Moderator: Peak Moderation
Giorgos Kontogiorgos, a pharmacist in Athens, told the Associated Press news agency: "Unfortunately the social security system has collapsed and the situation is tragic.
"People are being inconvenienced. We find ourselves in the difficult position of not being able to issue prescription drugs from insurance funds because the debts of the state are unbearable for Greek pharmacies.
We cannot cope. We are all indebted to banks, resulting in this situation."
Aurora wrote:
See also:
This is a new development. We've heard of people throwing fish away because of stupid EU rules regarding quotas, but not because nobody had any money to buy it. This is reminiscent of what happened in America during the great depression, where food was being thrown away at the same time people were starving, in an attempt to raise prices."Two years ago," one says to me, "all this fish would have been sold by this hour but salaries have been slashed and jobs are closing and no one has the money to buy.
"Sometimes we have to throw the fish away."
We've basically got a standoff (and not just in Greece) between suppliers, who have too much debt to service to be able to afford to lower their prices (as would organically occur if they actually sold their fish at true current market value instead of throwing them away), and demanders, who have too much debt to service to be able to afford to pay those prices.UndercoverElephant wrote:Aurora wrote:
See also:
This is a new development. We've heard of people throwing fish away because of stupid EU rules regarding quotas, but not because nobody had any money to buy it. This is reminiscent of what happened in America during the great depression, where food was being thrown away at the same time people were starving, in an attempt to raise prices."Two years ago," one says to me, "all this fish would have been sold by this hour but salaries have been slashed and jobs are closing and no one has the money to buy.
"Sometimes we have to throw the fish away."
Yes. There's plenty of ways out of this impasse, but they're all catastrophic.
Yes, they will print. It is all they have left. I know it's a cliché to say it, but people need to get out of cash now while there is still time. i am saying this with some significant personal interest as i sold my house in December of 2007 and have been sitting on the cash, Frankly I am now shitting myself and am looking for land to buy. Inflating the debts away was always on the cards. But, the system is now showing signs of imminent collapse and so our elites will fire up the printers as this is all they can do.UndercoverElephant wrote:Yes. There's plenty of ways out of this impasse, but they're all catastrophic.
The Germans are finally talking seriously about much closer political integration as being the only non-catastrophic solution, but it is not actually a viable solution at all because the eurozone nations are all democracies and the treaty for full political union will have to be agreed by the electorates of those countries. The only way such a union could actually come about (at all probably, but certainly in the timescale required) is by over-riding the democratic rights of the people of Europe - it would have to be implemented whether the people vote for it or not. Any question marks about whether it could be shot down by, say, a no vote in Ireland, would make it useless in the eyes of the markets. So it isn't going to happen, because the electorates of Europe are becoming more and more anti-European, not pro-European. Sure, they want to keep the euro, but they do not want to be ruled from Brussels and Berlin, and they will not accept this being imposed against their democratic will, especially if it involves vicious austerity programs which won't even work!
The euro-experiment is over. It was badly put together in the first place, and it has failed at the first serious test of its integrity. Nobody in Europe is ready to admit this yet, but the fact that both the Bank of England and the Federal Reserve are now saying they are "ready to act" indicates just how serious the situation is. This can only mean they are ready to print pounds and dollars to keep the European banking system from total collapse, and it is the first real hint that we are heading towards death-by-inflation rather than a UK/US sovereign default. The c**ts who are still running the world will just keep printing money as the whole world descends into political and economic chaos.
I passed through Kavala back in 2006, on the way back from an overland trip to the Middle East. It seemed such a prosperous little town then. Such a shame to see what is happening.UndercoverElephant wrote:Aurora wrote:
See also:
This is a new development. We've heard of people throwing fish away because of stupid EU rules regarding quotas, but not because nobody had any money to buy it. This is reminiscent of what happened in America during the great depression, where food was being thrown away at the same time people were starving, in an attempt to raise prices."Two years ago," one says to me, "all this fish would have been sold by this hour but salaries have been slashed and jobs are closing and no one has the money to buy.
"Sometimes we have to throw the fish away."
Actually, each country's Euro notes are individually identified. The Greeks' have the word "Euro" in Greek script for example. I wonder if some far-sighted banking official saw this coming right at the start!stevecook172001 wrote:Or insist that they had some kind of Greek identifier on them such that the international money markets could value them accordingly. In other words, the Greeks would have effectively reintroduced a devalued drachma by another name.RenewableCandy wrote:Declare them counterfeit, I should imagine.
BBC News - 12/06/12
Political change within days in Greece may mean the country has to ultimately leave the euro. If that was to happen, how would they go about introducing a new currency?
Article continues ...
This article fails to point out two important things.Aurora wrote:BBC News - 12/06/12
Political change within days in Greece may mean the country has to ultimately leave the euro. If that was to happen, how would they go about introducing a new currency?
Article continues ...
