![More fun facts about #Iceland, this time from @NYTimesKrugman.
Related posts:
Nobel laureate Joe Stiglitz: Iceland was right to jail the bankers
Of course it helps to be sitting on top of a geyser farm
Iceland was the only European country that dared to default on the bankers
Iceland Erects Middle Finger, Wins in [Market-Ticker]
Iceland’s approach to dealing with the meltdown has put the needs of its population ahead of the markets at every turn](http://25.media.tumblr.com/82a45c791978c72f8206cf2d748b830a/tumblr_mesgkwkILB1qkq6pxo1_500.jpg)
More fun facts about #Iceland, this time from @NYTimesKrugman.
Related posts:
- Nobel laureate Joe Stiglitz: Iceland was right to jail the bankers
- Of course it helps to be sitting on top of a geyser farm
- Iceland was the only European country that dared to default on the bankers
- Iceland Erects Middle Finger, Wins in [Market-Ticker]
- Iceland’s approach to dealing with the meltdown has put the needs of its population ahead of the markets at every turn
Nobel laureate Joe Stiglitz: Iceland was right to jail the bankers.
H/t Kim Fry.
Of course it helps to be sitting on top of a geyser farm and not have to transport the energy over huge distances, but still.
Iceland was the only European country that dared to default on the bankers. In February 2011 Iceland’s President Olafur R. Grimsson refused to sign a $5B bailout bill and told the bankers he was going to put the bill to a referendum. Although 44 of the 63 members of Parliament had passed the bill, Grimsson said he was responding to a popular demand for a plebiscite after more than 42K of Iceland’s 318K inhabitants signed a petition asking him to block it.
Icelanders absorbed some of the costs itself but forced foreign investors to take the biggest hit. Not deterred by horror stories about an “unthinkable economic demise” that have prevented countries like Greece and Portugal from defaulting, Iceland has proved that default was the best thing it could have done. As a result, not only has the economy not collapsed since last year, but its gross domestic product is expected to increase by 2.6% this year. Much of that growth is based on increased production, mainly in tourism and the fishing industry. In contrast, most other European economies are either stagnant or in decline. Even the Times article admitted that many economists say Iceland’s recovery was aided by the collapse of the banks.
Iceland Erects Middle Finger, Wins in [Market-Ticker]
I may have to rethink this whole austerity / class warfare thing …
(h/t @mycatsheds)
Iceland’s approach to dealing with the meltdown has put the needs of its population ahead of the markets at every turn. Once it became clear back in October 2008 that the island’s banks were beyond saving, the government stepped in, ring-fenced the domestic accounts, and left international creditors in the lurch.
Icelandic Anger Brings Debt Forgiveness - Bloomberg
(h/t Brad Fraser)
Source: bloomberg.com
Citizen, cyclist, father, diver, cheap-laugh aficionado, sanctimonious wanker, #BadJew. Thoughts are my own.
