Selling gold teeth to make ends meet in Greece
File photo of a woman taking off her ring at the desk of a certified appraiser at the Nacional Monte de Piedad (Mountain of Pity or Mountain of Mercy), the national pawnshop in downtown Mexico City January 12, 2011.
Credit: Reuters/Jorge Dan
ATHENS |
ATHENS (Reuters) - A smartly dressed woman waits as a young man behind a glass screen weighs her gold earrings, bracelets and rings and counts out 1,600 euros.
"I'll see you again soon," she says, slipping the bills into her purse. Behind her, a grey-haired man shuffles toward the counter. "Do you buy gold teeth?" he asks.
In the Greek capital, gold is marking a divide between the "haves" and a growing number of "have nots."
Shops like this one have mushroomed in downtown Athens and are doing a brisk business. They offer cash for gold by weight and sell it to foundries.
Many ordinary Greeks who prospered after the Mediterranean country entered the euro a decade ago are now being forced to sell their family treasures just to make ends meet.
With the worst recession since the 1970s grinding into its third year, fresh belt-tightening measures to appease international lenders are driving many middle-class Greeks to desperation.
Unemployment has climbed to more than 16 percent and real wages are down by around a fifth since the global financial crisis struck three years ago.
With average salaries less than 1,300 euros ($1,900) a month and inflation running at more than 3 percent, many Greeks say they do not have enough money to pay for the basics.
"A lady came to me the other day crying because she needed to sell her gold jewels and didn't know what they were worth," said Alexandria Verykokaki, 55, whose family has owned a jewelry shop in downtown Athens since 1923.
"These are not poor folks. They are ordinary, middle-class Greeks: a woman with three kids who needs to sell her wedding jewelry just to send her kids to school."
GOLD RUSH FOR WEALTHY
That is one side of the coin. On the other, many wealthy Greeks, worried by the political paralysis gripping their country, are pulling money out of the bank and buying gold, regarded as the ultimate safe haven in times of uncertainty.
Burnishing its appeal, the price of the precious metal has climbed to record highs over the last year, driven in part by anxiety in financial markets over Greece's prolonged agony which has prompted a flight to stable assets.
Many international investors believe the eastern Mediterranean country, which makes up just 2.5 percent of the euro zone economy, cannot hope to service its enormous debt running at nearly 350 billion euros and rising.
Many in Greece appear to agree. Banks have lost around 8 percent of their deposits this year, with outflows accelerating in May and June as anxiety grew at the government's dwindling parliamentary support, according to credit ratings agency Moody's.
Roughly half the fall was due to individuals and companies burning through their savings to compensate for their lower income.
But the rest was due to wealthier Greeks, fearful of an impending financial collapse should the country default, sending money abroad, stashing it in safety deposit boxes, or buying gold coins, Moody's said.
"The people with money are no longer buying land, they are buying gold and silver," said Verykokaki. "Greeks are ignorant. It's stupid because if they take the money from the bank, the banks won't have enough to go around."
With capital flight compounded by a increasing number of loans turning bad, authorities have urged banks to explore merger possibilities to cope with the crisis.
The flow of capital from banks could become a flood if the government fails to implement the 28 billion euro austerity plan, demanded by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund as a condition for propping up its finances.
In a tight vote on Wednesday, parliament approved a law outlining tax rises, spending cuts and the sale of state companies.
But Greece's privatization process, which stalled when the Socialists won power, may struggle to meet targets amid the political and economic maelstrom. Greece needs to sell 5 billion euros in assets by December to honor its commitments, but foreign investors may be wary faced with militant unions.
"The prime minister talks about privatization, tax reforms, social reforms. He's talked about all that before," said political analyst Costas Panagopoulos. "The question is will he use this vote to move forward with these crucial reforms?"
Greece's debt is forecast to reach 1.6 times its economic output next year -- bigger than Argentina's when the South American country stumbled into a chaotic default in early 2002.
