# Icelandic politicians turn really desperate! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 28, 2008, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-politicians-turn-really-desperate/474787 "2008-11-28T11:28:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Throatwarbler_Mangrove)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2008, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-politicians-turn-really-desperate/474787/21 "2008-11-28T23:50:48Z")
> [@](#): > > Last time I checked, I did not live in the USSR… Speaking of which, wasn’t there talk of getting a loan from Russia/Putin to help things? ---
**Author:** ![WormTheRed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bbe5ce/32.png) [@WormTheRed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WormTheRed)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2008, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-politicians-turn-really-desperate/474787/22 "2008-11-29T16:38:04Z")
Yes there was. I’m not quite sure how that worked out, but I believe it’s part of a bigger loan package from other countries as well. And **Sunspace** , our Greens are a joint party of the former Green party and former Communist party, so they’re pretty darn left. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2008, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-politicians-turn-really-desperate/474787/23 "2008-11-29T17:15:36Z")
I have the perfect solution. Have everybody in Iceland put all of their money together in a small hat, and then you take it and fly here to Las Vegas. You go the the roulette wheel, put the entire Gross National Product of Iceland on red (of course) and spin that wheel! After you win, the entire country has just doubled their GNP! What could possibly go wrong with that idea? ---
**Author:** ![Much\_poison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8491ac/32.png) [@Much\_poison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Much_poison)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-politicians-turn-really-desperate/474787/24 "2008-11-30T08:01:36Z")
Another Icelander here. Seeking adoption, fairly housebroken and mild mannered, willing to work for food. Seriously, this is some messed up shite. My company laid off twenty five people a couple of days ago, some who had worked there for over twenty years. Everyone’s head is potentially on the chopping block in this bloody country. ---
**Author:** ![gravitycrash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@gravitycrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gravitycrash)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-politicians-turn-really-desperate/474787/25 "2008-11-30T09:21:37Z")
Is it really that bad in Iceland? I understand what has happened but can you describe why you think it has. Off topic… The NATO air base? Could it be any closer to the freaking mountains? The pilot actually had to do another pass to land, plus the plane got hit by lightning just before that, fun times. I blame Iceland for my fears of air travel. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-politicians-turn-really-desperate/474787/26 "2008-11-30T09:56:54Z")
Wanna move to Canada? All of you? We have plenty of space. Better yet, you could become a Canadian province. Similar things have happened before (see: history of Newfoundland, especially financial, during the 1930s). ---
**Author:** ![WormTheRed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bbe5ce/32.png) [@WormTheRed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WormTheRed)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-politicians-turn-really-desperate/474787/27 "2008-11-30T12:29:03Z")
> [@gravitycrash](#): > > Is it really that bad in Iceland? I understand what has happened but can you describe why you think it has. > > Off topic.. The NATO air base? Could it be any closer to the freaking mountains? The pilot actually had to do another pass to land, plus the plane got hit by lightning just before that, fun times. I blame Iceland for my fears of air travel. There are no mountains close to the former Air Base, unless you count those tiny hills 😉 That’s pretty much the flattest place on the coast, excluding the sand-dunes which get flooded every now and then. And why things have happened, summarised in one sentense: To much debt taken on by the banks and to little regulation to keep them from doing what they did. And **Sunspace** , I \*am \*working on getting to Canada. But that’s just me alone then. ---
**Author:** ![Much\_poison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8491ac/32.png) [@Much\_poison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Much_poison)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-politicians-turn-really-desperate/474787/28 "2008-11-30T23:44:45Z")
I’ll come to Canada, too, if there’s space for two 😉 As for why it happened, my personal take on it is that God hates me, and by extension, the barren, volcanic rock I was born on. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2008, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-politicians-turn-really-desperate/474787/29 "2008-12-01T00:18:51Z")
> [@Ale](#): > > I’d give you my two cents on the situation but I’m not sure if that would be legal. I see what you did there! **Worm** , as a veteran of a more-than-once crashed and burned-economy country, I am not sure how that is going to work out. I have to tell you though that the last time we crashed and burned, no protectionism measures were taken, and we have recovered to merely second-degree burns in a matter of a two years. It took considerably less time than when a certain measure of protectionism was tried. You want people to bring in their money, but you also want them to believe they can take it back out. Unfortunately your track record after the latest events are not very good on that. I am not sure what would work for you though. BTW, I am not an economist, nor I play one on TV. ---
