Originally published January 31 2013
The U.S. and other failing economies take note: Iceland may hold the solution to financial woes
by Carolanne Wright
(NaturalNews) When the world first learned of the economic collapse in Iceland during 2008, many felt it would be yet another exercise in corruption, bailouts and crippling debt. News reports were prolific in those early days when it looked as though this small country would be thrown into a never-ending downward spiral. But something unprecedented occurred: The people rose up in a bloodless revolution and ousted those responsible for the crash -- namely, the corrupt banking cartel. And now, the Icelandic economy is stronger than ever. Since Iceland's recovery is an exceptional model for other struggling nations, the question begs to be asked: Why is the mainstream media eerily silent about Iceland's victory?
A surprising twist
With the economic collapse in 2008, Iceland began a process which:
- Forced the resignation of their entire corrupt government
- Nationalized the banking system
- Created a referendum enabling citizens to determine their own economic system
- Actively supports on-going investigation, prosecution and incarceration of responsible parties, including top banking officials
- Created a new draft of the constitution by utilizing comments and suggestions via Facebook, Twitter and online forms
- Ceased bailouts -- defaulting on a staggering $85 billion in debt during 2008
In early 2012, Icelandic banks also forgave home loans that exceeded 110 percent of the home value. This helped alleviate the burden of crushing debt for a quarter of the Icelandic population. Additionally, the Supreme Court ruled in June 2010 "that loans indexed to foreign currencies were legal, which means that Icelandic households were no longer expected to cover krona (the Swedish currency) losses," according to the article by Madison Rupert, The Silent Revolution: Icelandic Anger, Debt Forgiveness and Activist Triumph. Rupert continues, "The Icelandic government basically left international creditors to deal with their failed loans on their own, removing all responsibility from their own people."
Incredibly, Iceland decided to put its people before the market -- the exact opposite of how other nations handle an economic crisis. According to estimates from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Icelandic economy is set to outperform the EU and the entire developed world. A stunning lesson of how a failing country can thrive after an economic meltdown, Iceland is an example for other nations. So why the silence in American media?
International bankers and other demons
As with all powerful and unethical institutions, it is no surprise that big bankers control and manipulate mainstream media. Teddy Roosevelt observed,"These international bankers and Rockefeller-Standard Oil interests control the majority of newspapers and the columns of these papers to club into submission or drive out of public office officials who refuse to do the bidding of the powerful corrupt cliques which compose the invisible government." The same is true today. Reporting on the Icelandic revolution along with the incarceration of banking executives is bad news for those in power. Indie Media sums it up accurately:
"A whole country's revolution succeeded against powers that created the current global crisis without a shot being fired. A very good reason exists for the apparent failure of television and newspapers to provide any publicity on this unprecedented event: what would happen if the rest of the EU and the United States took this as an example?"
Sources for this article include:
http://wakeup-world.com
http://www.greenewave.com
http://www.reuters.com
http://www.theotherschoolofeconomics.org/?p=2499
http://www.bloomberg.com
http://prof77.wordpress.com
http://thinkprogress.org
http://gigaom.com
About the author:
Carolanne believes if we want to see change in the world, we need to be the change. As a nutritionist, wellness coach and natural foods chef, she has encouraged others to embrace a healthy lifestyle of green living for over 13 years. Through her website www.Thrive-Living.net she looks forward to connecting with other like-minded people who share a similar vision.
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Read her other articles on Natural News here:
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Carolanne believes if we want to see change in the world, we need to be the change. As a nutritionist, wellness coach and natural foods chef, she has encouraged others to embrace a healthy lifestyle of green living for over 13 years. Through her website www.Thrive-Living.net she looks forward to connecting with other like-minded people who share a similar vision.
Follow on Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Thrive-Living/499578863433146
For Pinterest fans: www.pinterest.com/thriveliving/
Find at Google+: www.goo.gl/cEZiyR
Diaspora*: [email protected]
Tsu: www.tsu.co/ThriveLiving
and Twitter: www.twitter.com/Thrive_Living
Read her other articles on Natural News here:
www.naturalnews.com/Author1183.html
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