Euro Currency - Essential Information

[Vancouver]

Didn't make it clear I guess, I made the transaction at $1.88 then 3 days later there is the jump in value. I think they are watching me.........

[511Flyer]

My wife and I have been regular visitors to Greece for many years now, we've been to many different islands, including 20 consecutive years to Kefalonia. Three years ago we went to Crete, and stayed in a small hotel which was owned by a guy who worked in local government. The country was in trouble then, and he was blaming everybody else except themselves. He actually asked me to help him to write a piece similar to the Lord's Prayer, which he vaguely knew. So I did, and it went something like this ... Our Merkel, who art in Berlin, hallowed be thy loan. Thy interest come, it can't be done, in Athens or in Crete ... I can't remember it all.

This is the same guy, who on welcoming us to his hotel, demanded payment in cash for air conditioning, refrigerator, and safe deposit box. 100 plus Euros before we had even been taken to our room. No receipt given, and just a wink when I asked for one. If he did the same to every visitor over a season, it amounts to tax evasion on a grand scale. That's just one small hotel, on one island, the overall sum for Greece would be massive. No wonder they have hit a brick wall.



ps. If it's still there, we'll be going to Kefalonia again in September.

[Airspeed]

Sorry Mr Flyer, your name escapes me.
Your comments really made me L O L !

I worked in a public accountants office, where a huge number of the clients were of Greek origin.

For the most part, if you didn't include the word "refund" when you dared mention "tax", they would scream for the boss. "He'll fix it, you must have made a mistake!"

[TSR2]

My personal take on it is Greece should follow the Iceland example, and go bankrupt. While this led to a few years of real hardship, in 2014 Iceland was the fastest growing economy in the world. You can't borrow your way out of bankruptcy. I suspect the Eurocrats don't want the world to see that there can be life outside the Euro. It also puts the recovery firmly within the control of the Greek people. Its easy to point to what has gone before as bonkers (which it was), but if they are serious about sorting themselves out, they are probably better off doing this outside the Euro, in my opinion.