File this under "Things could be worse": Michael Lewis on the collapse of Iceland from Vanity Fair.

[darksumomo]

Wall Street on the Tundra

Iceland’s de facto bankruptcy-its currency (the krona) is kaput, its debt is 850 percent of G.D.P., its people are hoarding food and cash and blowing up their new Range Rovers for the insurance-resulted from a stunning collective madness. What led a tiny fishing nation, population 300,000, to decide, around 2003, to re-

Comments

[ytterbius]

Great article!!

[darksumomo]

Isn't it ever! I particularly enjoyed how Lewis weaved a thread all the way through the article about the behavior of Icelandic men and used it to explain the crisis. People forget that Icelanders are the real descendants of the Vikings.

[center]

[contomplates a line of t-shirts and bumper stickers that declare "This is an elf-free zone!"]

[darksumomo]

You'll make a killing at science fiction, fantasy, and gaming conventions.

[volksjager]

The money all came from German and Chinese metal foundrys build to take advantage of the nations cheap geothermal electricity. They got all silly with the money dumped on them.

[darksumomo]

That's a good way to put it. Now that things have gone bust, they're in the situation shown in this commercial.