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sarsen
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It is a slow day in a little Greek Village . The rain is beating down and the streets are deserted. Times are tough, everybody is in debt, and everybody lives on credit. On this particular day a rich German tourist is driving through the village, stops at the local hotel and lays a €100 note on the desk, telling the hotel owner he wants to inspect the rooms upstairs in order to pick one to spend the night. The owner gives him some keys and, as soon as the visitor has walked upstairs, the hotelier grabs the €100 note and runs next door to pay his debt to the butcher. The butcher takes the €100 note and runs down the street to repay his debt to the pig farmer. The pig farmer takes the €100 note and heads off to pay his bill at the supplier of feed and fuel. The guy at the Farmers' Co-op takes the €100 note and runs to pay his drinks bill at the taverna. The publican slips the money along to the local prostitute drinking at the bar, who has also been facing hard times and has had to offer him "services" on credit. The hooker then rushes to the hotel and pays off her room bill to the hotel owner with the €100 note. The hotel proprietor then places the €100 note back on the counter so the rich traveller will not suspect anything. At that moment the traveller comes down the stairs, picks up the €100 note, states that the rooms are not satisfactory, pockets the money, and leaves town. No one produced anything. No one earned anything. However, the whole village is now out of debt and looking to the future with a lot more optimism. And that, Ladies and Gentlemen, is how the bailout package works
blog: http://1513fusion.wordpress.com/
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NickPoole
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If everybody owed each other the same amount and no interest was charged it would work that way. The German would get back the same amount he lent. But what happened really is the German waved a a large denomination euro bill at the hotelier and said "I'll lend you this to service your debts at a reasonable rate, but I'll only do it it if you cut the pay of all your hotel workers, make them retire after they are dead on low pensions, sell off the hotel to my mates in the bank for a song and when you've done all that you will owe me what you have borrowed plus 20%, you will own nothing and your workers will be slaves. Oh...and meet your new mayor. He is from the bank, too.
This post was last edited by NickPoole, 20 Nov 2011, 16:51
STOP THE BILL
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sarsen
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Quote: NickPoole, Sunday, 20 Nov 2011 16:49If everybody owed each other the same amount and no interest was charged it would work that way. The German would get back the same amount he lent. But what happened really is the German waved a a large denomination euro bill at the hotelier and said "I'll lend you this to service your debts at a reasonable rate, but I'll only do it it if you cut the pay of all your hotel workers, make them retire after they are dead on low pensions, sell off the hotel to my mates in the bank for a song and when you've done all that you will owe me what you have borrowed plus 20%, you will own nothing and your workers will be slaves. Oh...and meet your new mayor. He is from the bank, too. Yes Nick, that reads better. The original post was only something that a friend (who persists in sending such stuff) sent me this morning. He'll have got it from a net round-robin as per usual. I wish he'd try writing a novel - then he would have a much richer life . . . ?
blog: http://1513fusion.wordpress.com/
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AntCity
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Quote: sarsen, Sunday, 20 Nov 2011 20:36Quote: NickPoole, Sunday, 20 Nov 2011 16:49If everybody owed each other the same amount and no interest was charged it would work that way. The German would get back the same amount he lent. But what happened really is the German waved a a large denomination euro bill at the hotelier and said "I'll lend you this to service your debts at a reasonable rate, but I'll only do it it if you cut the pay of all your hotel workers, make them retire after they are dead on low pensions, sell off the hotel to my mates in the bank for a song and when you've done all that you will owe me what you have borrowed plus 20%, you will own nothing and your workers will be slaves. Oh...and meet your new mayor. He is from the bank, too. Yes Nick, that reads better. The original post was only something that a friend (who persists in sending such stuff) sent me this morning. He'll have got it from a net round-robin as per usual. I wish he'd try writing a novel - then he would have a much richer life . . . ? Back in the 1980's I trekked through the Pindus Mountains, near the Greek/Albanian border, on a geographic/social survey of the area. There was much evidence of previous German investment in the locality; coal-scuttle helmets used as flower pots, unexploded PAK shells (I think they had been made safe but not 100% sure) lining garden paths. I picked up one of those corrugated cylinders that German troops wore on their belts (I think they were used as gas-mask containers). It was rusty and empty and still sits on the shelf in my shed. If you went into a local bar the first thing they asked was if you were German. Being British brought smiles. If you were Australian you didn't have to buy your drinks. I never found out what happened if you said you were German.
This post was last edited by AntCity, 21 Nov 2011, 08:53
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notleyab
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Quote: AntCity, Monday, 21 Nov 2011 08:51. If you went into a local bar the first thing they asked was if you were German. Being British brought smiles. If you were Australian you didn't have to buy your drinks. This sounds like the real reason for the Greek bailout. the country is full of Ozzies getting served free drinks at the bar.
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PERRY
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The Greeks are probably very happy in their culture and economic identity. Their national team have won the European Cup, and their club teams in soccer are always very successful. They do well in sports and their tourism is pretty faultless.
I think the big problem is the homogeneous perception of economic viability as spread about by gnomes behind desks - the (to be chronologically topical about it) Scrooges of the European Union.
At a shrug, they could easily become self-sufficient. It is only the unreasonable demands of the superstate - largely to subsidise the farcical overseer governing body - which paints the country in a bad light.
Personally, I don't want to be another little German clone and can't imagine why anyone else would. The nonsense of being an autonomous Superstate was highlighted with the response to Libyan riots. USA wanted - USA got. Where's the self-determination of the European Union there?
Away from the political, I deduce that the only reason banks have the power they have these days - as in refusing to loan us our own money - is because they have pulled together under the EU as a cartel, using what was supposed to be beneficial to the common person as a medium on which to spread their spores of greed and egocentricity.
Ireland has sold its political neutrality through Fianna Fail trickery of repeating referenda until they got the answer they wanted (Nice and Lisbon treaties). Even the Westminster Tories, who were dead set against losing national identity and sovereignty, are planning the adoption of the euro.
In short - if we want to save ourselves and reintroduce the healthy competition which fast-breeds quality and excellence, we have to realise that the EU has outlived its usefulness. It died as a viable entity. Communications technology and internet shopping killed it.
Bury it already before it stinks up the place any more than it has.
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sulcus
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Quote: PERRY, Tuesday, 22 Nov 2011 05:22The Greeks are probably very happy in their culture and economic identity. Their national team have won the European Cup, and their club teams in soccer are always very successful. They do well in sports and their tourism is pretty faultless. Their club teams are pretty successful in Europe? You must be on They rarely get out of the group stage in the Champions League. You raise an interesting point about referenda though. This whole debate about a referendum on the UK & the Euro is spurious - how often would you have to offer the next generations of voters the same vote? Just because our present population may vote one way on the issue, doesn't mean the changed population in years to come would. How do you define a generation? A vote every 20 years? Every 30? The LibDems messed up their once in a lifetime vote on AV, which wasn't even on their beloved Proportional Representation. Will they ever get another opportunity?
"A,B&E", "Not In My Name" and "52FF" (flash fiction anthology) all available on Amazon Kindle"How a psychopath makes sweet love. I can get you ringside. Royal box even."
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PERRY
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Well, better than ours. 
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notleyab
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Quote: PERRY, Tuesday, 22 Nov 2011 10:30Well, better than ours. Not sure when you are talking 'we' whether it's a ref to Ireland (Rep of), the northern bit or UK. Certainly the south wd seem to have done quite Nice-ly in the past from the EU (& euro) Jumping ship at this stage sounds too bizarre even for the eccentricties of the Irish psyche to consider.
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The Greek bail-out.
20 Nov 2011, 15:56
