We Should Imitate Iceland

While the world economy struggles to recover from the 2008 financial crisis, most of the bankers who caused the collapse are still collecting massive salaries and have faced few, if any, consequences.

Except in Iceland.

In one of the countries hit hardest by the collapse, 29 bankers have now been sentenced to prison for their roles in the crash. According to, Stefan Simanowitz, writing for The Huffington Post on Jan. 5, “Just before Christmas, the former CEO of Iceland’s Glitnir bank and two other senior bankers were sentenced to jail terms of up to five years for market manipulation and breach of fiduciary duties.”

Simanowitz questioned why the United States and the United Kingdom, for example, have been far more lenient on their banks.

“[N]ot a single senior banking executive in the US or the UK has been jailed for their role in the financial crisis. Whilst banks — such as the five found to be rigging the Libor rate — have been hit with substantial fines, the individual bankers behind the fraud, market rigging and irresponsible lending that led to the economic meltdown have all avoided time behind bars.”

You should read the rest @
http://www.mintpressnews.com/mr-iceland-locks-up-more-bankers-but-americas-bankers-are-still-too-big-to-jail-iceland-sentences-its-29th-banker-to-prison-us-bankers-still-collecting-bonuses-iceland/213256/

US failure to prosecute and punish bankgangsters is a good indication that ours is a state run by criminals.

“For the powerful, crimes are those that others commit.” 

Noam Chomsky