With job opportunities evaporating more and more each day in Greece, the troubled Southern European nation at the heart of the continent's sovereign debt crisis, citizens have reportedly been turning to an ages-old system of economics: bartering. According to media sources, including The Guardian, the UK-based international media firm, more and more folks are turning to physical exchanges of goods and services rather than opting to use the euro.
Greece's inclusion in the eurozone, the group of nations that utilizes the euro, has been imperiled in recent years due to a recession-bound economy and a drying-up of government tax revenues. Despite repeated bailouts from the European Union, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank, the nation continues to struggle with its economic recovery.
Bartering, it seems, has filled a void for people who have goods to trade but lack a form of income that would provide them with euros. Interestingly, some consumer advocacy groups in Greece are promoting this form of economics as a way to escape the country's financial blight. One group created its own form of currency to work with, known as the Tem. While still in its infancy, the initiative has reportedly attracted over 1,000 participants.
"For many it plays a double role of supplementing lost income and creating a protective web at this particularly difficult moment in their lives," Yiannis Grigoriou, a sociologist who helped create the Tem, told The Guardian. "The older generation in this country can still remember when bartering was commonplace. In villages you'd exchange milk and goat's cheese for meat and flour."
These developments, while encouraging for the Greek people, do not bode well for the future of the global economy, as it suggests that Greece is nowhere closer to solvency than it was several years ago. Folks, especially those preparing for retirement, who have yet to plan for the financial worst should look into investment methods for doing so. To learn more, visit GreatWealthStrategies.com today and download a "Free Game Plan Report."