Icelandic Crisis

Icelandic banks gave out a whole lot of loans in Kronurs that were in fact a currency speculation. Apparently, the Icelandic Court has ruled that the balance due is based on the amount in Kronurs. Iceland voters in an initiative rejected paying back their bail out. I since found a detailed article that showed that this was a rejection of a deal at one point and since the referendum was put on the table, another better deal was offered to Iceland. Thus the no was a foregone conclusion since the voters would not accept a deal when they were already offered a better one.

Citizen Juries, Financial Responsibility and Health Insurance

Obviously, there are those who choose not to have health insurance. They may prefer to save money. Perhaps, they just want a catastrophic health insurance plan. Certainly, as Ms. Robinson points out, she would like the health insurance plan to give her a discount because she is like the care. And she prefers to deal directly with the doctor for payment and uses alternative care such as chiropractors and naturopaths.

And, of course, there are other ways to be financially responsible, saving, and other insurances one should have. One of my students dropped out of their Ph.D. program because he did not get the insurance on a rental vehicle which got stolen--and he was stuck with the cost of the car.

Rather than a mandate, citizen juries could look at each individual and determine whether they are being financially responsible. That includes the combination of savings and insurance as well as investing in one's own business and one's education. I think one would have more sympathy for the person who uses the money they would have paid for premiums to pay for a college degree in a field with good job prospects than those who use it to party hardy.