Basically a bunch of Viking bankers build a huge house of cards during the economic boom which earned them tremendous profits but when they got swept up by the tidal wave they brought down their entire country..
The amount this bank owed was a few hundred million which in most countries would be painful but when your entire country has less than a quarter million people the amount owed per person became astronomical, to the tune of $65,000 per person.
So although the Icelandic government said they would reimburse the Dutch and British governments, the Icelandic people said NOT SO FAST and although not paying would doom their chances of EU membership. They probably will be shunned by the entire European community but to save $65 grand that seems well worth it
TOR's guess is they had three thoughts
- the EU has a swine-flu ahead much worse than the minor strain we faced in 2009 with the P.I.I.G.S coming out and infecting the entire economy
- except for Rapa Nui, there probably isn't a more isolated place than Iceland. These guys are used to living alone and they'll survive
- in a place which has 20+ hours of darkness for months on-end, this might not be the most miserable thing they deal with. When you don't see the sun for three months, it probably doesn't bother you if you don't see a bunch of limey Brits for a few years
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
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