resort to the Drachma or a similar new sovereign currency. The fact the Euro is a single currency encompassing many countries pretty much means hyperinflation is an impossibility. It's "too big to fail" in that manner. If a sign of it happening came to be, they'd just dissolve the entire project.

 

[chicoazul]

There was a personal experience for me which made sense of this whole Greek mess. I lived in Greece over a decade ago when it was still using dracma and it was a beautiful if primitive country with good hard working people who shunned signs of wealth.

I remember having a boss talk with a couple of Greek mates who were explaining the national pastime of avoiding tax. The ways they done it amused me and that there was no real consequences in doing it.

I went back for a few months a couple of years ago and was shocked by your average son of Spiros, my mate from ten years ago, driving round in expensive cars and owning fancy coffee shops covered in Gucci. At first I thought the euro had been kind to them, it was miles more expensive for sure, but it was a real shock that in the very space of a generation that the very fabric of its village life would change so radically.

Now I've learned that near enough all of this was facilitated by credit. The tax evasion game was still present but then the government have some weird tax bands on your average small business owners which I think were more in hope than practicality.

Spiros and Spiros are now reeling from the big debts amassed in their family name and some accountability for paying taxes being introduced.

There is a huge blame game going on, no one does politics and debates like the Greeks and in the middle of it all is a big ball of resentment growing.

They love to riot too, which doesn't help.

In fairness I forgot where I was going with this.