Iceland Recovering Fastest in Europe After Jailing Bankers Instead of Bailing them Out

originally posted by: projectvxn
For a socialist country, they seem to understand that in capitalism, you don't reward failure by stealing money from the people to pay for it.

Actually, strictly speaking they did. They did not pay the money lost in Icelandic banks to their foreign creditors. Thus proving that failure is its own reward.

a reply to: paraphi

As you pointed out the situation was very complicated. Still is.

But I believe, based on what I have seen(admittedly a cursory review of facts), they are now on the right track.

a reply to: FyreByrd



I guess we get told of all the horrors that will fall upon us if we don't do as we are told by the money lenders and Iceland is a clear case that the all knowing bankers know nothing . Check this newest move by the money lenders and see if you can square this one . I think the Greeks will have the info they need to turn their position around . ".

"IMF Confirms It Will Support Ukraine Whether It Defaults or Not

Open letter from IMF chief Christine Lagarde makes clear the IMF will continue to provide funding to Ukraine regardless of whether or not Ukraine’s Western creditors agree to restructuring " russia-insider.com... I guess they consider sponsoring a war as a good thing .

a reply to: FyreByrd

Three cheers for Iceland. A beautiful, largely uninhabited and thus unspoiled natural treasure. High percentage of happy, intelligent, educated and tech-savy population. The jailing of their banksters compelled me to visit earlier this year to assist in the recovery. Their tourism is on the rise.

Jailing the bankers was definitely a good thing but the Icelandic government also implemented some extremely authoritarian measures to pull the country back. Things like stopping people withdrawing their savings and implementing capital controls on foreign investors. All of these things are largely ignored because the jail the bankers sentiment is so pervasive.

originally posted by: eletheia
a reply to: FyreByrd


Have never really been able to understand the mind set of

*rewarding* failure ... Doesn't happen anywhere else but in

banking.

It happens in all Big Business now-a-days. Golden Parachutes, remember? You get a huge payout for being fired. Got to love it - C level jobs encourage failure - talk about 'not wanting to work' - talk about Welfare incentives for Laziness and Irresponsiblity. Granted most Big Business is 'financialized' to the hilt, everything is about 'money' making 'money'. There are no longer 'business models' that call for quality products or services.

originally posted by: paraphi
Another superficial analysis of the Icelandic crash and recovery. No mention of the austerity measures and tax rises that countries like the UK would not have touched, nor the government debt incurred to stabilise the economy. No mention of the foreign debts written off by other countries, such as the UK, which removed at a stroke a rather large millstone around any recovery.

The Icelandic banks were allowed to fail because they catered for foreign investors. Iceland could just afford to underwrite the domestic investors. Attempting to make a point by comparing Icelandic recovery to everyone else is rather silly. Apples and oranges, and all that.

I am not saying what the Icelandic authorities have done has not been impressive, but it's not appropriate to compare Iceland with the US, or any country for that matter.

Please read the article - Investors funds were 'frozen' not written off. Iceland is planning on 'unfeezeing those funds.' There will be a fee to 'expatriate' them which is a measure to slow down the local loses.

No - I don't fully understand the complex situation. The point is they did what was right and proper for their people not their 'financial masters'.

originally posted by: the2ofusr1
a reply to: FyreByrd



I guess we get told of all the horrors that will fall upon us if we don't do as we are told by the money lenders and Iceland is a clear case that the all knowing bankers know nothing . Check this newest move by the money lenders and see if you can square this one . I think the Greeks will have the info they need to turn their position around . ".

"IMF Confirms It Will Support Ukraine Whether It Defaults or Not

Open letter from IMF chief Christine Lagarde makes clear the IMF will continue to provide funding to Ukraine regardless of whether or not Ukraine’s Western creditors agree to restructuring " russia-insider.com... I guess they consider sponsoring a war as a good thing .

Off-topic but very interesting quote - thank you.

originally posted by: FyreByrd
Please read the article - Investors funds were 'frozen' not written off. Iceland is planning on 'unfeezeing those funds.' There will be a fee to 'expatriate' them which is a measure to slow down the local loses.

I read the article and decided it was superficial and selective. The UK had to bail out British investors as the Icelandic autorities cancelled the debts owed. These were creditors where the investments were cancelled and not frozen.