Many Greeks believe not only that it is not economically feasible, but it is not morally acceptable to pay a debt racked up by the political dynasties which have ruled the country for decades.
"I want to tear down the parliament building. We didn't waste all this money, they did, and they are not going to jail," said Dimitris Avramidis, 34, a bookstore employee.
"I've done nothing wrong. I've never taken out a loan in my life. So why should I pay now? I want people to take all their money out of the banks."
(Editing by Robert Woodward)
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Their policies are dictated by the greedy Banks, which have been gambling recklessly, and when the gamble turns good they make money and when it turns bad, the govts., rather the public pays for the gambling debts.
Till people wake up to this systematic loot of the world by a few hundreds who through control of these banks are bleeding the world’s common public to death whether it is in US, Europe, India or China.
The solution to this lies in banning all banks from doing any business or having interest directly or indirectly in anything other than banking.
Further down sizing all banks to a point where they do not have more than 10% of the deposits in any country, and increasing capital adequacy to a level where reckless gambling does not pay.
And most important routing all derivative transactions through regulator managed clearing houses, and imposing limits on derivative positions.
But do the politicians have the guts to think in those terms? I doubt it, most of them appear to represent these vested interests than their own electorate, which they manipulate using irrelevant issues like, religion, race, language, guns, abortion etc.
You may laugh now, because you do not understand that you will be sailing soon in the same rough seas! The problem is not Greek problem, is international. US exports its “credit card debt” by pumping US$ all over the world as this is the reserve currency. US credibility goes more south every day. European Union is not united and Euro is not a unified economy currency. EU is cracking every day and if politicians do not decide to schedule a real union then will disintegrate.
Concerning Greeks, the media portray them as the lazy, spoiled people that work less and leave with other peoples’ money.
However, it is another case where peoples’ opinion is formed by the media. Let me give you a few facts:
1. Greece was under war continuously until 1952 and had 7 years of dictatorship between 1967 and 1974
2 More than 20% of greek population has been exterminated during the Nazi German occupation, the government gold was stolen and private and infrastructure has been destroyed. For all that, Germany never paid reparations which have been calculated (by Germans) to 130billion euros.
3. European Union, never signed a protocol whereby the Greek borders are considered EU borders. That happened in order Germany and France to be able to sell weapons to Greece. The last 10 years Greeks bought 50billion euros of defense equipment, with loans of course. Weapons add nothing to the GDP and the capital repayments plus interest plus maintenance has to be paid…
4. Greek public sector is huge and lazy and it is the creation of the politicians. Greek private sector works 3200 hours a year. German private sector works 2300hrs a year. That is from a report of NATIXIS Bank (French).
5. Greece has 5 milion working population. One million is public sector, 3 million are employees and one million are self-employed professionals and businessmen. Tax evasion happens from part only of the last million (self-employed). The rest cannot and do not avoid taxes.
6. Greeks do not want to pay taxes but they pay a lot. They do not want because every penny the pay in taxes is “burned” by the incompetent governments. There is no health, no education, no infrastructure, no security. So they have to cover everything with their own funds; Private healthcare, private education, means for security. Hence they indirectly pay a huge tax bill trying to cover what a normal state should cover.
7. Greeks buy a lot of German, Italian, French, American etc products. So money does come out, interest stays.
Yes, i agree, there are local systemic issues that need to be addressed after so many years of wrong governance, however you must admit that extreme systemic problems exist EVERYWHERE and saving the Greeks does not guarantee solving the world problem.
Finally, Greeks have offered 30% of the English, French, Italian and Spanish vovabulary, have offered mathematics, philosophy, architecture, poetry and general civilisation and have not killed 22million Russians, 6 million Jews etc etc. They have not invaded Iraq, they have not supported dictatorial regimes in Latin America, they have not arrested and imprisoned the President of Panama and they have no insitutions like Goldman Sachs and JPM which create financial imbalances to the detriment of the people and for the benefit of a few banksters.
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