The housing crisis has hid hard here too. People were encouraged and enticed to mortgage MORE THAN 100% of the value of their homes with adjustable rates. House values have plummeted; rates went up; jobs were lost - and people are walking away from an impossible situation.
Yes - they made some very foolish decisions and are paying the price. But so are the rest of us. The glut of houses on the market and the untended abandoned homes on every street further destroy the values of our homes. For most of us, that is our biggest investment.

We have our Madoff with a Ponzi scheme that wiped out many charities as well as the entire savings of thousands of people.

Yesterday several New Jersey mayors and politicians as well as a number of rabbis were arrested for money laundering. They knowingly placed funds that were illegally raised (drugs more than likely) in charitable institutions' accounts and returned it minus 10%. One man was selling kidneys - which means that hospitals and doctors were involved.

So Iceland is not alone, skarpi. We are all hurting. But it is critical that any punishment be doled out only after careful research and a legal trial proving guilt. Otherwise we are all liable to become victims of a witch hunt. You can not just point a finger and say someone is guilty.

As for your new government - thay barely have had time to get their seats warm. Obama has the same problem. Change takes time. There is a legal process that must be followed to accomplish anything and that is good. A dictator can get things done quickly and efficiently but not usually in everyone's best interest.

I too have lost most of my retirement savings. My house value is down and still dropping and my mortgage payment is a struggle every month. I don't know anyone who isn't in the same position. We will all survive by taking one day at a time, taking care of our own, and calmly dealing with priorities. The alternative is to give up - homelessness is not an option for me. My cats simply won't tolerate it.
M