Greeks are so strapped for cash that they can't bury their dead properly

(Image credit: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

published 10 July 2015

At the end of June, the Greek government instituted capital controls — limits on how much money can be drawn from banks — after negotiations with the eurozone broke down and the country's fiscal and monetary lifelines disappeared. Two weeks in, Greek economic life is seizing up.

In fact, Mashable is reporting that more and more Greeks can't even pay the cost of a funeral.

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Greece is facing shortages of drugs and medical supplies, while shipments of perishable items rot on Greek docks because businesses literally can't afford to come pick them up. The country's larger corporations have foreign accounts that aren't covered by the capital controls. But smaller businesses, like everyday Greeks, are watching their ability to buy, sell, or really do any trading of any sort run dry. The economy is essentially dying from the bottom up. What buying is still going on is arguably a panicked binge by the upper class before even their funds run dry.

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