Our Galtian Overlords run the economy into the ground to the point where people don’t have jobs or money, then wonder why this happens:

The Volos barter network — people can join for free online — started two years ago with only 15 members.  As the Greek economy continued its rapid decline the network mushroomed to 600 active members. About 400 more are registered with the network.

“People need some way out, some other way to do things.  I guess also people need to get to know each other,” said founding member Christos Papaioannu.

The market is not simply about trading goods — it is a way for people to reconnect with their community and foment solidarity during difficult times.

The beatings will continue until morale improves.

Bartering Takes Hold in Austerity-Wracked Greece [MSNBC]

Remember. remember the 5th of November:

Bank of America is raising its fees. Citibank is raising its fees. Chase destroys lives. What’s a frustrated, checkbook-owning 99 percenter to do? An LA art gallery owner has a suggestion: On November 5, celebrate Bank Transfer Day and ditch your corporate bank.

Didn’t work out so well for this Shittybank customer:

James Madison:

We are free today substantially but the day will come when our Republic will be an impossibility. It will be impossibility because wealth will be concentrated in the hands of a few. A republic cannot stand upon bayonets, and when that day comes, when the wealth of the nation will be in the hands of a few, then we must rely upon the wisdom of the best elements in the country to readjust the laws of the nation to the changed conditions.

As a certain French monarch found, you can’t treat people like shit indefinitely.