Greek Referendum: What Happens Next?

[Nemo]

I went to lawyer school, graduated Cum Laude and have a tough time understanding what this means.

The question on the ballot is below.  Click the link and read the article about what happens post voting.

Nemo

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-03/greece-referendum-what-happens-if-it-s-a-no-

 

   “Greek people are hereby asked to decide whether they accept a draft agreement document submitted by the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, at the Eurogroup meeting held on on June 25 and which consists of two documents:

    ‘‘The first document is called Reforms for the Completion of the Current Program and Beyond and the second document is called Preliminary Debt Sustainability Analysis.

    ‘‘- Those citizens who reject the institutions’ proposal vote Not Approved / NO

    ‘‘- Those citizens who accept the institutions’ proposal vote Approved / YES.’’

[JohnyMac]

Some options are...

1) The USA comes in and loans Greece the money,
2) The Ruskies come in and loan Greece the money,
3) The Greeks tell the EU to screw and print their own money backed by "?" or
4) The Greeks approve for more austerity measures and a restructuring of their loan.

I think 1 or 2 will happen in the end. The problem is that again the Greek Can will just be kicked down the road.

[brat]

2) The Ruskies come in and loan Greece the money

That ^^^^^^^^^^

They want anyone and everyone on the BRIC, whatever they gotta do to get there. They'll look at it as an "investment". All investments have risk and not all have immediate returns.

[Nemo]

I hope everyone is paying some level of attention to it.  It might take a few weeks or month or 4, but I think it will have a significant effect on the entire worlds economy by the end of the year.   Might want to get that extra bag of stuff at the grocery store.

Nemo

http://news.yahoo.com/sugar-flour-rice-panicked-greeks-stock-essentials-175737930.html

Sugar, flour, rice: panicked Greeks stock up on essentials
AFP By Pauline Froissart, 9 hours ago

Athens (AFP) - Greeks were hoarding cash and food Saturday amid mounting fears the economy could collapse, cracking open their wallets only to stock up on essentials and stripping supermarket shelves in the process.

Mothers, elderly men and university students were spotted pushing heavily overloaded trolleys or coming out of shops weighed down by bags of food, with essentials such as sugar, flour and pasta top of the list.

In the well-off area of Glyfada in Athens residents appeared to have panicked, thrusting everything from vast rolls of toilet paper to multiple packs of lentils into their carts.

"Most people are buying food now because they fear the worst," said Andreas Koutras, a 51-year old who works in finance, referring to a referendum Sunday on Greece's bailout which could seal its financial fate.

AFP photographs showed rows upon rows of empty shelves in supermarkets and shoppers said they were taking no chances, snapping up canned milk, chocolate and rice -- anything non-perishable that could be stored.

Middle-aged toy shop assistant Marilena, who was praying for customers on what is usually the busiest shopping day of the week, said her family was buying "food, only food, nothing else. Only what's necessary".

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has urged people to vote 'No', insisting that rejecting a bailout deal offered by the austerity-hit country's international creditors will put it in a stronger negotiating position.

His right-hand man, Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, has promised banks will re-open after the vote -- but with so much uncertainty surrounding Greece's future, many doubt him.

Nikos Archondis from the Panhellenic Exporters Association (PEA) told AFP "certain supermarkets are very concerned because they cannot forecast how the situation will evolve".

Stocks of meat, cheeses, fruits and vegetables "risk running low in the following weeks", he said.

Reports that medicines were also flying off the shelves were supported by pharmacist Yannis Triantaphilou.

Priorities were "food and medicines" and he had seen "an increase of customers in the pharmacy".

Although the boost in business was welcome, Triantaphilou said if the banks did not re-open on Tuesday, "I don't know how we are going to work, if companies will provide medicines".

With anti-bailout 'No' voters tied neck and neck with the 'Yes' camp, fears a financial disaster may be brewing were compounded by frustration over the decision taken by many shops to refuse card payments.

With government-imposed capital controls capping ATM withdrawals at 60 euros ($67) per day, the number of banknotes in circulation has dropped dramatically, especially the smaller denominations.

Customers want to save their cash, but businesses are also desperate to get their hands on it.

Fortunately, "we have learned to live with less money," says Marilena, "because the last four to five years were very difficult for most of people."

"But we have needs, we adjust of course... but we cannot go any further," she said.

Like many Greeks, taxi driver Theodor Veletzas said he believed there was more at stake than a new deal, and the situation risked getting worse.

The referendum, he insisted, would effectively decide whether his country stayed in the eurozone or not. And he feared what would happen if the 'No' camp won.

"There are no banknotes in circulation. Shops are closed and people have no notes with which to buy food. I hope people will vote on Sunday to stay in Europe. We don't want another adventure", he said.

[JohnyMac]

Lets learn a few things from the Economic Collapse Petri dish we call Greece.

Cards were accepted at first.
The cash being used is large denomination now as smaller bills are being reserved.
The date that the banks will be back open is now Tuesday not Monday as we originally heard. Will the date continue to slide? IMO, if they delay opening the banks again, day by day, a deal is in the works with the Ruskies or the USA.
When will the employees at the food and other retailers start to not come to work?
Medicines, medications, over the counter and script...

What have I missed?

Do people now see the importance of having at least one months of expenses on hand?

 

[graynomad]

...
Do people now see the importance of having at least one months of expenses on hand?

Total no-brainer, even more if you have it. Truth is I don't really want any $s in the bank these days.

[Nemo]

And do as I am doing.  Get some of the Franklins broke down into a bunch of smaller bills.

Nemo

[brat]

Get some of the Franklins broke down

You mean to tell me they are printing a bill that has a picture of Franklin on it 

Guess some of us just have those small bills........

[JohnyMac]

Only small bills in my house.

[Nemo]

It appears from early compiling of results that the NO vote is 60 to 40 ahead.  No mean no more austerity and if that makes us get out of the EU, so be it, no big deal.  Greece goes bankrupt but life goes on.

Also, a comment from another tinfoil hat wearer.  Something I had not considered in any depth.

Thoughts Gents?

Nemo

They will issue a new "plastic" currency. They will never return to hard currency. You see, with plastic currency, it becomes impossible to do transactions without getting taxed.

 And so, they will make it illegal to do hard currency transactions, in Euros or Dollars without having to use a plastic intermediary.

 This will be the trade off with the government. And it's coming worldwide.

 Science Fiction prediction.

 You see, the Euro as a hard currency always was a silly anachronism. They should've just issued a card. But, I guess they don't do it because it would conflict with VISA MASTERCARD.

 Surely, the Russians and the Chinese will go completely plastic soon.

[JohnyMac]

Makes sense to me Nemo.

Again this whole drama is a petrie dish for the rest of the world. By the way, cash will still be used, e.g. US dollars, Euro's, barter of goods and services, etc.