March 2 (Bloomberg) -- A referendum in Iceland isn’t the kind of event that would usually attract much world attention. This time will be different.

The country will vote this week on how to pay back the money it owes the U.K. and Dutch governments for bailing out the Icelandic banks that crashed during the credit crunch.

On March 6, Icelandic taxpayers should send a message to the rest of the world: Can’t pay, won’t pay, so go take a hike. . .

Third, the depositors were just as much at fault as anyone. They put money into Icelandic banks, which paid higher rates of interests than almost all their competitors. And yet you need an IQ of only about 10 to know that higher rewards involve higher risks. It was a stupid decision to deposit their money in those banks, and there is no reason to protect them from the consequences of their poor judgment.

Also, let’s bear in mind that the depositors were probably a lot wealthier than the ordinary Icelanders who will end up paying the bill. Why should prudent poor people pick up the tab for greedy rich ones?  BusinessWeek website - 01-Mar-10.

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-03-01/bailout-mutiny-looms-with-iceland-s-taxpayer-vote-matthew-lynn.html