Forum Post: Glass-Steagall in Iceland Parliament This Week
Posted 11 years ago on Oct. 26, 2012, 7:10 p.m. EST by arturo
(3169)
from Shanghai, Shanghai
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
Yesterday, Icelandic parliamentarian Álfheidur Ingadóttir re-introduced her bank- separation resolution, which has 16 co-sponsors, in the Icelandic Parliament, Althingi, followed by a one-hour debate. The resolution calls for the Finance Ministry to prepare guidelines to implement a full bank separation by February 1, 2013. The resolution will now be considered by the Economic and Trade Committee, and then come up for a vote in the Althingi.
The debate occurred after last week's release of a banking reform report by three "wise men," which called for seriously considering Glass-Steagall-style reform, but it is known that Finance Minister Steingrímur Sigfússon thinks that this was not strong enough.
During the debate, in addition to Álfheidur, the resolution's second co-sponsor, Helgi Hjörvar, the chairman of the Economic and Trade Committee, spoke in favor of the resolution; and Pétur H. Blöndal from the Independent Party, the only party which had not had a member on the co-sponsor list, stated that the only reason why their party had not done so, was that they had their own bank-separation proposal. This leads one to believe that they will also support the resolution when it comes up for a vote, which is expected to occur at the end of November.
There was also a new editorial in London's Financial Times calling for full Glass-Steagall bank separation, with a polemic against Vickers' ring-fencing, and the Volcker Rule, on Oct. 18, after testimony in the British Parliament.
Iceland should serve as our model, for not only what they achieved, but how they did it. Long before OWS showed up on the scene in our country, people in Iceland educated themselves on the causes of the 2008 melt-down, organized a grassroots movement, and then very uncharacteristically in a country of only 311,00 people, thousands protested in the streets.
Then of course, we have Montreal and cities throughout Quebec that saw hundreds of thousands of people in the streets which resulted in the proposed tuition hikes being scrapped, and the draconian Bill 78 which severely limited people's rights being repealed.
All this, while we sit around here arguing day after day about which candidate to vote for. That's incredulous to me.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/nov/15/lessons-from-iceland-people-power
~Odin~
Your point re. ICELAND is absolutely fundamental & thanx 'Odin' for reminding us of that here in your important 'forum-post' ; for your excellent link and for your important reference to Montreal this summer. I append links to some older forum posts and threads re. 'Iceland' :
a) http://occupywallst.org/forum/just-say-no-to-corporate-greed-the-case-of-iceland/ ,
b) http://occupywallst.org/forum/what-iceland-teaches-us-let-banks-fail/ ,
c) http://occupywallst.org/forum/icelands-new-constitution-we-can-do-this/ ,
d) http://occupywallst.org/forum/why-the-banks-actually-do-fear-ows-they-witnessed-/ &
e) http://occupywallst.org/forum/the-contrast-between-iceland-and-ireland-some-thou/ .
Also 5 very relevant articles :
"Iceland Proves Ireland Did `Wrong Things' Sacrificing Taxpayers", by Yalman Onaran : http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27399.htm ,
"Iceland Declares Independence from International Banks", by Bill Wilson : http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28391.htm#idc-cover ,
"Iceland's On-going Revolution", by Deena Stryker : http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28934.htm ,
"Key Lesson from Iceland Crisis is 'Let Banks Fail'", by Haukur Holm : http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article29653.htm & again ...
"Lessons From Iceland : The People Can Have The Power : As early progress in Iceland shows since the banking collapse, the 21st century will be the century of the common people, of us.", by Birgitta Jónsdóttir : http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article29722.htm .
Further, you may also be interested by : http://icelandicecon.blogspot.com/2012/02/icelandic-modern-debt-jubilee-steve.html & have a great time in AK with 'hafita' :-)
pax, amor et lux ...
Thanks, i have bookmarked this and will read and study all these, starting with The People Can Have The Power, as instilling in people the feeling of empowerment is a priority if ordinary people are going to do extraordinary things.
