Friday, August 10, 2012

How the European bailout package 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.

In other words, the economy just need a catalyst from outside to jump start it.

Link

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous6:05 am

    Moral of the story is that you can easily settle a small loan. What if is €100 billion instead? If you buy on credit and can't make enough to pay back your loan, the you are in big trouble.
    This story is just another Greek mythology.

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  2. Of course, it is a very very simplified story to explain a very complex financial problem. But if we were to think of any entity in dire straits, all it needs might be a helping hand to tide things over, regardless of the amount. For eg. China is able and willing to take over all of Greece's debts and allow it to function over a necessary period of time.

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