Stupid, silly little Iceland told the bankers where they could put their 'its a disaster for you unless you bail us out' plan and told the banks they are companies limited by guarantee, run for the benefit of private investors so their private investors should pay for their losses.
The banking cartels and the 'markets' took the huff and as they saw it 'punished' Iceland. Yet four years down the line Iceland has not disappeared, nor are their people living in caves in fact the country is well on the way to recovery and indicted the prime minister who wanted to do what the banks said under Icelandic criminal law.
Strangely a country is about its people and not its banks, something economic pundits constantly forget and the UK's political pundits in their Westminster bubble forgot a long time ago.
In Scotland we now have a SNP/Labour coalition running the capital. In Glasgow Labour were 'saved' by disaffected Tory and Libdem voters yet the SNP ended with an increased vote share in Glasgow and more councillors.
The people in Scotland are not dissimilar to the people of Greece in they too are rejecting the democratic dictatorship that is the EU (in the Greeks case) and Westminster (in Scotland's case) for much the same reasons as the people of Iceland told the banks where they could stuff their 'bail out'.
The problem for the Western world's establishment is that if Greece follows Iceland and tell the banks to stuff it where the sun does not shine; they are screwed as the house of cards called the stock market and banking system collapses as more and more countries do an Iceland. Out of the dust clouds a different Europe will arise, probably not one the oligarchs will like but one that once agan will be about people and that can not be a bad thing.
The banking cartels and the 'markets' took the huff and as they saw it 'punished' Iceland. Yet four years down the line Iceland has not disappeared, nor are their people living in caves in fact the country is well on the way to recovery and indicted the prime minister who wanted to do what the banks said under Icelandic criminal law.
Strangely a country is about its people and not its banks, something economic pundits constantly forget and the UK's political pundits in their Westminster bubble forgot a long time ago.
In Scotland we now have a SNP/Labour coalition running the capital. In Glasgow Labour were 'saved' by disaffected Tory and Libdem voters yet the SNP ended with an increased vote share in Glasgow and more councillors.
The people in Scotland are not dissimilar to the people of Greece in they too are rejecting the democratic dictatorship that is the EU (in the Greeks case) and Westminster (in Scotland's case) for much the same reasons as the people of Iceland told the banks where they could stuff their 'bail out'.
The problem for the Western world's establishment is that if Greece follows Iceland and tell the banks to stuff it where the sun does not shine; they are screwed as the house of cards called the stock market and banking system collapses as more and more countries do an Iceland. Out of the dust clouds a different Europe will arise, probably not one the oligarchs will like but one that once agan will be about people and that can not be a bad thing.
When I was well off, I did what people said - I saved for my old age and now, in ill health, and ready to retire, I see my pension fund must reduced in value by QE, my annuity potential much reduced by artificially low interest rates, set to protect the housing bubble.
ReplyDeleteI wish I'd spent the money on wild women and drink like any sensible man.
Now I say FUCK IT! Let the people default. Iceland is a beacon amongst nations. When push came to shove, the Icelandic banks were found to have sufficient assets to pay off their debts without the state having to stump up. I'm sure RBS and HBOS would have done so as well - except they probably couldn't have paid so much in bonuses in the meanwhile.
Capitalism - especially of the neo-liberal variety - is completely discredited, and dead, so why do our governments inflict so much misery on us trying to breathe life into its lifeless corpse?