Gunnar Tómasson sendi fyrirspurn til Michaels Hudson hagfræðings – sem svaraði með þessum hætti:

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Ólafur Ágúst 1.11 2010 21:36:

Where is Michael Hudson now when we need him the most?

Ég sendi spurninguna til Michaels með þýðingu á umsögn Lilju, og bætti við:

If you are free to send me a brief comment on the subject matter, I will post it for you in the comments section of Egill‘s blog.

Hér er Michael:

Well, Gunnar, what can I say except that
Iceland’s debts are beyond the ability of its homeowners, families and businesses – and the government itself – to pay without bankrupting the economy and shrinking it so much that most young people entering the job market will have to emigrate in order to find work.
Trying to pay Iceland’s debts will require such high wages and costs of doing business that Iceland will be left unable to earn its way in the world. Many pension funds have indeed invested, and it is hard to admit that one has taken a self-defeating path. But it is better to stop before going even further than to pursue this path and make matters even worse.
Only tangible capital investment and a low cost of doing business can enable Icelanders to survive in a fair economy. Most of the foreign debts are not legally owed, and most of the domestic debts are to the banks and families (and foreign companies) that should not be paid.
The solution must be to restructure financially – and also fiscally, by putting in place a tax system that will not promote future debt bubbles, or permit foreign companies (or wealthy Icelanders operating out of offshore accounts) to avoid paying taxes.

Michael