Residents of Greece are so strapped for cash that they have returned to a primitive barter economy.
Farmers, workers and even corporations have begun bartering because of a shortage of cash reminiscent of the Great Depression in the United States, Reutersreported.
“It’s a nightmare,” cotton farmer Mimis Tsakanikas told the news service. “I owe many people money now – gas stations and firms that service machinery. I have to go to the bank every single day, and the money I can take out is not enough.”
Average Greeks can only withdraw 420 Euros ($458.57 US) a week from banks because of currency controls imposed after the nation defaulted on its loans to international creditors. The restrictions have prompted many companies, including PayPal, from ceasing operations in Greece. That means bartering is the only commerce a lot of Greeks can use.
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