Iceland’s fear of the euro collapsing has caused one of Iceland’s political parties to openly suggest the idea of going Canadian and dropping the idea of EU membership and currency.
h/t Adrian
Iceland’s fear of the euro collapsing has caused one of Iceland’s political parties to openly suggest the idea of going Canadian and dropping the idea of EU membership and currency.
h/t Adrian
If only Minnesota could?
Let me see; rather than there being an individual effort to develop an escape plan, such as the dual citizen Lebanese scheme, there is talk about providing a whole country simultaneously using Canada as an escape process.
The same country who reneged on their commitments to both the British citizen investor and the British taxpayer. Not if I have anything to say about it. Cheers;
and why not? Apparently Halifax is one of the preferred shopping destinations for Icelanders.
Talk about taking on bad debt.
It’s a buyers market for Icelandic real estate!
I hate to break the news to Island but our largest province is in the process of emulating the financial management practices of Greece and our Federal Government is spending borrowed money at a rate never seen before in Canada.
Do they want to join western Canada or eastern Canada? There will be a big difference very soon.
It’s an interesting idea although such schemes rarely come to fruition.
If they buy the necessary currency it’s hard to see a down side to Canada. And while they’re at it the Icelanders may wish to have their banking system taken over by the Canadian banks — big, relatively stable and convenient. Again, intriguing, but rather unlikely.
There are precedents for this. Bermuda declared their dollar equal to the U.S. dollar and both were equally acceptable. The Icelanders could declare the Krona equal to the Canadian dollar and not have their concern about the Queen’s image on the money. Belgium got into the EU by declaring the Belgian franc equal to the Luxembourg franc even though Belgium was a financial basket case. Luxembourg is the richest country per capita in Europe and so floated their insolvent bigger neighbour. All things are possible in the world of finance!
We already have one province in the North Atlantic ……..
Iceland must not have been paying attention to the fiscal irresponsibility in Quebec and Ontario.
This does however give some idea of the disaster that the apparatchik EU has become.
Sounds like a plan, but Iceland will need to sell their about-to-become-worthless Euros to some unsuspecting and idiot country like say … the USA. They they can buy into the loonie with their American bucks.
Canada doesn’t need Euros, but Icelanders are okay.
Chretien pesos are still recent history, Icelanders will regret it if Liberals get elected to plunder the treasury again.
and the facade for conservatism isn’t plundering the treasury? You jest!
Remember: there’s always money in the frozen banana stand.
andycanuck: How much clearer can I say there’s always money.. in the..banana stand!
Not sure I want them using our coinage.
http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/12/iceland_recognizes_palestine.html
mitchel44 – that was my point as well…
I met a young lass from Icland
I took her on a trip to Disneyland
But low and behold she melted away
And now I drink without the lass on my lap
“Greenland for the GREENLANDIANS!”
We’ll trade ’em for Kwebek…
This has great potential, because Icelandic women are sizzlin’ hot!
Let’s trade New Brunswick (nothing but spuds and Irvings) for Iceland and a small non-commie nation to be named later.
They better find a buyer quick. Once that big honkin’ volcano goes off, ain’t gonna be no takers…
There are severe disadvantages for Iceland in this. They can adopt the Canadian currency by unilaterally declaring it at a fixed exchange rate to the Canadian dollar, the same way China did with the US dollar.
What Iceland gains is a currency stable in value supported by a much larger economy than its own. What Iceland loses is the ability to set its own fiscal policy. Iceland’s interest rates and currency values would be set by the Bank of Canada, not the Bank of Iceland. That can be a serious handicap for a nation with a distressed economy, as it no longer has the option of making ends meet by devaluing its currency.
They may want to research how much of our debt principle (which has never been touched) is leveraged with IMF credit on our interest payments. Iceland is rightfully wary of the snake pit of euro banking, having just escaped its foreclosure tenticles, but is Canada such a bargain as nation with an unpayable principle debt?
We are a safer hedge than the US or the EU who are comming close to having their over inflated currencies collapse due to debt management issues to the IMF. – Better to temporarily peg their currency to the loony than use it.
Iceland are doing just fine independent from Euro central bank usury by issueing their own debt free currency – why trade that for our debt issue currency????
Next time you hear the neo-commies whining about Harper destroying Canada’s image in the world, please quote them this line from the article: “In fact, Canada just may have the best popular image in the world.”
Smart move for Iceland. Europe’s a dump; the sooner they break free of the EU, the sooner they will regain their rights as an independent nation state. And coping with Canadian monetary policy will be easier than continuing with the Euro, and the German dictated rules on fiscal policy. Plus they will still have a full access to the EU market. It’s a no brainer.
On they sweep, with threshing oar. Their only goal will be the western shores!
Most countries would buy US dollars….why Iceland would want Canadian dollars??? it doesn’t make it part of Canada…it just means they bought Canadian dollars as a hedge…//
Interesting. I actually considered moving to iceland a few years ago before their currency collapsed, if they went to the loonie I might actually consider moving there again. I really do like it there, and have visited several times and stayed 3ish times for 4month periods.
Occam: “Iceland are doing just fine independent from Euro central bank usury by issueing their own debt free currency – why trade that for our debt issue currency????”
What are you talking about? Iceland went from a 28% debt/GDP ratio and a AA rating to 90% ratio and a BB- rating as a result of the 2008 fiscal crisis. The country is now in hock up to its eyebrows. It’s national debt (the Icelandic kronor) is now junk grade. Their current national indebtedness means they pay usurious interest rates no matter who the lender, and with their default on foreign guaranteed savings accounts, The City won’t lend them money under any circumstances.
If Iceland adopted he Canadian dollar, their problem becomes trying to keep it circulating. If their economy is in the crapper dollars would be looking for a way out. Managing their own currency in a responsible manner is the best idea. If they join the EEC they would be fished out and resort to begging for handouts.
I doubt they’d have much of a problem keeping it circulating. Most people that I know there are fed up with the euro, and the entire eu-centric ‘holier than thou’ crowd that keeps coming on to them, even though they still use the kronor. Especially after they used a mulch-currency pegging system against their previous private debts. They’re not hot on the idea of being beholden to a government entity that they have no say over either.
Canadian Empire!
I like the ring of that.
What are you talking about? Iceland went from a 28% debt/GDP ratio and a AA rating to 90% ratio and a BB- rating as a result of the 2008 fiscal crisis. ”
Iceland’s parliament had that debt rung up by private bank borrowing from Euro banks. The debt owed is not national it is private banking debt and the paarliament refused to bail out the banks and also told the \imf to take a hike when they made threats on behalf of their clients. To avoid collapse Iceland separated national debt from private debt by nationalizing the central bank and issuing debt free fiat
Not so, Occam. They refused to take on responsibility for the offshore accounts. They were still stuck with liability for the banks’ own liablities from its own in-house investments, which is precisely why their national debt has ballooned the way it has.