Iceland thumbs nose at international opposition to advance $1.2 billion debt relief p

[Serpo]

Iceland thumbs nose at international opposition to advance $1.2 billion debt relief plan
http://rt.com/files/news/21/55/70/00/18.si.jpg
A general view of houses in the town of Vik in southern Iceland. (Reuters/ Ingolfur Juliusson)
Iceland’s government has announced that it will be writing off up to 24,000 euros ($32,600) of every household’s mortgage, fulfilling its election promise, despite overwhelming criticism from international financial institutions.
The measure was introduced by the country’s prime minister, Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, the leader of the Progressive Party which won the late-April elections on a promise of household debt relief.
According to the government’s website the household debt will be reduced by 13 percent on average.
Citizens of Iceland have been suffering from debt since the 2008 financial crisis, which led to high borrowing costs after the collapse of the krona against other currencies.
“Currently, household debt is equivalent to 108 percent of GDP, which is high by international comparison,” highlighted a government statement, according to AFP. “The action will boost household disposable income and encourage savings.”
The government said that the debt relief will begin by mid-2014 and according to estimates the measure is set to cost $1.2 billion in total. It will be spread out over four years.
The financing plan for the program has not yet been laid out. However, Gunnlaugsson has promised that public finances will not be put at risk. It was initially proposed that the foreign creditors of Icelandic banks would pay for the measure.
International organizations have confronted the idea with criticism. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) have advised against it, citing economic concerns.
Iceland has “little fiscal space for additional household debt relief” according to the IMF, while the OECD stated that Iceland should limit its mortgage relief to low-income households.
In the meantime, ratings service, Standard & Poor’s, cut back on its outlook for Iceland’s long-term credit rating to negative from stable, stating that the economic measure could affect the confidence of foreign investors if it ends up being paid for by the existing creditors of Icelandic banks.
Source: RT (http://rt.com/news/iceland-debt-relief-measure-535/)


More at EndtheLie.com - http://EndtheLie.com/2013/11/30/iceland-thumbs-nose-at-international-opposition-to-advance-1-2-billion-debt-relief-plan/#ixzz2mCStIr8m

[ShortJohnSilver]

Who is against it? The bankers - less debt is less leverage.

[woodman]

Of course any measure that will lessen the slavery will be held as an act of war by the banksters.

[Serpo]

go Iceland

[mick silver]

i wish them well . i just dont see the bankers setting back and letting this go . they made more wars over a hell of alot less

[Hatha Sunahara]

Strangely enough, there was a similar proposal in the United States to partially forgive mortgage debt:


Homeowners, however, are explicitly prohibited from using the bankruptcy code to reduce their outstanding mortgage debt. White House legislation proposed in 2009 would have allowed a judge to reduce the principal on a home mortgage, as part of the effort to contain the economic crisis. Congress rejected the measure after extensive lobbying by the financial industry. Consumers may use bankruptcy to shed other debts, but a revision of the law signed by President Bush in 2005 subjects most bankrupt consumers to partial repayment requirements, while bankrupt corporations get a general discharge from their debts. Thanks to the influence of the same financial lobby, the rules of student debt provide that the obligations of a college loan follow a borrower to the grave.

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2013/may/09/debt-we-shouldnt-pay/?pagination=false

This is from a book review on Debt: The First 5000 Years by David Graeber. Very interesting article about the debts that we shouldn't have to repay. Worth going to the URL above and reading the whole article. I ordered the book. The article talks about how, after World War II, the allies forgave German debt, and that is what gave rise to the Wirtschaftwunder--the economic miracle that restored the German economy--even more than the Marshall plan.

Iceland is on the right path. It would be difficult for the banksters to get the CIA or other spook outfit to destabilize their government because it is such a small country--and has strong democratic traditions.

Hatha

[Serpo]

Congress rejected the measure after extensive lobbying by the financial industry.

Could of happened in America ......except........well you know who to thank

[mick silver]

if they would of pay off my house and land then i could of used that paper to buy more stuff from china mart

[mick silver]

Could of happened in America ......except........well you know who to thank the rothschilds

[Serpo]

if they would of pay off my house and land then i could of used that paper to buy more stuff from china mart

They owe everyone this at least in compensation of all the inflation they have caused over decades that is now hitting like a ton of bricks.

The dollar is down to being worth only 1 cent of what it started out as.......they owe everyone big time.

Call it what you like ,damages ,compensation......

[Santa]

Hey IMF... Hey Banksters....... FUCK OFF! :)

[milehi]

Somewhat off topic but its odd that the first sentance mentions the town of Vik for no reason. Its a isolated fishing village of around 250 people. If you blink you'll miss it but I recommend stopping for the seafood soup, served by supermodels.