European Union to confiscate savings in Cyprus in return for bailout
The plan put forth by European finance ministers is to outright confiscate 9.9 percent from any person with a Cyprus bank account with more than €100,000 ($129,000 US). Of course, there are not many accounts holders who have that much cash, so ministers went after everyone else too, demanding 6.7 percent from anyone with cash in the bank.
As you can imagine, there were quite a few people hitting the ATM in Cyprus over the weekend.
In a radical departure from previous aid packages, euro zone finance ministers want Cyprus savers to forfeit a portion of their deposits in return for a 10 billion euro ($13 billion) bailout for the island, which has been financially crippled by its exposure to neighboring Greece.
The decision, announced on Saturday morning, stunned Cypriots and caused a run on cash points, most of which were depleted within hours. Electronic transfers were stopped. …
The Cypriot government on Sunday discussed with lenders the possibility of changing the levy to 3.0 percent for deposits below 100,000 euros, and to 12.5 percent for above that sum, a source close to the consultations told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
Eventually, you run out of other people’s money, and remember … in a liberal/statists view, it’s not your money. Jazz Shaw from Hot Air writes yesterday.
But don’t you worry. It could never happen [in the United States], at least if you listen to Paul Krugman and company. Just keep on running up the debt and I’m sure everything will work out just fine.
Update: The original article mentioned Greece in the headline instead of Cyprus.
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This could never happen here, we have the 4th amendment to our constitution.? We also have the 2nd amendment.? Wait a minute, if we loose 2nd amendment rights……. .
They picked an easy target in Cyprus,that rock has always been a dependency.
What is the old Thatcher saying?? “The trouble with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money”.? Now being followed by the equally true and inevitable adage “Government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you have.”
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Seems like the Cypriots are reaching the point where socialism stops being a free ride.
Much oozing forth from D.C. suggests the irrelevance of the Constitution in the minds of those in congress and with its actions the current guard has shown that it has zero intention of averting default.? One question- is Cypress the proverbial canary in the mine shaft for us and another is, who will be confiscating our savings after we can no longer service the deficit because we keep getting snookered into demanding destructive spending because “cuts” are aimed solely at us in one way or another?
this is scary, this could happen in the usa. I don’t like this. this a bad idea. People will take their money of the banks.
And who doesn’t think that washington would LOVE to confiscate the $10T in 401k’s?? It CAN happen here; we’re dealing with Marxists and very, very soft RINO’s.
It’s already happened , ever hear of devaluation of the dollar?
They’re working on it! ?My 401k administrator and accountant assure me it will never happen, they don’t understand the minds of men like Barack and Willie Sutton! ? This is an old article, but they keep raising the idea and are probably waiting for the right crisis to justify digging deeper into your pockets and getting into some of that retirement stash. ?Like daddy “borrowing” out of the kids’ piggy banks!
http://www.redstate.com/jeffdunetz/2010/05/12/unions-covet-your-401k-obama-wants-to-oblige/
They understand-they are lying to you.
Hmmmm, interesting. It reminds me of North Korea’s devaluing its money and effectively wiping out people’s savings. North Korea also severely restricted how much old money could be traded in for new script.
The Obama Regime is watching this very closely, salivating. All they have to do is craft a way . . . create a crisis . . . they have a precedent . . . so much money . . . just waiting to be taken . . . the spending junkies need a fix . . . not that it will help anything . . . the cronies will get a huge cut . . .
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The Democrats keep kicking the can down the road. The liberals love it; spending other people’s money is sooooooo much fun for them. To them, conservatives are the problem.
It will happen.
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…watch those fat 401k’s.? They pose a temptation greater than the apple to Eve….
They don’t need to touch them. They just need to raise the “Debt Limit”& start printing money they are are already doing.
. . . it’s all about power.
This is spot on… the only question I have is- who is actually wielding that power.? Too many inconsistencies with actions and rhetoric to simply assume that the federal government is holding all the cards.? They are acting in a way that reflects authority merely to propagandize us on someone else’s behalf.
The bankers who are putting up the ?10 billion. They want collateral. They know that Cypriot is like the alcoholic who will promise anything just to get more booze. In this case, I think the hard-nosed (German) bankers and the business partners have had enough of the lies of a Cypriot spending junkie. (Greece, take notice!)
Could this be German revenge for having to absorb the mess that was East Germany and revenge for perceived wrongs from WWII? Conservatives getting back at the Socialists?
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What happened to Cyprus?
Precedent.
Cyprus was visited by a very large UN security force; but with all of the troops and machinery, the tiny island began to sink and then flipped over. ?I think it’s Bush’s fault!
The underside of Cyprus will be covered with solar panels and export electricity to the EU in giant electrical transport ships. It will be used to heat the Black Sea and turn it into a theme park to be called “Bushland.”
The Russians are mad that they didn’t think of it first.
It all sounds like changing the subject.
. . . you want to stay on the subject . . . ?
O.K. Have at it.
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“The Cypriot parliament rejected an international bailout deal”.
That’s the first bright thing that they have done.
However, what they have done, permanently undermine the confidence of every depositor (in Cyprus and beyond), cannot ever be undone.
The message is clear to all EU (and beyond: attention America!) retail banking customers: deposits, up to ?100,000 are not secure. The EU bankers have shot themselves, badly. Talk about unintended consequences! LOL
When the banks in Cyprus eventually open, there is gong to be such a run on the banks . . . We may see the fall of a government due to a series of stupid decisions. At best, a lot of people are probably going to lose their jobs, politicians and bankers. I wonder if the Russian mob made some, err, suggestions?
There is a Plan B: tax at a rate of 15% accounts with more than 100,000 euros.