Posted on 07/05/2015 3:21:49 PM PDT by familyop
ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- Greece lurched into uncharted territory and an uncertain future in Europe's common currency Sunday after voters overwhelmingly rejected demands by international creditors for more austerity measures in exchange for a bailout of its bankrupt economy. Results showed 61 percent voted "no," compared with 38 percent for "yes," with 93 percent of the vote counted. The referendum - Greece's first in more than four decades - came amid severe restrictions on financial transactions in the country, imposed last week to stem a bank run that accelerated after the vote was called.
(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...
As long as I don’t owe money to the bankers...I can do just that.
What’s that old saying about whoever you owe holds the power.
Of course I like the hubris. But I think it is
founded in ignorance and political manipulation.
Truthfully, I’ve never understood the EU mentality. It would be like me and a group of financially sound friends forming a union and inviting our not so financially sound friends to join. So they fake a financial statement. We are a happy bunch....until one of them becomes a total leech. So we say...hey we won’t carry your load anymore. But, lo and behold, they give us the middle finger and laugh. He knows he can ruin our previously excellent credit...if we don’t comply with his demands.
Sound familiar?
My guess is either China getting Mediterranean ports or Russia getting some nice beach real estate.
Communist countries always seemed to have plenty of those items, as long as you shopped in the hard currency stores instead of where the locals lined up.
Yes, but once the food riots start there will be brand new ruins to visit!
The Greeks also voted for everyone in Thailand to give Greece their money.
Opa! Opa! Opa!
For sale Cheap: Mediterranean islands cheap....Special today only.. buy one Island, get Cyprus free...
Currently the Greeks are accepting Bulgarian currency from the tourists then crossing the border in Bulgaria and exchanging the Bulgarian money for euros.
If they go back to the drachma those hard currency stores may become a reality unless the populace takes a page from a certain segment of the US population and goes “shopping” by looting the said stores.
“The word from pensioners in Greece a few days ago was that only pensioners would continue to get their incomes.”
Nope. When the banks shut last Monday, pensioners were limited to 120 Euro withdrawals per week (depositors were allowed 60 Euros a day, now down to 50). But many pensioners had no bank cards and had to physically go to a bank, some of which briefly open just for the purpose. However, many rural pensioners have to pay exorbitant prices for taxi rides to the banks. And besides, the Greek banks are all slated to completely run out of cash tomorrow (Monday), so the issue is moot: no one will be getting anything out of a Greek bank.
The Greek government also halted all access to safety deposit boxes, presumably so their contents can be confiscated by the government, since there’s no legitimate reason to deny such access, even if the banks themselves are insolvent.
it was sort of a spineless move by their socialist president to submit the entire question to a plebiscite.
“I read several days ago that Germany funds their pensions.”
Only in the sense that the Germans, as THE ONLY financial powerhouse in the currency union partnership, are funding ALL financial activity in Greece via 330 billion in Euro loans to the Greek government and the Greek banks over the past few years, both of which would be insolvent years ago without such loans.
Some statistics. Wonder how much fuel will be offloaded when the checks start bouncing.
http://www.tradingeconomics.com/greece/imports
Greece main imports are mineral fuels (34 percent of the total imports); machinery and transport equipment (14 percent) and chemicals (13 percent). Others include: food and live animals (10 percent); manufactured goods (9 percent) and miscellaneous products (8 percent). Main import partners are: Germany (13 percent), Italy (13 percent), China (8 percent), Netherlands (7 percent) and France (6 percent)
“Didn’t Iceland do the same?”
No. The Icelandic banks failed, but the Icelandic government was solvent.
However, I am a large fan of anyone telling the bankers to “^&% off”.
Yeah, me too. I refused to pay my mortgage, my car loan and my credit cards. Funny thing though, I got evicted from my (former house), my car was repossessed, and I could no longer use any credit cards. BTW, can I come live with you and borrow your car?
Well said.
http://www.worldsrichestcountries.com/top_greece_imports.html
$21.5 billion in 2014 - Oil. Will you take a check?
That certainly sounds plausible. I wonder how I get on that gravy train.
I have read that Germany’s “investment” in Greece is the consequence of buying Greek bonds and loaning derivatives. I think I read that Greece also owes the IMF an astronomical amount. Sounds to me like Germany, the EU, the IMF were betting on the “come” money.
I am a large fan of that, too. But the only real way to do that is not to do business with them. Once you've borrowed their money, what entitles you not to pay it back? Because they're worthless bastards?
Here's the sad fact: nobody is in the business of loaning money who is not either a fool or a bastard, and the fools don't stay in business long enough to matter.
What could be more pathetic than saying you've lost the moral high ground to a banker? But that's exactly what the Greeks have done.
So I guess the real fun begins when the power gets cut, and then the urban water supplies stop.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.