The Greek bailout

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devonwoody

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Subject: FW: The Greek Bail Out u may like this one!



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Subject: The Greek Bail Out

It is a slow day in a little Greek Village. The sun 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, he 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 tavern owner 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 German tourist comes down the stairs, states that
the rooms are not satisfactory, picks up the €100 note, 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 will work...

Couldn't our friend in Whitehall do the same? :)
 
Hi

But the hotel owner is now 100 Euros out of pocket - so I guess if the government employed the same practice we'd all be hotel owners :D .

Regards Mick
 
Spindle":zjypat1k said:
Hi

But the hotel owner is now 100 Euros out of pocket - so I guess if the government employed the same practice we'd all be hotel owners :D .

Regards Mick
?? hotel owner had nothing before the Germans invaded (or is that another thread :)) and still has nothing so can't be out of pocket surely
 
Hi

Didn't he accept cash from the hooker in payment for letting her a room(s) - which he duly gave to the German.That leaves him out of pocket in my book.

But anyhow - 'Don't mention the war, I did, but I think I got away with it' :D

Regards Mick
 
The hotelier has lost the money that was paid back to him.....but has also paid off his own debt without having to find the money to do it, so he's no worse or better off, other than free of debt.
This came about because of a temporary injection of money from an outside source (loan) which was paid back in full because the story is set in a perfect world. There is also the matter of interest in the real world. Where does the 10% come from to pay the German his interest? In the real world the hotelier remains in debt either to the German or whoever he borrows the interest from.

Still and entertaining tale Woody, thanks :wink:
 
In business terms - they were not insolvent, but had a cashflow issue. I think in reality Greece's woes are more than just a cashflow problem ...
 
Following this scenario what Europe needs is an alien from outer space to lend Greece its full amount of debt for 24 hours and then take its money and leave, then all will be rosy in the garden.

And I didn't even get an interview for the Governor of the Bank of England job.

Brian
 
In a proper economy taxes such as VAT would have been levied on each transaction so quite quickly the 100 Euro would have become next to nothing but then the amusing story would have fallen apart!
 
Hi to all economists,,,
But always remember " it"s best if a hooker pays you in kind " NO VAT,,,,NO TAX,,,JUST A LINGERING DESIRE FOR MEDICAL CARE !!!!!
 
Myfordman":2ms3avr9 said:
In a proper economy taxes such as VAT would have been levied on each transaction so quite quickly the 100 Euro would have become next to nothing but then the amusing story would have fallen apart!

But no one in Greece pays VAT or income tax or any other kind of tax - That's why they are in such a mess :lol:
 
(a) It's not just the VAT that needs paying, there's income tax too.

(b) Why is nearly everyone arguing about inaccuracies? There must be something else that needs doing (TV - OK perhaps not)

(c) I sometimes think of things like this - if I employ a tradesman to do a job and he wants say £100 for the work. (Small job). So he needs to charge me enough to cover his expenses, tradesman's insurance and national insurance contributions. Then he needs to allow for, say, 40% income tax and so he needs to charge me at least £150, probably considerably more. Then he adds the beloved VAT at 20%, so to get the £100 he needs for the job he must charge me at least £180. To be able to shell out £180, I need to earn £180 plus my national insurance contributions plus my income tax .... So I need to earn well over £200 to be able to pay the bill. No wonder people try to do 'cash deals'. Money makes the world go round, but it always seems to cost the end user a packet.

I'm not sure how this applies to Greece though.

K
 

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