I think the Title should be "Living without Credit"... Cash is King, right now, as they say.
That has not changed, yet. On Nov 15, 8:42 pm, "d.b.baker" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > [Q] - There is no daytime TV in Iceland. Parents are at work and > children at school, so the test card, that feature of a bygone age, is > the only thing aired. For the transmitters to be switched on in mid- > afternoon and a sombre-looking Geir Haarde, the prime minister, to > appear behind a desk, a national flag at his side, it had to be > serious – and it was. The country was on the verge of bankruptcy; the > government was taking control of the banks and was going to assume far- > reaching powers to secure the safety of the nation and its savers. > > As I watched, I felt a detached sympathy for those poor people living > on a blighted island – until it dawned on me that I was one of them. > Recent events had savaged my net worth by 60 per cent and pushed up my > cost of living by more than 20 per cent. Iceland’s plight was mine, > too. What I failed to appreciate at the time was the emotion of this > unprecedented television address, particularly in the way it finished: > > “Fellow countrymen ... If there was ever a time when the Icelandic > nation needed to stand together and show fortitude in the face of > adversity, then this is the moment. I urge you all to guard that which > is most important in the life of every one of us, to protect those > values which will survive the storm now beginning. I urge families to > talk together and not to allow anxiety to get the upper hand, even > though the outlook is grim for many. We need to explain to our > children that the world is not on the edge of a precipice, and we all > need to find an inner courage to look to the future ... Thus with > Icelandic optimism, fortitude and solidarity as weapons, we will ride > out the storm. > > “God bless Iceland.” > > Edda, my partner, was in tears on the sofa beside me. > > A drive across town later that afternoon, October 6, at first gave > grounds for comfort. The roads were as full as usual for the Reykjavik > rush-hour – a half-hour build-up of traffic. Aircraft flew in and out > of the downtown airport, students made their way home from schools and > universities – note the plural – while visitors went to hospitals and > fitness fiends to sports clubs. Reykjavik showed all the outward > appearances of carrying on. > > But a different picture began to emerge from the hourly news bulletins > on the car radio. The Icelandic krona’s freeze in the capital markets > had now spilled over into the day-to-day transactions of Icelanders > abroad. Holidaymakers and business travellers venturing “til Útlanda”, > as it is called, found their credit cards refused, and those wishing > to buy foreign currency could not find willing sellers, aside from one > or two who limited their purchases to €200. > > [...] > > “Let me get lunch,” I said, fumbling in my handbag for my wallet. > “Your bank’s just gone bust after all.” But old habits die hard and > anyway, the Icelandic banker wanted to find out if his company credit > card still worked. He handed it over and drummed his fingers nervously > on the bar in the gloomy City pub, writes Sarah O’Connor. > > The payment went through. And with a whimper – two sandwiches and two > lemonades – the bank’s six-year debt-fuelled spending spree sputtered > to a stop. The next day his card was refused. > > http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/66c87994-aec1-11dd-b621-000077b07658.html?n... > > Not a bad idea to read the whole thing. You know, to get a leg up. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