**Author:** ![lynxie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e99b99/32.png) [@lynxie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lynxie)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2008, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-politicians-turn-really-desperate/474787/30 "2008-12-01T02:52:45Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Wanna move to Canada? All of you? We have plenty of space. > > Better yet, you could become a Canadian province. Similar things have happened before (see: history of Newfoundland, especially financial, during the 1930s). Good Grief! We already have Two languages - you want to make it Three!? Not to mention the ferry service that would be required, and the transfer payments, the cost to poor CBC to give proper service… What the hell - let’s invite them, anyway. : ) ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2008, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-politicians-turn-really-desperate/474787/31 "2008-12-01T06:01:40Z")
Couldn’t you all just go to Greenland and tell the people there, “We were just joking around ages ago…THIS is really Iceland, you guys own that other place we just jokingly called Iceland that is really Greenland…we have your U-Hauls with dogsleds waiting out back, and here are the keys…” ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2008, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-politicians-turn-really-desperate/474787/32 "2008-12-01T06:46:54Z")
> [@lynxie](#): > > Good Grief! We already have Two languages - you want to make it Three!? Not to mention the ferry service that would be required, and the transfer payments, the cost to poor CBC to give proper service… > > What the hell - let’s invite them, anyway. : ) This is the CBC Icelandic service, from Gimli and Reykjavik… ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2008, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-politicians-turn-really-desperate/474787/33 "2008-12-01T06:50:00Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > Couldn’t you all just go to Greenland and tell the people there, “We were just joking around ages ago…THIS is really Iceland, you guys own that other place we just jokingly called Iceland that is really Greenland…we have your U-Hauls with dogsleds waiting out back, and here are the keys…” Greenland just voted for more autonomy, which apparently means among other things that they’ll be running their own coast guard. Coincidence? ---
**Author:** ![Vox\_Imperatoris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Vox\_Imperatoris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vox_Imperatoris)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2008, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-politicians-turn-really-desperate/474787/34 "2008-12-01T06:51:42Z")
With what I read about the economic collapse in Iceland, I’m surprised you guys haven’t gone Communist yet. I hope saner heads eventually prevail. Valete, Vox Imperatoris ---
**Author:** ![Precambrianmollusc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/precambrianmollusc/32/63_2.png) [@Precambrianmollusc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Precambrianmollusc)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2008, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-politicians-turn-really-desperate/474787/35 "2008-12-01T07:29:49Z")
Sounds similar idea to the measures Argentina took during its last crisis back on 2001/2002, known as the Corralito Essentially all dollar bank accounts were frozen, impossible to take money out the country, limited cash withdrawal (although credit card/debit card transactions allowed) al to prevent capital flight. It certainly prevented that and in part help Argentina pull itself out of a very very deep hole, with out it, things could have been much worse. ---
**Author:** ![WormTheRed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bbe5ce/32.png) [@WormTheRed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WormTheRed)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2008, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-politicians-turn-really-desperate/474787/36 "2008-12-01T14:32:04Z")
> [@Mighty\_Girl](#): > > **Worm** , as a veteran of a more-than-once crashed and burned-economy country, I am not sure how that is going to work out. I have to tell you though that the last time we crashed and burned, no protectionism measures were taken, and we have recovered to merely second-degree burns in a matter of a two years. It took considerably less time than when a certain measure of protectionism was tried. > > You want people to bring in their money, but you also want them to believe they can take it back out. Unfortunately your track record after the latest events are not very good on that. I am not sure what would work for you though. > BTW, I am not an economist, nor I play one on TV. > [@NaturalBlondChap](#): > > Sounds similar idea to the measures Argentina took during its last crisis back on 2001/2002, known as the Corralito > Essentially all dollar bank accounts were frozen, impossible to take money out the country, limited cash withdrawal (although credit card/debit card transactions allowed) al to prevent capital flight. > It certainly prevented that and in part help Argentina pull itself out of a very very deep hole, with out it, things could have been much worse. You guys don’t really agree on this matter 😉 And personally, I’m a free-marketeer (is that a word?), so I’m going to have to side with **Mighty\_Girl** ---
**Author:** ![WormTheRed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bbe5ce/32.png) [@WormTheRed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WormTheRed)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2008, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-politicians-turn-really-desperate/474787/37 "2008-12-01T14:34:16Z")
> [@Vox\_Imperatoris](#): > > With what I read about the economic collapse in Iceland, I’m surprised you guys haven’t gone Communist yet. I hope saner heads eventually prevail. You and me both, you and me both. > [@Sunspace](#): > > Greenland just voted for more autonomy, which apparently means among other things that they’ll be running their own coast guard. Coincidence? I think Greenland might be on the brink of finding shitloads of oil and minerals. So coincidence, nope. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-politicians-turn-really-desperate/474787.md?page=1)