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.
And
that, Ladies and Gentlemen, is how the bailout package works.
