The people of Iceland won't pay bankers' debts.

[FluffyMcDeath]

So a bunch of private bankers run a scheme and make big money but run up ruinous debt at the same time. When it all goes pear shaped they run off with the money and say to the account holders, don't worry - the taxpayers will cover you. In this case the tax payers said no. It's the guys who screwed up that should be paying.

 

[metalman]

Scenarios: What's next for Iceland after debt referendum?

Icelands economy shrank 7.7% in 2009 and projected as shrinking only 3.4% in 2010, if the IMF aid package is released.

Scenario #2 most likely: Deal Delayed for Months, Icelands economy shrinks 8% in 2010.

 

[Wayne]

So a bunch of private bankers run a scheme and make big money but run up ruinous debt at the same time. When it all goes pear shaped they run off with the money and say to the account holders, don't worry - the taxpayers will cover you. In this case the tax payers said no. It's the guys who screwed up that should be paying.

I, for one, totally agree with the taxpayers of Iceland. Wish we'd done that here.

Wayne

 

[Glaucus]

Whether they pay the banker's debts or not is beside the point. What really matters is what laws they'll pass to make sure their bankers never get into this mess again. In a way you could even blame the citizens for not demanding stiffer regulations years ago.

 

[minator]

In a way you could even blame the citizens for not demanding stiffer regulations years ago.

We had stiffer regulations years ago until Thatcher and Reagan got rid of them.

 

[FluffyMcDeath]

In a way you could even blame the citizens for not demanding stiffer regulations years ago.

The citizens can't really demand anything. That's not how power works.

 

[Glaucus]

In a way you could even blame the citizens for not demanding stiffer regulations years ago.

The citizens can't really demand anything. That's not how power works.

And I thought the main reason we abandoned kingdoms and dictatorships is because the people demanded it in one way or another. It turns out you can push people around a lot, but a little too much and they start building guillotines. Eventually the kings and dictators get tired of having their heads cut off.

 

[ilwrath]

It turns out you can push people around a lot, but a little too much and they start building guillotines. Eventually the kings and dictators get tired of having their heads cut off.

Indeed... But they've gotten much better at lulling the public to sleep and calming them. When the people starting the revolution can't get the general public off their couches because American Idol (Idle?) is on, it's pretty easy for the people in power to keep their heads attached.

 

[FluffyMcDeath]

Eventually the kings and dictators get tired of having their heads cut off.

... so instead of appointing the people who would carry out the King's will, he decided to allow the people to vote for the people who would carry out the King's will.

 

[Glaucus]

Eventually the kings and dictators get tired of having their heads cut off.

... so instead of appointing the people who would carry out the King's will, he decided to allow the people to vote for the people who would carry out the King's will.

And the king is???

 

[FluffyMcDeath]

And the king is???

Where the king was actively deposed or the colony gained independence then the monarch no longer exists (except in those places where colonial powers decided to install a king after overthrowing elected governments, think Iran for example).
Where the monarch "allowed" a parliament to serve at his pleasure then there is still a monarch.