Greece's 'Potato Revolution' Skips Middlemen to Help Poor

[SaxonCeorl]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17377999

This is a video article about Greek farmers selling directly to the people, cutting out the middle man and cutting costs. In the middle of the video, one of the Greek farmers says "this sends a message that a few people can't profit at the expense of all of us".

[Savant]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17377999

This is a video article about Greek farmers selling directly to the people, cutting out the middle man and cutting costs. In the middle of the video, one of the Greek farmers says "this sends a message that a few people can't profit at the expense of all of us".

Guess these geniuses never realized that often times "middle men" reduce costs. There's a reason that throughout history, goods have not gone directly from producer to consumer. That reason is not because people feel like paying more, or because producers just kindly feel like sharing their profits. Just sayin...

[riverman]

Makes sense, especially in an agri community. Greek olives...:thumb001:

[Hurrem sultana]

maybe the reason why Greece came into this situation in the first place? Balkan people tend to NOT respect the governments

[Viljuska]

Nice.
The plutocrats will not like this.

[Viljuska]

maybe the reason why Greece came into this situation in the first place? Balkan people tend to NOT respect the governments
The people are not responsible for the crisis.
It's all Goldman Sachs.

[Flintlocke]

maybe the reason why Greece came into this situation in the first place? Balkan people tend to NOT respect the governments

The problem is that they respect the governments too much. I'd say what needs to be done but I might be busted for hate speech.

[Padre Organtino]

Guess these geniuses never realized that often times "middle men" reduce costs. There's a reason that throughout history, goods have not gone directly from producer to consumer. That reason is not because people feel like paying more, or because producers just kindly feel like sharing their profits. Just sayin...

Well, it may actually depend on a type of arrangement. If the distributors do enjoy unfair monopoly power it may be welfare decreasing but overall of course middlemen tend to appear upon demand of market participants and not via versa.

[Queen B]

A kg of Potatoes have about 1.20€ in the market.
A sack of potatoes through ''Potato revolution'' has 6.5€
A sack is more than 10kg, so its half the price, I guess. :S

[Savant]

And why would there be an "unfair monopoly?" If the distributors weren't needed by producers or consumers, they wouldn't be used. If the value they created was minimal, producers and consumers would bear the costs/labor of distribution instead of paying distributors more than the act of transportation/distribution is worth. Furthermore, if distribution was priced too highly, a new distributor would come into the market with a price closer to intrinsic value/equilibrium and would take the business from all the other distributors.

So, unless you're suggesting that Greek politicians are making ppl have some kind of lengthy licensing and approval process to become potato distributors, or is somehow otherwise creating barriers for people to become commercial potato distributors, then there is no "unfair potato distributor monopoly". More likely, Greek ppl are fcking lazy and are whining about high prices, which the distributors charge, because they know they're too lazy, and all they're going to do is bitch, instead of someone getting off their ass and becoming a potato distributor, charging a fair price, and taking all the business.

So, what's your bet on? Lazy, whiny Greeks? Or potato distribution monopoly conspiracy?


Well, it may actually depend on a type of arrangement. If the distributors do enjoy unfair monopoly power it may be welfare decreasing but overall of course middlemen tend to appear upon demand of market participants and not via versa.

[Padre Organtino]

And why would there be an "unfair monopoly?" If the distributors weren't needed by producers or consumers, they wouldn't be used. If the value they created was minimal, producers and consumers would bear the costs/labor of distribution instead of paying distributors more than the act of transportation/distribution is worth. Furthermore, if distribution was priced too highly, a new distributor would come into the market with a price closer to intrinsic value/equilibrium and would take the business from all the other distributors.

So, unless you're suggesting that Greek politicians are making ppl have some kind of lengthy licensing and approval process to become potato distributors, or is somehow otherwise creating barriers for people to become commercial potato distributors, then there is no "unfair potato distributor monopoly". More likely, Greek ppl are fcking lazy and are whining about high prices, which the distributors charge, because they know they're too lazy, and all they're going to do is bitch, instead of someone getting off their ass and becoming a potato distributor, charging a fair price, and taking all the business.

So, what's your bet on? Lazy, whiny Greeks? Or potato distribution monopoly conspiracy?

I am well aware of let's say specific work ethics of Greeks (then again being a Georgian myself I can not really criticize them) but it's too easy to dismiss certain important issues with "thems are lazy" argument. Problem is that in countries like Greece you often get excessive monopolization through various arrangements.

1.First of all there may be a cartel agreement that regulates entry through coordinated pricing policy
2.The monopolizatio may be due to corruption in licensing that leads to cutting off potential entrants.

Now using econ 101 logic if this thing was successful there must have been an intital problem in pricing mechanism

P.S. I am merely providing the possible explanations without trying to give a precise answer since there is little data available to make any kind of serious conclusion.

