“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.
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)
Well said.
Other people’s money etc.......