It's Official - Greece Unveils The Negative Salary

[bijou]

We thought we had seen it all. It turns out we hadn't. It appears that starting this month, some Greeks will have to pay for the privilege of having a job. From the Press Project:

    Salary cutbacks (called "unified payroll") for contract workers at the public sector set to be finalized today. Cuts to be valid retroactively since november 2011. Expected result: Up to 64.000 people will work without salary this month, or even be asked to return money. Amongst them 21.000 teachers, 13.000 municipal employees and 30.000 civil servants.

Needless to say the BLS is salivating at the prospect of US workers paying for a job, as this will immediately allow them to double count said person's role in the employed part of the labor force (which incidentally has shrunk by 1% in the time it took to write this), as the money said "worker" pays can be used in the BLS hedonic models to theoretically hire many more people courtesy of fractional reserve lending. Now if only everyone would agree to pay for the joy of playing Solitaire 9 to 5, then all the world's problems would be solved.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/its-official-greece-unveils-negative-salary

[Eupher]

Well, they do need to account for the energy they consume in moving piles of paper from one tray to another. It costs MONEY to light the place, heat it, A/C it!

[bijou]

Well, they do need to account for the energy they consume in moving piles of paper from one tray to another. It costs MONEY to light the place, heat it, A/C it!

Hadn't thought of that, their carpets probably wear out quicker too when people wander round the office chatting to colleagues.

[Eupher]

To say NOTHING about all the water that's consumed at the water cooler!

I think all of those people should be simply let go and they become fishermen again. Or shipping magnates. Oh, okay, we can have a few of them become ouzo distillers and grape leaf farmers.

A nice glass of Retsina, anyone?