[Savant]

Yes, OF COURSE!!! The Greek potato distribution cartel, WHY DIDN'T I SEE IT?! It was so clear... the whole time... right in front of my eyes!!! It all makes sense now!! Yeah, that whole whiny, lazy greek thing? That's all just part of the ruse... smoke and mirrors baby!!! That's what they want you to think, and THAT is why they want you to think that Greece is bankrupt and is the biggest economic disaster in the EU... But... we know what's really going on... Yes sir, we know the facts... We know that's all a ruse, and what is REALLY causing the Greek economic woes is the GREEK POTATO DISTRIBUTION CARTEL!!! They are, of course, in league with America, the Anglo-Zionist plutocrats, ZOG, the McDonalds syndicate, and all the other usual suspects, all just trying to tear Europe down... It was all so obvious the whole time!! How was I so blind?!?!


I am well aware of let's say specific work ethics of Greeks (then again being a Georgian myself I can not really criticize them) but it's too easy to dismiss certain important issues with "thems are lazy" argument. Problem is that in countries like Greece you often get excessive monopolization through various arrangements.

1.First of all there may be a cartel agreement that regulates entry through coordinated pricing policy
2.The monopolizatio may be due to corruption in licensing that leads to cutting off potential entrants.

Now using econ 101 logic if this thing was successful there must have been an intital problem in pricing mechanism

P.S. I am merely providing the possible explanations without trying to give a precise answer since there is little data available to make any kind of serious conclusion.

[Queen B]

More likely, Greek ppl are fcking lazy and are whining about high prices, which the distributors charge, because they know they're too lazy, and all they're going to do is bitch, instead of someone getting off their ass and becoming a potato distributor, charging a fair price, and taking all the business.

Τypical blah-blah of Greeks being lazy.
Damn, some people have no idea, at all.
You can accuse Greeks by many things, but lazy, not.

[Padre Organtino]

Yes, OF COURSE!!! The Greek potato distribution cartel, WHY DIDN'T I SEE IT?! It was so clear... the whole time... right in front of my eyes!!! It all makes sense now!! Yeah, that whole whiny, lazy greek thing? That's all just part of the ruse... smoke and mirrors baby!!! That's what they want you to think, and THAT is why they want you to think that Greece is bankrupt and is the biggest economic disaster in the EU... But... we know what's really going on... Yes sir, we know the facts... We know that's all a ruse, and what is REALLY causing the Greek economic woes is the GREEK POTATO DISTRIBUTION CARTEL!!! They are, of course, in league with America, the Anglo-Zionist plutocrats, ZOG, the McDonalds syndicate, and all the other usual suspects, all just trying to tear Europe down... It was all so obvious the whole time!! How was I so blind?!?!

Come on man, you can do better than that. I sympathize with what you write for the most part but this is quite annoying. Do I look like a Joo hater/ZOG stalker/conspirologist? No, I am merely stating stuff that can be relevant to the topic.
And yes, since we are talking about debt it's also not that simple. While no sane person will deny the fact that it was mostly Greeks' own fault for ending up like that there were additional factors that also contributed to the severity of problems:

1.Bad idea of creating monetry union sans normal fiscal integration and trasparent accountability of members
2.Increasing regional disproportions and an eventual deindustrialization of Euro periphery due to Germans using indirect price cuts through renegotiated labour contracts (that were obviously not adjusted by exchange rate since currency was common). Exports from Germany rose highly and it was actually beneficial for German manufacturers to sell goods to Greeks by subsidizing their consumption (repayment was not questioned as those debts seemed fine at the moment).
3.GS's help in masking the debt through the debt swap contracts.
4.Finally, rather stupid policy recommendations for Greeks. It's kind of obvious that short-run stuff like raising taxes and cutting benefits will only deepen recession and hence strengthen long-term negative effects of all this mess while deep structural reforms need some time to pay off but are helpful in alleviating long-term debt burden.

BTW if you disagree with me please use the normal argumentation style. I appreciate jokes a lot but I like serious tone from people when we are debating on serious topics.

[Savant]

LOL Actually no. I mean, I understand that by YOUR standards, YOU think that Greeks are not lazy. It's all relative though. For example, African bushmen think that Libya is a "rich" country... Don't get me wrong, I think there are many people lazier than Greeks. But, by Anglo standards, they're fcking lazy. When they come here they whine and cry and stomp their feet about being expected to work so hard, think they're entitled to a comical amount of breaks during work with long durations, think it's okay to make and receive personal phone calls for all during work for no reason that is pressing at all. So, by Anglo standards, Greeks are pretty fcking lazy. I think the officially "laziest" Anglo nation is the UK itself, and I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure even they have longer work weeks and less vacation time. America Canada and England certainly work harder and the expectations while at "work" are far greater in magnitude then people from Greece. I could be wrong but I'd be shocked if it weren't the case for Oz and NZ as well. But again, I think there are many other groups who are far more lazy than Greeks, and do not think Greeks even come close to ranking among the more lazy groups of people on Earth, or even in Europe. Sorry that I gave that impression, but I was using sarcasm to make a point. I hope you'll accept my apology for not clarifying.


