Iceland Recovering Fast in Europe After Jailing Bankers Instead of Bailing Them

[rio3232]

Very interesting take. I been hearing about this practice in Iceland but was unaware of the impact till just now. Although “jailing” may seem like an extremity, I do believe more aggressive practices need to be adopted here in the west against financial crimes.

Excerpt:

After Iceland suffered a heavy hit in the 2008-2009 financial crisis, which famously resulted in convictions and jail terms for a number of top banking executives, the IMF now says the country has managed to achieve economic recovery—“without compromising its welfare model,” which includes universal healthcare and education. In fact, Iceland is on track to become the first European country that suffered in the financial meltdown to “surpass its pre-crisis peak of economic output”—essentially proving to the U.S. that bailing out “too big to fail” banks wasn’t the way to go.

Iceland is beautifully, yet unfortunately, unique in how it chose to handle the disaster. It simply let the banks fail, which resulted in defaults totaling $85 billion—lending ample justification for the prosecution and conviction of bank executives for various fraud-related charges. The decision seemed shocking at the time, but the gamble has obviously paid off. Choosing a different route, the U.S. bailed out the banks and let executives off the hook by levying fines that ultimately ended up being paid by the corporations—meaning the executives ostensibly responsible for the mess got off scot-free.

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[Ermon]

That's the way to go about it. Imprison them all, take all their benefits, confiscate their property, make them pay back every single penny they have fraudulently obtained from hardworking tax payers. Stop bailing out private banks by using tax payers money.

When it comes to bankers, I would gladly re-introduce a death penalty. That would make them think twice before they embark on yet another fraudulent Ponzi scheme.

[katilja]

I don't think it was as simple as that. Because the banks were not bailed out, many people lost their savings. The majority of the savers were not living in Iceland. So in effect, the money that the banks owed (to those savers) was already invested in Icelandic properties and Icelandic companies but those investments were paid for by other non-Icelandic Europeans.

[Possum577]

I can't say i like the news source but the approach by Iceland seems very appropriate. There needs to be negative consequences to risky action - in anything. If there is no negative consequence people won't learn from their behavior or be convinced not to take such risk action so easily.

We need fewer exceptions from our leaders, staying firm to the belief system when the decisions are tough are what define a leader from everyone else.

[steve.reimer]

It's relatively easy to make any economic scheme 'work' when one is dealing with a population smaller than a small US city....

[readysalted89]

I don't think it was as simple as that. Because the banks were not bailed out, many people lost their savings. The majority of the savers were not living in Iceland. So in effect, the money that the banks owed (to those savers) was already invested in Icelandic properties and Icelandic companies but those investments were paid for by other non-Icelandic Europeans.

I remember small government authorities in other countries had invested in Iceland's banks, and lost a fortune of tax payers money they had invested. They had to make brutal cuts to public services to write their losses off, and whole communities had to suffer. Iceland might have done alright by letting their banks go bankrupt but communities in other countries were hit hard by it.

[fitimi]

I don't think it was as simple as that. Because the banks were not bailed out, many people lost their savings. The majority of the savers were not living in Iceland. So in effect, the money that the banks owed (to those savers) was already invested in Icelandic properties and Icelandic companies but those investments were paid for by other non-Icelandic Europeans.

But still, you should brutally abuse the bankers, confiscate everything they have, make their families destitute. Take their homes and throw their wives and children out and drain their bank accounts (including the accounts of immediate family, children too) to ZERO$$$ and jail them. Just totally destroy them personally.

[morin]

It's relatively easy to make any economic scheme 'work' when one is dealing with a population smaller than a small US city....

Doesn't mean you can't try. Start with destroying the big players on Wall Street 1st.


Even if it doesn't fix things, just do it out of spite, revenge and hate. I'd enjoy watching police officers remove Jamie Dimon's family from his home, while he sits in a jail cell and their bank acoount are at $0.00.

[Congtyn]

Doesn't mean you can't try. Start with destroying the big players on Wall Street 1st.


Even if it doesn't fix things, just do it out of spite, revenge and hate. I'd enjoy watching police officers remove Jamie Dimon's family from his home, while he sits in a jail cell and their bank accounts are at $0.00.

Sounds like yo simply want to take out the competent so as to assuage the class envy of the less fortunate.

[HarHarHar9965]

That's the way to go about it. Imprison them all, take all their benefits, confiscate their property, make them pay back every single penny they have fraudulently obtained from hardworking tax payers. Stop bailing out private banks by using tax payers money.

When it comes to bankers, I would gladly re-introduce a death penalty. That would make them think twice before they embark on yet another fraudulent Ponzi scheme.

Either they respect you or either they fear you, that's the only way to get shit done. All these banksters who think they are the real deal, looting people while sitting in their big offices, wearing shiny suits, controlling the minds of how people really need things.. Don't give them the joystick to your life, don't let them control you. Its time we shift to bitcoin, banks don't deserve us.

