The release of the Panama Papers has already claimed the career of the Prime Minister of Iceland.
Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson resigned suddenly Tuesday, walking out of Parliament shortly after 3:00 pm local time — less than a day after publicly declaring he would not succumb to protesters’ demands that he leave office, and less than 12 hours after his attempt to dissolve Parliament was rebuffed.
Iceland is, of course, the country that actually put bankers in jail after the financial crisis of 2007-08.
Nancy noted earlier that Bernie Sanders hasn’t necessarily thought through all the details and implications of his promises to break up the big banks and hold some executives responsible for their actions, but it’s obviously something that can be done if a country has the right kind of culture.
In Iceland, the jailed bankers get to tend to sheep and horses and otherwise aren’t exactly doing hard time, but they’re also not free to leave and they’ve been thoroughly disgraced and financially punished.
Personally, whenever I think about the disparity between how much pain the American people felt during the Great Recession and the fate of the architects of that disaster, this is what runs through my head.
Even Iceland’s intolerance for their shenanigans seems too tame to me.
–Billy Ray Valentine
Yes. Prison is not the route I want to go. I want fewer prisoners and prisons for all populations. Just take their fucking money.
Massive fines and personal indemnification is the only thing that scares the plutocrat/CEO.
They must be stripped of their accumulated wealth as a result of their financial crimes—it’s the only way to get their attention.
Nancy is very savvy when it comes to criticizing one of the Democratic candidates.
http://www.eschatonblog.com/2016/04/so-much-savvy.html
Well I duly note that the Panama Papers have yet to really name big names in the USA. The initial round was mostly about Putin and Xi Jingping, plus Gunnlaugsson and a number of other players from smaller nations. Oh and I believe David Cameron’s dead father.
Well it’s a start, but please wake me when something real happens about the massive number of crooks and thieves in the USA. Beginning with the Bush Crime Syndicate, the RMoneys, the Trumps, the Clintons and working their way down would be a good start.
Let’s just say… I won’t hold my breath. Yeah, I’m that cynical. Prove me wrong, and I’ll be very happy to admit it.
PS Congrats to Iceland. They have demonstrated how it should be done, and my understanding is that their economy has improved. Of course, their culture is different from ours, and I think it’s a bit easier for them to handle things in the way they did. That said: it’s a darn good example.
Seemed apparent enough yesterday to those of us that read Rei’s caucus99percent diary – for those that missed the link posted in Oui’s diary – Helvítis Fokking Fokk! Iceland reacts to the Panama Papers.
One down seems paltry in response the “largest leak ever.” OTOH, what’s been published so far is mostly the usual suspects.
While I agree with the earlier post that some of Obama’s recent approval uptick is the result of wistfulness as citizens contemplate their coming future of narcissists, loons or stale 90s donuts, it will always be one of Obama’s great failures that he protected the grand architects of the Great Recession, as it was quite clear at the time who caused it, and how they did it. At a bare minimum, no one could think that what certain mortgage executives did was done in good faith. Yet as I recall, Obama stood before the Wizrds in 2009 and told them he was “the only thing standing between them and the mob”.
Why? His 100% apologists declare that it would have caused a “loss of focus”, or “caused” Repub freakout, or something equally unpersuasive. It would certainly have been smarter politics than concluding not a single prosecution was merited. Lord knows there was adequate basis for charging simple criminal fraud.
It’s unfortunately hard to believe the Wall Street campaign contributions didn’t play a role, sorry to say, although this will be denied until Hell freezes over, of course. And I forget why exactly the NY Attorney General never brought any cases.
Like the (somewhat more defensible) refusal to charge the Bush/Cheney crime family for their multitudinous felonies, the leniency to the Finance Wizrds was a very serious mistake, making clear America accords no accountability for CEOs and plutocrats no matter what economic catastrophes they engineer in lining their pockets. Hell, we don’t even suggest personal banishment to the south of France, haha…and with an ex-Wall Street senator in charge of operations, it is quite rational to expect more of the same.
This X1000!
Agree. All of the nostalgia over Obama… well I won’t go on. People have differing view points.
I’ve never forgotten how Obama gave Wall St, the Hedgies, the Banks and the Mortgage Industry a huge fat pass! Gimme a break.
Can anyone forget Jamie Presidential Cufflinks Dimon whiiiiiining about how unseemly it was that the riff-raff had the nerve to complain about him and Chase bank. Ooopsie, I guess we hurt his fee-fees.
Yeah, nothing happened with Eric Holder as US AG, and now we have HSBC Money Launderer Loretta Lynch as US AG.
But we’re all supposed to see how Leader-y Obama is now and have a big old SAD that he’s leaving us. I’ll stop now. I know people love Obama. If that’s how you feel, so be it. I won’t be sorry to see him go, other than, our choices for who’s next are limited at best.
I have a big old sad, however, when I’m constantly adjured that Bernie Sanders doesn’t stand a snowball’s chance in Hell. I don’t feel that’s quite accurate.
Just saying…
I think the window of opportunity for repatriation amnesty for multinational off-shored profits just closed.
But maybe Obama spends some of his political capital to make it happen in the lame duck…
No pres candidate is gonna touch it with a 10 foot pole.
Obama wins a victory, the American people suffer defeat. I apologize profusely for voting for him.
My only excuse is what choice did we have? McCain, Obama or Hillary. A triple threat.
Don’t apologize. There was no mystery as to who McCain and HRC were, and the worst case scenario was that policywise, BHO wouldn’t be worse than HRC and there was a chance that he’d be much better than her. So, we got that same to slightly better than HRC but without all the Clinton drama which is a huge plus in my mind.
Yes. Obama is better than Hillary. But we are fast running out of politicians that support the little guy. One reason is there is no percentage in it. Fame and fortune come to those who sell their soul, or like Paul Ryan and Scott Walker, never had one.
Bernie apparently hit on the Panama Papers in the speech tonight. Have just pulled it up; so, can’t comment yet on how well he did it.
He noted it, but either hasn’t yet put it together as a new strong point or is saving it for NY.
But will NY care about corruption? Chicago doesn’t.
People everywhere, even in Chicago, care about corruption. It’s just that it gets set aside in favor of rank partisanship and tribalism when people vote.
Interesting to see that both of the latter are figuring large in HRC’s NY campaign. To wit, “HRC is a real Democrat” and “HRC is the real New Yorker.” How that will fly depends upon whether NY voters consider themselves NY FDR Democrats or “third way Democrats” and if the former, aren’t bamboozled by a “D” after a politician’s name, and to what extent they have embraced HRC as one their own and not just an opportunistic carpetbagger.
Just got through listening to her speak to the AFL-CIO in that supercilious yet shrill voice of hers, telling them that Sanders’ ideas are impractical, cost too much, and can’t pass Congress anyhow. So, she doesn’t stand for Universal Health Care nor Universal education.
Either the Party and the Labor movement have mutated into their antithesis, or it is being exposed as the giant machine for collecting favors and cash that the Republicans always told us it was.
I’m especially pissed off at listening to everyone on radio this morning, from Stephanie Miller on laughing at Sanders for being a chump.
Chumps are those who vote for Hillary in the Fall. Whether against Trump, Cruz, Kasich, Romney, Bush or God help me even Palin!
And now we are going to elect President a person who is the champion for these same folks. Can we say brainwashed now? How about pathetic? Does cowardice fit the bill? Or is it just good political judgment? Let’s talk football, shall we?
By the way Kim Kardashian has 42.9 million followers on twitter.
Have a good night.
By the way Kim Kardashian has 42.9 million followers on twitter.
Teeing up a POTUS run by Kanye.