Τypical blah-blah of Greeks being lazy.
Damn, some people have no idea, at all.
You can accuse Greeks by many things, but lazy, not.

[Queen B]

LOL Actually no. I mean, I understand that by YOUR standards, YOU think that Greeks are not lazy. It's all relative though. For example, African bushmen think that Libya is a "rich" country... Don't get me wrong, I think there are many people lazier than Greeks. But, by Anglo standards, they're fcking lazy. When they come here they whine and cry and stomp their feet about being expected to work so hard, think they're entitled to a comical amount of breaks during work with long durations, think it's okay to make and receive personal phone calls for all during work for no reason that is pressing at all. So, by Anglo standards, Greeks are pretty fcking lazy. I think the officially "laziest" Anglo nation is the UK itself, and I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure even they have longer work weeks and less vacation time.

According to OECD, Greeks are the most hardworking in Europe.

That statistics are because Greeks have LESS vacation days than most of Europeans. (and not only, other reasons as well like black market (no insurance), overhours, agriculture (that makes whole-day work),etc, etc)

Also, Greeks have NO legal breaks during job. I had NO break in 3 of my 4 jobs so far. Only in my Uni practice, when I worked in an international big company (of 3.500 personel) that used the ''european'' system of work, with a 10 min break at 10, and half an hour of break in the noon.

The rest, only if the employer wants to give you some time to each a sandwich or something. Mine was about 15 minutes and its usually the same everywhere IF they don't have a load of work (during Xmas or sales, I never got any break times, and worked 12 hours,always)



America Canada and England certainly work harder and the expectations while at "work" are far greater in magnitude then people from Greece. I could be wrong but I'd be shocked if it weren't the case for Oz and NZ as well. But again, I think there are many other groups who are far more lazy than Greeks, and do not think Greeks even come close to ranking among the more lazy groups of people on Earth, or even in Europe. Sorry that I gave that impression, but I was using sarcasm to make a point. I hope you'll accept my apology for not clarifying.

The difference between Greeks and others is not that Greeks are lazy (see Greeks in other countries). It is that they are not productive.

Even in ''public'' sector which is considered the most ''lazy'', there is no technology. Taxing was made in PAPER application up until 2 years ago. that makes 10 times the time than it ll take now.





Productive? No, they are not. They lack of skills, or technology to be .

[Absinthe]

You see, snotty, smart ass, ignorant assholes from the other side of the world who pretend to know everything about a country that they've probably never set a foot in, is the reason why I prefer not to visit this forum so much, cause I get instant psychosomatic reactions from the unbeliavable bullshit I read... :rolleyes2:

Savant, you ignorant piece of shit, I've been working for the last 1,5 year for longer than 10 hours a day, including Saturdays AND Sundays, covering at least 5 job descriptions at the same time:
Bookstore manager, retail, communications and PR, secretarial tasks, accountant assistant, phone and reservations handling, AND cleaning the whole place up myself....among other things....
And this is ONE of the jobs I've had who well ALL alike in circumstances (some were worse)...
All that for a salary that you spend in Quebec for a 2-day vacation in some resort....and you DARE speak with that snotty, disgusting attitude about stuff you know nothing about...?!

What does it even have ANYTHING to do with fucking potatoes? Fuck off you lazy ass piece of shit, I've worked harder in my 33 years of life that you'll ever work in three life time of yours - being online all day, talking shit about people. :rolleyes:

[Petros Houhoulis]

...So, what's your bet on? Lazy, whiny Greeks? Or potato distribution monopoly conspiracy?

The average Greek is a lazy THINKER, not a lazy worker.

The real problem is that we are horribly disorganized. People think short term, to make the maximum profit today instead of a much longer profit in the long term with a smaller profit today, in the expense of building TRUST.

On the other hand, the Markets are no different than the average Greek. This is why they were fooled into buying Greek bonds in the first place... Had they been more cautious to buy German bonds at lower yields... They would not suffer what they did...

...And don't tell me that the markets' didn't know. They knew, just as the Greeks knew. They knew even more about the financial quagmire that resulted to the 2008 global financial meltdown.

Beyond that, cut the crap. What is economic libertarianism? People must be free, but money? Does abstract notions have a need for freedom like humans?

Just stick to the "arrogant bastard" label, it describes you much better...