[godlyitems]

The whole banking system needs to change, there's no reason countries legally able to print their own debt free currency need any debt......apart from avoiding having their legs broken from the international mafia.

[ended]

The whole banking system needs to change, there's no reason countries legally able to print their own debt free currency need any debt......apart from avoiding having their legs broken from the international mafia.

When a country starts printing more and more and more money to erase some massive debt,... than they end up with a very high inflation which is bad.

[godlyitems]

The whole banking system needs to change, there's no reason countries legally able to print their own debt free currency need any debt......apart from avoiding having their legs broken from the international mafia.

When a country starts printing more and more and more money to erase some massive debt,... than they end up with a very high inflation which is bad.

What do you think the debt is, its simply creating more money supply. No one is suggesting to create it irresponsibly, just that debt does not need to be attached.

http://positivemoney.org/

[rodzimajid]

But still, you should brutally abuse the bankers, confiscate everything they have, make their families destitute. Take their homes and throw their wives and children out and drain their bank accounts (including the accounts of immediate family, children too) to ZERO$$$ and jail them. Just totally destroy them personally.

If they destroyed others, why not?

What makes them so special?

Think of the black family in which the mother and father, both working in healthcare, both lost their jobs at the same time during the recession.

They had two or more toddlers. The Dad was so distraught he killed himself and his whole family.

People committing financial manipulations that lead to that level of social distress deserve punishment. Extreme punishment.

They should not be immune to the impact of what they are doing.

The financial industry is supposed to provide services, not enslavement and financial ruin to its customers.

Financial manipulations that steal money from others are outright theft. Additionally, it is theft from trusting people that are attempting to be prudent and responsible with their assets.

There is no excuse for the piratical practices the financial industry has been playing with. They have turned a responsible, useful stock market into a den of iniquitous gambling in which only the financial manipulators understand all of the rules, and in which only the most wealthy can afford the moment-to-moment trades based on costly mathematical formulas.

[Miracal]

Some of the people in this thread need to calm down man, I understand that the banks have screwed over a lot of people and I am not asking you to forgive them, sure, they deserve to be punished and be inside a god damn prison cell alright. But let's not talk about how yall want their kids and the wife to suffer just because the head of the family was a bad man. Change comes from within, let's be better than those banksters and have mercy over their families atleast..

[Miracal]

The whole banking system needs to change, there's no reason countries legally able to print their own debt free currency need any debt......apart from avoiding having their legs broken from the international mafia.

yes, these fuckers create a huge debt and then print themselves out of it thinking they have escaped it but what they bring ahead, is a doom for themselves. It causes inflation, and so many lives are affected. Unemployment takes place, everything is either too costly or unavailable. Everything works out in the opposite direction and the state of life is really low.

[EternalWingsofGod]

Iwould be in favour of prosecuting the banks and jailing them for taking too much financial risk instead of bailing them out.
The Iceland example does show this model works, the reason it has such a small sample size is because its so rarely done.
As Iceland's special prosecutor at the time said "Why should we have a part of our society that is not being policed or without responsibility?”
“It is dangerous that someone is too big to investigate—it gives a sense there is a safe haven.”

[rayhan]

The executives need to pay for their mistakes. The whole corporation need not pay for their sins. Iceland took a risky but a noble way out of their misery. They need to be punished for eating up our money. Pay it all , penny to penny. More countries should follow this socialist approach.

[greBit]

Some of the people in this thread need to calm down man, I understand that the banks have screwed over a lot of people and I am not asking you to forgive them, sure, they deserve to be punished and be inside a god damn prison cell alright. But let's not talk about how yall want their kids and the wife to suffer just because the head of the family was a bad man. Change comes from within, let's be better than those banksters and have mercy over their families atleast..

Regardless of whatever the bad people of the banks did, I find it unreasonable to punish their families too. Don't worry about that though, people here are just angry, they are not the judge of anything. The courts make sure that the families of such homes are not deeply affected and make proper arrangements for them so at least they can have an average life.

[Swordsoffreedom]

Some of the people in this thread need to calm down man, I understand that the banks have screwed over a lot of people and I am not asking you to forgive them, sure, they deserve to be punished and be inside a god damn prison cell alright. But let's not talk about how yall want their kids and the wife to suffer just because the head of the family was a bad man. Change comes from within, let's be better than those banksters and have mercy over their families atleast..

Regardless of whatever the bad people of the banks did, I find it unreasonable to punish their families too. Don't worry about that though, people here are just angry, they are not the judge of anything. The courts make sure that the families of such homes are not deeply affected and make proper arrangements for them so at least they can have an average life.

That seems fair but no organization should be above the law including the police and the individual CEOs of the banks as they also earned their income because of placing undue risk on other people that would result in prosecution and directly or indirectly when things go south also hurt many other families with their actions.
It could also blamed on the corporate structure but those at the top tend to take the brunt of the penalty for the actions as they generally are the ones that make the decisions at the end of the day.