Does money have any worth?

I read recently about a country - cannot remember which - where the currency has devalued so much that the population were taking millions of notes to the bank to get less than the busfare home in dollars.

Therein lies the problem for Greece. It's debt is too big to be repaid.

It is like household accounts. When loans cannot be repaid.

I wish Greece the best of luck in its efforts to remain in the EU, even in the euro whilst the current government grapples with the debt and the problems that go with it.

I wonder if some of the debt couldn't be written off, or the period to re-pay it be extended. We're off to Greece in September and our Greek friends are desperate for tourists from northern europe to continue to visit. I confess I'd avoid Athens currently but I'd visit any other part of Greece - it's a beautiful, friendly country and needs all the help we can give it. What a sacrifice, visiting somewhere to help their economy

They have to make a real effort to gradually repay the debt, otherwise you would get other countries who are feeling the pinch - like Spain and Italy - also wanting to be "let off". It just wouldn't work. Shame it's the poorer people that seem to have to bear the brunt though.

That's the problem isn't it? Greece isn't the only european country in the I confess to feeling some sympathy though, for their argument that after WW2 the Germans were allowed to evade some of their debts in order to re-build their shattered economy/country and given the devastation caused by the Nazi's in Greece the Greeks would like similar leeway. I don't mean to be flippant or unpleasant but over the years I've become increasingly aware of the impact of WW2 on the Greeks. Crete is my favourite place in Greece and the Battle of Crete continues to be commemorated in moving ceremonies there.

I guess it's the euro and the EU that has to be protected - at all costs.

I don't think for one moment, Greece will be forced to leave.

There was a Harvard Professor on the radio 4 one morning who originally worked for the IMF - he said that Greece will never be able to pay back the money owing and it is totally inhumane what the EU is expecting of the Greek people. What is happening to Greece by the imposition of more and more austerity will ensure it simply totally goes down the pan.

Sadly, a lot of Greece's problems stem from bad management and corruption. DH and I know a few people from both Greece and Cyprus and they are amazed at how we pay tax, corporation tax, employers national insurance etc. in our (very) small business. They tell us that Greek and Cypriot small businesses take every possible measure to avoid tax (as do the self employed), and often accountants are on,y paid on the basis of avoiding tax. Everything is available at a (cash) price from passing the driving test, to an examination certificate. Additionally it would appear that most of the public sector workers (and many others to) have been allowed to retire at a very early age on almost extortionate pensions so it was inevitable that the country would eventually go bust.

Yes, I've heard that too, gillybob. It's how Greece operated for years, but when they applied to join the EU they didn't seem to realise that they couldn't go on doing it.

Does money have any worth, PRINTMISS?
I wouldn't like to try living without it. Neither would the Greeks I know.

Perhaps they should have thought about that before they embraced the Euro so enthusiastically.

A lot of people only deal with life in the short term.

Of course we cannot live with money durhamjen and I am not suggesting that, what I was thinking is that money is worth less now than it was - after all my husband's £1000 per year salary was substantial in those days, not so at present, although of course if one was penniless, then £1000 would be almost be a fortune. I just feel that we talk of billions without really realising how much that is - I can't even imagine how much it is, the mind just boggles. I feel sorry for the Greek people, they are generous by nature, or at least when we have visited we have found that so, and hope that a workable solution to their problem will be found.

I understand what you are saying PRINTMISS and often feel quite bemused when people refer to X amount of "grand" as though they are counting pennies. Paying millions of pounds for a house in London almost seems to be the norm for some when others wouldn't see that amount of money in 10 lifetimes.

Getting back to Greece I can understand how frustrated it is for the UK who are really trying hard to make cuts, sometimes very unkind cuts. Cutting back on public sector non-jobs (well some of them anyway) and making everyone work longer. Greece however have refused to cut public sector wages or alter the public sector pensions or retirement age. I'm sorry but what's good for the goose...........

When a country is bankrupt, all of its citizens suffer in some way.

What about forgoing the interest? Then Greece might find it possible to repay the capital sum over time. I know the interest is a huge amount of money but have no idea what percentage it represents.

I think it is the interest that they can't pay. It seems a total nonsense to me. Greece can never pay it back. The EU needs some courage to think laterally and once it does it can take the situation and the self-employed Greece in hand.

Yes, it will be the interest. That is when things collapse.

I cant quite understand what you are suggesting whitewave? That the EU goes in and takes over? The people wont allow that.

No soon but they must give Greece conditions in order to secure future tax collection. We know that there is a big element in Greece that are avoiding tax all self employed or nearly all. If the EU accepted that the debt cannot be paid it wouldn't be popular but the present situation is ridiculous.

For years charities have been trying to get other countries to allow African countries to forgo interest on loans, but it hasn't happened there, in some of the poorest countries in the world. I cannot see it happening to Greece.

I agree with whitewave, it's a problem of tax collection. Country by country reporting so that all taxes are paid in the country that money is earned is necessary, not just in Europe but throughout the world.

No soon but they must give Greece conditions in order to secure future tax collection

How would they do this? Make it a condition of the loans?

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debt_relief

Yes soon