# How do you withdraw from a currency union? (eg. Greece)

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-withdraw-from-a-currency-union-eg-greece/596814>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 19, 2011, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-withdraw-from-a-currency-union-eg-greece/596814 "2011-09-19T12:24:15Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\
**Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-withdraw-from-a-currency-union-eg-greece/596814/21 "2011-09-21T00:29:09Z")

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> [@md2000](#):
>
> They say a good comedian never explains their jokes, so let me explain. Hint, what floats?

A witch?

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**Author:** ![Apollon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47774/32.png) [@Apollon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollon)\
**Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-withdraw-from-a-currency-union-eg-greece/596814/22 "2011-09-21T09:40:41Z")

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Very small rocks?

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**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\
**Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-withdraw-from-a-currency-union-eg-greece/596814/23 "2011-09-21T13:02:41Z")

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> [@alphaboi867](#):
>
> Other than the cost of an airline ticket what’s to stop Greeks from fleeing to other EU countries like Germany or the UK? It’s all one labor market; there aren’t any immigration controls (other than an ID/passport check). Would Greece be forced out of the common labour market?

Then they’d bump up against the real world… certainly not current Greek wage levels unless they are serious professionals. They will be competing against Turk guest workers, immigrants lagal or not from east Europe, etc.

This points to another problem - brain drain. To keep doctors, engineers, computer professionals, or any other portable job in Greece - they would need to match European wages. There will be economic convulsions worse than we’ve seen so far, as those with economic clout use it to get ahead of their less fortunate neighbours; but it’s a zero-sum game. The more one group gets, the less the rest get in real-world value. Expect many businesses to go belly up from strikes or give in and wait for the government to bail them out in turn… Like the Russians in the mid 90’s with hyperinflation, the losers are those on fixed incomes.

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**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\
**Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-withdraw-from-a-currency-union-eg-greece/596814/24 "2011-09-21T13:03:46Z")

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> [@Ludovic](#):
>
> A witch?

I walked right into that one… ☹

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