http://sacsis.org.za/site/article/728.1

Anyone from that corner of the globe that can provide more intel?

They also had a major emigration wave following that crisis... ~10,000 people per year for a couple years... that doesn't sound like much, but when you only have 320,000 people, two years of that is 1 out of every 16 people leaving.

And those that left were those who had the means to do so and make a living elsewhere, who weren't tied down by underwater real estate, etc.

Still, I think Iceland will be better off in the end having declared bankruptcy and rebuilding from within.

definitely

i read about this before

incidentally, the numbers in that article make no sense... they negotiated a $2.1M loan with the IMF? heh... maybe $2.1T or something... i don't think the IMF gives loans as low as a million $ heh.

also he says their debt went from 200 times their GDP to 900 percent; which means, to me, that it went down by a factor of 20; though i think he meant it went up ;)

I was there last year for a while.

The smallness of the population and their relatively high education level allows for rapid change that we don't see possible in large countries where very few influence the people that make the rules. People in Iceland are involved with political decisions because everybody knows, or has face to face access to one of the representatives in their government.

Also, they chased the filthy bankers out of their country. This was possible because the people don't fear insane state retaliation. In the US the bankers have huge influence on politics and the politicians can use large federal forces to ruin the lives of groups that seek to injure the protected classes, so something like this is unlikely to happen.

Another factor that allows Iceland to have the confidence to do what it did was their self sufficiency. They have sooo much energy. Their heating costs are next to nil thanks to all the geothermal activity they've tapped. They don't even have to touch the massive wind resources available. In terms of food supply they are mostly self sufficient. Their greenhouses (tons, thanks to geothermal heat) produce a large amount of produce, their dairy herds produce enough to meet their needs, they have an abundance of fish and they export the meat they produce. The abundance of cash flow before the crash allowed them to create some wonderful infrastructure that will remain untouched regardless of what international penalties may be imposed.

Basically, the dire situation of their economy last year was a quality of life better than almost any country in the world. Their houses are all modest enough to maintain and their city is still immaculate. Their tourism industry is a massive money draw benefited from its central position between North America and Europe - a natural hub.

They also have an international appearance of much more importance than they deserve as a country with such a small population. Halifax, in Nova Scotia - roughly the same population - will never enjoy 1/50th the notoriety that Iceland enjoys. That notoriety protects them against excessive repercussions whereas Halifax could be politically pummelled and nobody would hear about it besides those who listen to the CBC.The remoteness of the island helps, too.

Their collective conscience is not deeply integrated to the world's big banking game. It gives the appearance of a young and immature country, one that carries and naivety and sense of immunity from the consequences of their decisions. The web weaved by their politicians and institutions is not so huge and tangled that it can't be undone nor is it beyond comprehension by the masses. It seems to give them flexibility to change, unlike the systems that most countries have.

The most interesting part of this is how they are creating a new constitution using digital means. They are explorative and I reckon that when Western government institutions start to conform themselves and their processes to the electronic/digital world they will be looking at and learning from the experiences of Iceland.

That all being said, the general population borrowed a lot more money than they should have and have absolved themselves of responsibility to repay debts. That part was partly the banker's faults for pushing all those loans, but it was also the population taking large semi-informed risks. It wass a rough introduction to the international monetary system. When the Kronur plunged there was simply no way to continue to pay for their uber expensive vehicles (think of what you pay for a vehicle.... then add 50%, and realize that a lot of Icelanders drive big 4x4 jeeps) and real estate bought on loans in foreign currencies.

Thnx oats, good post. This is interesting

they also drink alot!

qzjul: Yeah that is what prompted me to seek more information. The author, seems to have little respect for the dif between trillion, billion and million!

No they don't :P It's too expensive to drink heavy and often... we're talking like $7 for a beer in a restaurant or pub. Unless they buy the really low alcohol stuff, which is much cheaper.... but is that really drinking?

yeah iceland is badass. i wish more countries would follow their lead.

Confirmed. Went to Iceland nearly 10 years ago. Most drinks and foods were rather expensive.

More importantly, do they have smoking hot chicks? :)

http://www.newsdaily.com/...ies/tre78324z-us-iceland/

And here I was clicking a link, assuming I am about to view seksi Iceland chicks. :P

Hot chicks? Where??

I live in Iceland. What do you want to know legion?

I like what oats said :) Seems to know alot from a short visit :) Nice that you should mention the new constitution. The work has been delivered to parliament and will probably go to the shredder there where corrupted and stupid politicians still sit and collect sallary for doing nothing :)

Have to admit, I read the new constitution and there are really nice things there but other things that are so stupid that I get a headache trying to think about how those things can be implemented. Guess not everyone there is reading it with lawyers glasses and therefore dont know how stupid some of those things sound.

But anyways, loads of things happened here that are so interesting and today and next years will be even more interesting to follow.

I am considering a long-term visit there Juden, just curious as to what exactly goes about

What do you plan on doing here? It is a nice place to live. Nice nature and nice people. Though be careful if you go downtown in the night partying hahah

That article you posted is overflowing with wrong statements but most of them are corrected in the comments.

http://grapevine.is/Home/ this is a nice site for you to read.

There is a new pic of the volcano Katla on that site. It is suspected to erupt soon as they have been seeing increased temps underground. Its weird but the last 2-3 years our volcanos have been on full steam! But its exciting too to watch the nature here. No danger if you live in Reykjavík btw.

The case against former prime minister Haarde is ongoing. First time the old law on responsibility of ministers has been invoked. Ridiculous case where Haarde has not been allowed to enjoy the minimum human rights every murderer or thief enjoys here.

Icelanders are also fed up with the left government that increases all taxes they can think of instead of lowering them so the wheels of the economy can start to turn again. Foreign investments are tabu for some reason when they are most needed. The publics opinion is that if you sell anything to a foreigner you are giving up sovereignty. But this just applies to investment. We love foreigners money if they come here to purchase our products and services or come to work and pay taxes heheh. In general I think we have a very foreigner friendly environment.

And yeah, we suck in playing football. If you are offered a ticket to a game with the A-team dont waste your time :D

But sigthorsson is the eredivise's top goalscorer last year! :p

Agreed

Now now, mods flip a coin to decide if something that doesn't involve the game directly gets to stay on AT or gets moved to GT to die a slow and painful death. How do you know that they haven't already flipped for this thread and let it survive?

There are quite a lot of icelandic people living in London that I've met.

Juden: Just working for a year or two