The public, who had been paying their electric bills, refused to pay the new combined bills. Lacking any income, the power companies faced collapse. To avoid total chaos the government canceled the plan. What would Socrates think?

Greek Lights Out... Literally

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/17/2012 09:29 -0400

• Art Cashin
• Greece

One for the "You can't make this stuff up" folder.
From Art Cashin:

Ya Can’t Make This Stuff Up - An interesting example of the problems in Greece may be seen in one of its recent attempts to collect taxes.

Property taxes were notoriously unpaid. The government decided to combine those taxes with your electric bill. The concept was simple. Pay your property taxes or your lights will be shut off.

The proposal brought outrage from the unions, who held mass demonstrations and sued in the courts. The courts put a stay on enforcement (putting the lights out) and questioned the whole concept.

The public, who had been paying their electric bills, refused to pay the new combined bills. Lacking any income, the power companies faced collapse. To avoid total chaos the government canceled the plan. What would Socrates think?

But does Greece at least have the ink to print tax forms yet?