~Odin~
Re. 'The Super Storm' - I hope you're already in AK & knowing where you live usually, I wish you, your loved ones, all who you know, like and love & indeed all you Crazy Yanks - All The Very Best Wishes - at this difficult time. Good Luck mate and I agree with your comment.
Ohmmmmm........ ~*~
Thanks. Yes i got out a couple days before the storm hit. As you probably know the Jersey shore was really pounded by Sandy. The barrier islands which are a couple miles east of me, took the brunt of the storm. There were miles of boardwalk, and amusement piers (which are simular to the ones in Wales) wiped out, and many homes severely damaged, or lost. I do believe from what i have learned from phone calls back east, that I barely escaped the flood waters of Barnegat Bay, but i will know for sure tomorrow when a friend checks it out for me.
While the night life of the Shore has long ago lost its appeal to me especially since when i was a youth....when it was yoo hoo! lol... , I have always enjoyed going out there on those islands when the crowds went home for the summer. I have also done tons of bicycling on those boardwalks that you will see devastated in the below link.
One more thing....yes I agree, us Yanks are a bit on the Crazy side lol, as evidenced by the situation we find ourselves in now, but we have had a reputation of always coming back, of being resilient. I suspect, eventually the same will be true this time.
I know that you share in that hope, Mate. Thanks again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LL-bpKCZgdM
~Odin~
I have seen footage of the Jersey shore (incl. your link) and Staten Island on TV and it looks really bad. Glad you are ok & I wish you all the very best for home and your physical stuff. Crazy or not, perhaps Americans will concede a little more readily after 'Super Storm Sandy' that a bold, compassionate, democratic, effective and forward looking central government is in fact desirable and necessary.
ad iudicium ...
Yes, Seaside Heights (the only heights were the ferris wheel, and roller coaster) on the barrier island is about 2-3 miles due east of me, and that town was devastated as was much of the island and mainland too.
Today however was a big 'good news day' for me. First i found out that my home and vehicle were spared of any water or physical damage. But if the water had come up another foot on top of the approximate four feet it already came up, or if one of the many trees that fell landed on my house, the story would have been different. Much of my little town is still flooded though. Undoubtedly many people are suffering great losses, but having your loved ones safe and unharmed is what counts most.
Then later in the day, i found out one of my daughters was able to make her flight to LA where she was meeting her Mom, and where they are both flying from to New Zealand to visit family. Then to 'cap it all off,' I happened to show up in court at just the time when one of my other daughters was giving a passionate closing argument for her client, who from my estimation was getting screwed by the justice system. After the judge, and jury left the court room, I told her client that she was my daughter, and that he was lucky to have her as a lawyer. My words turned out to be prophetic, as later in the day her client received a not guilty verdict. He was elated.
Having that "bold, compassionate, democratic, effective and forward looking central government" come out of this disaster would be great. However I fear that we may follow in the footsteps of what happened after Hurricane Katrina where the needs and desires of the people will take second place to those of corporate interests. There in New Orleans, many people whose homes, and businesses sustained only minimal damage were not allowed to move back in, and instead politicians worked in complicity with these corrupt interests, and the former residents ended up getting screwed. So we'll see what happens to these shore towns, and the many mom and pop businesses there.
The other thing that has to be given a lot of thought to is: How much more money and resources do you pour into maintaining these barrier islands, so that people can have homes and businesses on them? What is viewed as a tragedy today because of so many people having lost so much in property value, was just viewed as a natural occurrence a hundred years ago when hardly anyone lived on these islands.
