Thank you Greece

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LovelyLadyLux
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Thank you Greece

Post by LovelyLadyLux »

Now that Greece is a deadbeat country what does that mean for the rest of us? And can only imagine what it would feel like to be in Greece right now and only able to get something like $40/day out of a bank.

How are they going to pay their rent? Buy groceries? Make payments? AND the ripple has to flow through to European countries.

Seems yesterday the DOW was down something like 350 points however today was UP 23!

The whole interconnect thing seems good BUT and UNTIL ....... :o :ni: :sd


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Re: Thank you Greece

Post by Horus »

The trouble with Greece is it has been profligate with other peoples money, they still want to retire earlier than the rest of us, pay no taxes, have state jobs for life and generally fiddle the books. The problem is that it is the rest of us that will have to pick up the bill even the UK and we aren’t even in the Euro, the sooner this whole charade falls on it’s face the better. Either way you cut this up Greece will either have to impose crippling restrictions on its citizens or be in the same position a few years/months up the road, it just cannot win. If it stays in the Euro its people will be severely hit, if it leaves it will mean the same thing, the only light on the horizon is that out of the Euro it can devalue the Drachma (its old currency) and at least try to jump start the economy which may work. Greece was only allowed in because it cooked the books to look good and the greedy EU hell bent on further unions passed it through with a huge nod from the Germans, the whole edifice is corrupt from the top down. It may work if you have one nation with a common language and a common allegiance as in America, but it is never going to work in Europe with such huge differences in not only language but also economies, how can a fiscal policy made to suit a powerhouse such as Germany be on an equal footing with a tourist economy such as Greece, it makes no sense. Finally ask yourself where all the Greek additional spending went? Answer: It went to buy German Arms in order to meet its EU obligation to spend 2% of its GDP on defence.
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Re: Thank you Greece

Post by Grandad »

If Greek people don't like what they have got right now it would be far worse if the returned to the Drachma. True, as Horus said, they could revalue their their currency but that would not help their position internationally. And if they left the EU it would be poor Greece once again without the support of the European Union.
The people of Greece will have to accept change. They still look to the state to provide when they retire as early as 58. The French are also reluctant to accept changes in their age of retirement. Just look at the chaos they are causing right now at Calais and Sangatte to make their point.
Industrial Germany is moving towards 69 for retirement but the opposite is a smaller number of workers providing for an increasing number of older retirees and that cannot go on. We have the same problem in the UK but at least our economy is strong and we are NOT in the Euro.

Edit: There is a plus side for holidaying in Europe for people from the UK, the Euro is now about 1.41 to the pound so you should be able to get at least 1.38 which is the best rate for many years. I shall be taking advantage of this. :up
:gg:
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Re: Thank you Greece

Post by LovelyLadyLux »

Although I was working in the US I officially 'retired' in Canada at 55 because my career had been in a category of careers (extreme high stress/danger etc) that allowed for this. I'm sort of glad I did do this as Canada must've looked at Greece cause they've now changed the laws and this option is gone and essentially now for the federal portion of my pension to start I have to wait 'til I'm 67 (vs 65).

What I'm not liking more and more is that ALL our economies are so interwoven and intertwined. Somebody sneezes the wrong way in Timbuktu and the dollar drops (affecting ME) AND it can all happen so fast none of us will have a hope or a chance to get out any of our savings as we're now operating in a cyber world.

Time for the rusty tin can buried in the back yard to come back.

On another note, as a piece of trivia I knew a couple years ago who had escaped VietNam via refugee camps etc. They'd owned a factory there and one day it was literally taken and all gone. They were brought to Canada as refugees and worked in the fields picking crops. Can't even begin to describe how hard working, industrious and driven they were however Guy, the husband, vowed he would never trust a bank or financial institution again and honestly did keep his Canadian $$ hidden somewhere in his house or yard. Used to drive his wife Ming crazy but I can understand his feelings and where he was coming from.
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Re: Thank you Greece

Post by Ruby Slippers »

Holiday makers who are going to Greece are now being told to take all cash with them, thus generating a run on British banks, which in turn could well take us back to the sixties when British people could only take £50 out of the country. It doesn't bode well, does it? :(
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Re: Thank you Greece

Post by Grandad »

Hardly a run on the banks RS. I am sure most people take a load of euros when travelling within the EU just in case for some obscure reason an ATM doesn't like your card and keeps it :(
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Re: Thank you Greece

Post by Horus »

Thankfully I don't think that taking cash on holiday with you will be detrimental to our own banking system, back in the sixties our economy was really bad and those limits were applied to keep money within the country. One way or another all the money we spend abroad on holiday comes out of the system, so cash, cards or T/Cs it doesn't really matter. The biggest threat comes from our own UK banks exposure to Greece defaulting on their debts, this will cost the country money, fortunately we are not as exposed to that debt as most of Europe is, but it will still hurt us financially
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Re: Thank you Greece

Post by Grandad »

Grandad wrote: The French are also reluctant to accept changes in their age of retirement. Just look at the chaos they are causing right now at Calais and Sangatte to make their point.
That is a load of 'pony and trap' Grandad ;) :lol:
Nothing to do with French workers' pensions but the takeover of MyFerryLink by DFDS with the possible loss of 400 jobs.
But I do get confused when the French blockade the channel ports for a variety of reasons be it agricultural subsides, fishing quotas, pension age increases or job losses. Why the hell should just a small group cause so much havoc for freight carriers and private travellers. We have a 26 mile double stacked convoy of artics waiting to get across the channel. They (the French demonstrators) even set a car alight on the Eurotunnel track preventing trains passing through the tunnel.
Totally irresponsible and the French police just stand and watch, as they do with immigrants breaking into lorries for the crossing. (and the lorry driver faces £2000 fine for taking immigrants across? :xx )
:gg:
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Re: Thank you Greece

Post by Horus »

Lets face it Grandad the French have only ever looked after the French, another reason to ditch this continental unity crap and reinstate our island to being an island again.
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Re: Thank you Greece

Post by Mad Dilys »

I totally agree with you Horus. We Brits are uncomfortable in our dealings with the French as a nation, but get on well with individuals ......I used to think it was because we are very similar, but now I'm not so sure.
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Re: Thank you Greece

Post by LovelyLadyLux »

Have to admit that here in Canada we have lots of experience dealing & NOT dealing with our French ;) They are VERY DIFFERENT in their corner of Canada than the rest of us (and talk about touchy! MERDE!!)
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Re: Thank you Greece

Post by LovelyLadyLux »

How the Greek Bail Out works

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 Greek bailout package works.
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Re: Thank you Greece

Post by Horus »

:lol: :lol: That makes more sense than what is actually happening ;)
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Re: Thank you Greece

Post by Grandad »

What goes around comes around. :lol:

If only it was as simple as that. The plus side for us non-euro members is that the pound now buys around 1.42 euros and predicted to go as high as 1.50. Time to buy euros I think. ;)
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Re: Thank you Greece

Post by LovelyLadyLux »

Don't have a crystal ball but methinks the entire country needs a mind set change. What Greece really exemplifies for me is how globally connected we all are now and how 1 country can significantly affect all of us.
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