Íslenska byltingin 10/10/10: Flatus lifir

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Gjaldeyrisstríð í uppsiglingu

Barroso: ESB er mótvægi við lýðræðisleg stjórnvöld

Forseti framkvæmdastjórnar Evrópusambandsins, José Manuel Durrão Barroso, hefur sett fram ein af fáum algerlega heiðarlegum rökum fyrir sameiningu Evrópu. Hann gefur í skyn að ESB sé mikilvægt, einmitt vegna þess að það er ekki lýðræðislegt. Fengju lýðræðislega kjörnar ríkisstjórnir að vaða uppi gætu þar tekið upp á allskonar vitleysu, bara til að þóknast kjósendum sínum:

"Governments are not always right. If governments were always right we would not have the situation that we have today. Decisions taken by the most democratic institutions in the world are very often wrong."

Eða í lauslegri þýðingu: "Ríkisstjórnir hafa ekki alltaf rétt fyrir sér. Ef svo væri stæðum við ekki frammi fyrir þeim veruleika sem nú er uppi. Jafnvel lýðræðislegustu stofnanir í heiminum taka oft rangar ákvarðanir."

Meira um það hérna: The EU is an antidote to democratic governments, argues President Barroso

Svipað viðhorf birtist í málflutningi Herman van Rompuy, forseta ESB. Hann vill koma á reglu um eitthvað sem kallast "öfugur meirihluti" til þess að komast í kringum neitunarvald einstakra þjóðríkja.

Meira um það hér: Herman Van Rompuy announces a new 'reverse majority rule' to get around the national veto

IFRI: Blaðamannafundur á miðvikudag og vefsíða

Hópur áhugafólks um úrbætur á fjármálakerfi Íslands mun halda blaðamannafund í Norræna Húsinu á tveggja ára afmæli íslenska bankahrunsins, miðvikudaginn 6. október kl. 15:00. Á fundinum mun hópurinn viðra hugmyndir að allsherjar endurskoðun fjármálakerfisins og kynna 10 atriði sem lagt er til að verði grunngildi fyrir nýtt kerfi sem lúti allt öðrum lögmálum en það sem nú er hrunið. Í kjölfarið mun verða opnuð vefsíða þar sem tillögurnar verða birtar ásamt ýmisskonar fróðleik á íslensku og ensku undir alþjóðlega vinnuheitinu Icelandic Financial Reform Initiative (IFRI) eða Frumkvæði að Úrbótum á Fjármálakerfi Íslands.

Fylgist með.

Vilja nýtt fjármálakerfi

Valdar greinar úr viljayfirlýsingu til AGS

Í dag var birt á vef Alþjóðagjaldeyrissjóðsins, endurnýjuð viljayfirlýsing íslenskra stjórnvalda frá 29. september síðastliðnum. Ég birti hér valdar greinar úr yfirlýsingunni sem snúa að skuldavanda heimilanna:

10. We remain committed to a targeted, voluntary approach to debt restructuring. Moreover, we are determined to see the work through to a conclusion as soon as possible and in particular to ensure that the frameworks we have designed for household and corporate debt restructuring function efficiently and productively. While we remain committed to simplifying the process, we have ruled out an across-the board debt write down (e.g., for borrowers not affected by the Supreme Court ruling on foreign exchange indexed loans). This reflects the enormous and unaffordable fiscal cost, the need to preserve an operating and stable banking system, and the detrimental impact this would have on Iceland’s payment culture. We will continue to focus attention on the distressed borrowers who fortunately remain a minority of total borrowers.

11. We have amended Iceland’s voluntary framework for household debt restructuring (meeting the end-June structural benchmark). Key aspects of the changes include the establishment of a Debtor’s Ombudsman (to provide advisory and mediation services to debtors, and help address creditor hold-out problems); and the extension of the framework to several classes of solvent borrowers who have not previously been eligible (e.g., individuals having some debts arising from business activities). We have implemented changes to forced auctions to address market failures and have also clarified the conditions under which debtors can temporarily remain in a foreclosed home (they must pay market rent and can be asked to provide a guarantee against damages). Guidelines provide for a minimum stay of 6 months (and longer if specific social criteria are met). Finally, we will encourage banks to offer debtors the option of short-selling their properties, and we have removed tax disincentives for households that receive relief.

12. With the framework now finalized, our focus will be on encouraging greater participation by households. We set up in August the new Debtors’ Ombudsman’s Office, and are scaling its operations up (including via outsourcing), and engaging in enhanced public outreach to explain the framework. This should help quickly guide debtors through the many options available to them. Finally, with the framework in place, we are proceeding as planned to remove temporary post-crisis measures—like the moratorium on home foreclosures—the continuance of which represent a barrier to debtor participation.