Greece Can't Even Afford To Pay Attention

The current financial situation in the Eurozone is ugly, and the state of finance in Greece remains even uglier. Spain needs a bailout, Italy needs a bailout, and Greece by itself owes “161 billion” Euros to other governments in the Eurozone. In fact, it owes another 50 billion to the European Central Bank alone.

And while it has long been reported that Greece has dug a hole out of which it cannot lift itself financially, the ugly truth is that the nation doesn’t even seem like it wants to lift itself out of the hole.

Apathy now marks many Greek businesses which have come to the end of their rope. Companies like Medical Services Limited, a small supplier of medical equipment in Athens which can no longer afford to function without borrowing from German banks, now faces the dilemma of paying the salaries of employees or borrowing more money which it can’t pay back.

So many Greek businesses have gone to the well so many times that the banks in Germany are now requiring a high percentage of pre-payment on loans. And at this point in the game, those businesses must literally decide whether to get the loan and stock their shelves with merchandise or forgo the loan, pay their employees one last time, and close the doors.

In the end, the doors will close, because Greece is now living at the mercy of creditors who know they are never going to be repaid all the money they’ve already loaned Greek businesses and the country itself over the past few years.