Iceland's prosperity in a nutshell -

[truedelphi]

The nation did suffer, but because the people were listened to, the right steps were taken and there is a recovery underway.

That sort of thing can happen inside a true democracy. Under an oligarchy, not so likely.

http://october2011.org/blogs/margaret-flowers/icelands-going-revolution
<Snip and two paragraphs from the article>
Geir Haarde, the Prime Minister of a Social Democratic coalition government, negotiated a two million one hundred thousand dollar loan, to which the Nordic countries added another two and a half million. But the foreign financial community pressured Iceland to impose drastic measures. The FMI and the European Union wanted to take over its debt, claiming this was the only way for the country to pay back Holland and Great Britain, who had promised to reimburse their citizens.

Protests and riots continued, eventually forcing the government to resign. Elections were brought forward to April 2009, resulting in a left-wing coalition which condemned the neoliberal economic system, but immediately gave in to its demands that Iceland pay off a total of three and a half million Euros. This required each Icelandic citizen to pay 100 Euros a month (or about $130) for fifteen years, at 5.5% interest, to pay off a debt incurred by private parties vis a vis other private parties. It was the straw that broke the reindeer’s back.
####

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.