Greeks not at all happy it seems.

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.dailymail....dressed-SS-guard.html

This behaviour is absolutely disgusting, the rest of Europe should now totality ostracise the Greeks.

Interesting to note the very word 'Ostracise' means:

The act of banishing or excluding.

Banishment or exclusion from a group; disgrace.

In Athens and other cities of ancient Greece, the temporary banishment by popular vote of a citizen considered dangerous to the state.

I don't know about 'a citizen considered dangerous to the state'.

Greece is dangerous to Europe, and should never have been 'bailed' out.

[ludwig]

// Why did you spend all that money when you couldn't afford it? //

Because despite my best efforts to stop them the government spent it on my behalf - and being as that's the case, yes - I've been happy to take the benefits - I might as well as it's me that'll be paying the bill.

And yes, the average greek worker was also happy to take the money in the form of government spending, retiring at the age of 50 from some government non-job funded by a ridiculous credit bubble which they never had a hope of repaying.

It's like maxing out your credit card on a minimum wage income and then getting all angry when the company :-
a) Writes off 50% of your debt
b) Insists that you stop spending at the same rate and start paying some of it back.

[emmie]

one of the reasons i get cross when people keep banging on about the bankers, as though no one else had anything else to do with our problems.
Take out mortgage, little or no means of repayment, credit card, that will do nicely, same scenario, and when it all goes belly up, blame everyone but yourself. We all like having money, credit cards, it's paying it back, that's the problem.

[Zeuhl]

So you would be ok with a 50% income cut etc while we paid back all that money to some german or french bankers?

If I was sitting in my olive grove in Crete I think I'd be getting a few goats, buying a little fishing boat, not paying the increased tax rate that I never paid anyway and tell the bankers their attempt to turn the eastern mediterranean into a suburb of Frankfurt has failed - so bye bye and thanks for the water treatment plant we never asked for but which has been quite useful thank you.

[anotheoldgit]

/// Did the average Greek worker spend it? ///

Much better to ask "how much does a Grecian Urn".

[Zeuhl]

Boom! Boom!

Mwahahaha! Old Git

[emmie]

AOG, old joke, and doubt the Greeks are laughing. And i wonder how the banks are going to enjoy having so much debt written off, or is that going to be passed onto others?

[Zeuhl]

Well, borrowing money you can't pay back is really bad and really stupid.

But lending money to people who can't or won't pay you back is even worse and even more stupid.

[rov1100]

The Greeks have the right idea. The ordinary citizen did not create the huge debt so why should they be lumbered with the bill. They will be quite happy to see foreign banks take a haircut and lose much of their profits from default.
Their actions in the streets would stop me ever going there for a holiday.