Re: Why Iceland recovered so quickly from recession
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Mike</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Because there are only about 350k people on the entire island. It's much easier to recover when you don't have to support millions of freeloaders. </div></div>
Though populist, this view isn't supported by the facts. The average debt per capita of the Icelanders was much higher. Theirs, as was/is ours, was a wholly financial industry caused crisis and not one brought about or perpetuated by the size of the welfare programs. The Icelandic banks loaded up on securitized debt instruments in a hedge play that blew up in their faces. The European banks in turn demanded payment, the Icelanders told them to go stick it, engaged in very austere responses at home, went through acute pain and then got out of it by changing the rules of the game for domestic banks so they couldn't put the future of the country at risk again.
Here is the US and over in Europe, none of those measure were taken.
What's happening now in regards to freeloaders is that they've been mobilized through the vote and have now become a powerful voting block. Previously, they were a very apathetic voting entity - no more! I think we're as likely to see welfare reform as we are likely to see reforms in subsidies for corn farmers, roll back of union power or effective banking regulation. By the way, I equate much of Wall St. to be as much a bunch of freeloadering parasites who contribute nothing as the dude who lives on welfare as a matter of lifestyle choice or the woman who has 6 kids from 6 different fathers, is unemployed and lives in assisted housing...