Foreign debts were written off - including $8bn (£4.9bn) of deposits from savers in the UK and Holland. "Bankrupting your way to recovery," it has been called.

> Source BBC

a reply to: FyreByrd

The corporations got a big government hand-out for failing their jobs, and a lot of it went to the CEO's as parachute packages. Total corruption. Iceland has the right idea. If I remember right, the leaders of the financial sector were participating in corrupt activities that led to the financial crisis in the first place. To reward them for it isn't productive.

originally posted by: Cuervo

originally posted by: Temudjin
a reply to: anticitizen

no you depend on the bankers, while you think you dont. Iceland has a pop. of 400.000

How do we depend on the bankers? Where do they get the money? From our government who supposedly works for us. Where does the government get their money? From our taxes. Why are we borrowing money from people who borrowed money from our employees?

How does that makes sense?

Every time someone goes gets a mortgage, a personal loan, and business loans, and every other one.

Not to mention investment accounts.

Hater bankers all you want, and others will too. Fact remains modern society can NOT function without them.

Them evil bankers get money from the federal reserve here. Something the government created.

Money is just like any other product, or service people make, and live off of.

Where does the government get their money?

They have the FED print it out of thin air.

Then their other puppet the treasury prints bonds, and crap.

Then that government borrows from China, and other countries.

Money ?

LOL worthless paper.

Then they raise taxes that some of us pay them. The reality is we pay them with nothing.

Nothing=nothing.

Makes perfect sense to those of us who know how the world works.

a reply to: Cuervo

The banks get their money from the government. They lend out tons more because they are only required to physically have a fraction of what they lend out.

Somewhat correct.

Frank Dodd said they have to keep a certain amount on hand.

But it basically works like this.

The bank calls up the FED asking for money. The FED charges the bank. The bank then charges borrower

So much for the lie that “the welfare state” doesn’t work.


If you put controls on the money machine, and protect the macro-economics and don’t let a few greedy and powerful few pollute the macro-economics of the country, then the model of this country and Western Europe can work.


The fact is that NOT ONE COUNTRY IN THE WORLD follows a conservative model of no taxes, ANTI-NATIONAL HEALTH-CARE and libertarian economics because It doesn't work.


Amazing, the USA is the only country where conservative doctrine is used to torture the people


Others realize the inhuman, unscientific model of conservative economics, that is typified by the Kansas Governor that has ruined the state of Kansas, DOESN’T WORK!


Good for the people of Iceland who aren’t plagued by the conservative economic theory of (worship the rich and dam the middle class and poor) such as America is burdened with and keeps the torture of the American people alive.

It seems quite a lot of you have taken the "article" at face value and haven't bothered to look anything up in support of it.

Iceland is not growing at all - in fact, in the first quarter 2015 their economy shrank by 1.5% GDP and it's GDP is still about 25% off what it was before 2008. It's one of the worst performing economies in Europe, not the best.

Also, it isn't "the oldest democracy in the world". It was ruled for centuries by the Danish and Norwegians which are monarchies (granted, constitutional monarchies now, but they haven't always been)

So, in short - the OP source is bollocks.

Also, the bit where the OP says it is "on course to be the first European country to surpass pre-crisis GDP levels" is also crap. Not only do they need GDP growth of around 20-25% to do so, the UK recovered it's pre-crisis GDP back in 2014

a reply to: Temudjin
tjats right blame the people not the poor poor bankers who are there solely to help the people lets see bankers decided to run all sorts of get rich schemes with our money so its our fault

First of all comparing Iceland to any country is silly. Its is just to tiny to even compare. And it seems the banks will be just fine in Iceland Iceland to lift Capirtal Controls so they can boost the economy.
Not to mention it was 2.1 billion dollar IMF loan that save Iceland from economic collapse.

a reply to: neo96

I totally get their function. But nobody has been able to explain to me why there has to be a middleman to fulfill that function. Especially since they aren't held accountable to taxpayers yet are backed by us. It's just one more group to pass money through before it gets to us... even though it came from us to begin with.

Why do they need to exist? What are they doing that can't be done without them?

a reply to: FyreByrd

Funny how the 'free press' seem to throw mud at the establishment every chance they get, yet this very damning story probably won't see the light of day.

Maybe this is why the recent banker suicides,they found out they were being transferred to Iceland and didn't like the idea of meeting big bubba in the shower...

On topic,Iceland sounds like they are doing well,good to see