This is a question, as you know that goes far beyond the Jersey shore as sea level rises, and we seem more prone to harsher and more frequent storms including winter-time Nor'easters recently here. I do not pretend to have all the answers to these problems, but it would be heartening to know that we as a people were working on the causes and solutions in a more efficacious way. Anyway, i guess that is one of the reasons why we are here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_T_fkAhWVzY
~Odin~
Thanx for your heart warming comment 'Odin' and wondering out loud if you know of the welfare of your near neighbour, flip and also appending :
"'Sandy' Forces Climate Change on US Election Despite Fossil Fuel Lobby", by Bill McKibben : http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/oct/31/sandy-climate-change-us-election &
"Romney Campaign Staged Donations At Storm Relief Event", by Aviva Shen : http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article32906.htm .
spero meliora ...
No I do not know how flip fared in the the storm. He lives 25-30 miles north of me on the shore. Another friend who lives close to the bay was not flooded, but still doesn't have her power back. One of the real big problems down there is that many of the natural gas lines on the barrier islands were severely damaged in multiple places, and they are saying that it may require have a whole new piping system.
As we have talked about earlier, only when people attain the courage, and the empowerment that comes with it to take control of their destinies will anything change.
~Odin~
An 'Ohmmm in Solidarity' with flip & "Joseph Stiglitz : 'Romney’s Plan is Based on Magic'", by Andrew Leonard : http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article32917.htm .
fiat lux ...
I have had it up to my ears with Presidential politics. No matter who gets elected our slide will continue until the people wake the f..k up!
~Odin~
"No matter who gets elected our slide will continue until the people wake the f..k up!" - Emphatic Ditto because True That - all day and everyday & thus :
"American Autumn - An Occudoc" ; http://vimeo.com/47690515 [75:35m] &
"The Revolution is Love" ; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxHG3jUqdQ0 [4:51m]
Am strongly recommending these videos.
multum in parvo ...
Thanks Shadz. I wasn't disappointed. The American Autumn was great. It was very comprehensive, and right on target. I know some of the great spiriits in this doc personally. This revolution will be sustained by people uniting for a common cause, and building 'community' along the way. Never have I felt so close to so many people that I have known for such a relatively short length of time. Every time that i am with them, it is difficult for me to leave and go home. I often wonder, how many of the people that i am living amongst have ever sacrificed so much, and stood up for what they believe in. Yes this rev is about Love.
~Odin~
"American Autumn - An Occudoc" ; http://vimeo.com/47690515 [75:35m] is on a par with 'Inside Job' imo and really deserves to be watched by any and all of us here. Your active enthusiasm and passion for all things 'Occupy' has been a heart warming constant for a long time here mate and 'flip' ok btw. Thanx for your lovely comment and :
Revolujah ; ReLOVEution ; Re-evolution ; LOVEREVOLUTION !!!
amor vincit omnia ...
Your strong recommendation is good enough for me. I will look at both of these tonight after helping my son-in-law put up some snow fencing here, as drifting snow is a real problem here in God's country.
And I apologize for the terse reply.
~Odin~
No worries whatsoever mate, I know that you'll enjoy those videos and here's one for later reading :
"US Elections: From the “Lesser to the Greater Evil” and the Demise of Critical Liberalism", by James Petras : http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article32931.htm .
Thanx again 'O', stay well, safe and aware.
pax, amor et lux ...
Yes, hopefully they will pass Glass Steagall and set a precedent for the world.
Yes getting a Glass Steagall-like act passed into law in Iceland would be great for the people of the world to see. It would show them that people can be empowered if they choose to be, and that 'courage breeds courage.'. I hope we learn those lessons soon.
Odin
I hope so too.
property should be owned by residents
is there a list of PRESENT congressmen & senators who TODAY support a new GS ?
keep in mind that banks will shower anti-GS reps WITH MILLIONS as long as
it is legal via citizens united & corporate personhood . Attracting these candidates will require a lot on money or millions of supporters
```````````````````````` THAT IS WHAT WE NEED TO BE WORKING ON FIRST !
```````````````````````` O V E R T U R N.....C U & C P
80% of Americans already support an amendment -
are we politically astute to tap into this overwhelming power ?
This list is a bit old:
http://larouchepac.com/node/19643