Cypriophobia

http://www.breitbart.com/InstaBlog/2013/03/25/C...

Cypriophobia
by JOHN HAYWARD (/COLUMNISTS/JOHN-HAYWARD) 25 Mar 2013 SHARE THIS:

Details of the new Cyprus bank heist (http://www.humanevents.com/2013/03/25/cyprusbank-deal-wipes-out-some-large-depositorswill-conscate-up-to-40-from-others/) have emerged, and this time they're not going to let any representative legislators get in the way by voting the damn thing down. Long story short, they government of Cyprus decided to respect the EU rules for deposit insurance and leave bank balances under 100k euros untouched... but they'll grab up to 40% of accounts over that limit. Depositors with money in the Cyprus Popular Bank - which, as the name cheerfully/ominously implies, is largely owned by the government - could get screwed even worse, because that bank will be completely dissolved. It's the second-largest bank in an island nation notorious for having very large banks.
What I nd most interesting about this story are the repeated assurances - often delivered with a sneer at doomsday prepper hysteria - that nothing of the sort could ever happen in the United States. But every article pooh-poohing the "hysterics" mentions something our government is doing, or has done, that echoes the crisis in Cyprus. They talked about raiding pension funds and stung them with government I.O.U.s; American liberals are salivating at the thought of doing the same to our 401k accounts. Cyprus is in turmoil because it's part of the euro, so it can't monetize its debt - but is our ability to do so truly unlimited, or wise? Cypriot banks used the huge wads of cash they got from foreign depositors to make risk investments (among other things, they bought lots of Greek debt, which means they got suckered by promises from yet another socialist basket case.) American banks, responding to rules set in place by liberal politicians, also made risky bets that didn't pan out. It all boils down to governments making promises they can't keep... and insisting those promises are still valid, long past the point of no return, unto the point of systemic collapse. The American economy is huge, so we're able to aord a great deal more folly, but why is anyone sanguine about our alleged immunity to the forces of scal reality... or smugly convinced that our government would never begin taking steps beyond the conventional understanding of taxation, especially if it looks like nations further down the "progressive" death spiral are getting

SEND A TIP
BREITBART VIDEO PICKS MOST POPULAR SIGN UP FOR OUR
NEWSLETTER
e-mail address SUBSCRIBE

1 of 2

03/27/2013 08:53 PM

Cypriophobia

http://www.breitbart.com/InstaBlog/2013/03/25/C...

away with it. Allow our debt to keep piling up, and measures unthinkable today will become quite thinkable in the not-too-distant future.

FROM OUR PARTNERS

Fox News Politics
GOP leaders voice 'grave misgivings' to Obama over key terror trial in civilian court (http://feeds.foxnews.com /~r/foxnews/politics/~3/ohD7bWxlmAQ/)
26 Mar 2013, 4:56 PM PDT

Fox News National

Disabled man awarded $8,000 after being stuck on Disney's 'Small World' ride for hours (http://feeds.foxnews.com /~r/foxnews/national/~3/ZLVvABDJzX8/)
26 Mar 2013, 5:43 PM PDT

Fox News Sports

Bears agree to terms with CB Hayden (http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews /sports/~3/RX-F8GrlZrk/)
26 Mar 2013, 5:09 PM PDT

American West running out of room for wild horses, ocials weigh options (http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews /politics/~3/gK98wh04iR4/)
26 Mar 2013, 1:16 PM PDT

2 bodies found at Florida golf course after players reported hearing gunshots (http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews /national/~3/DVnbQoTj498/)
26 Mar 2013, 5:25 PM PDT

Jays send struggling Romero to Single A (http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews /sports/~3/XM_tWQBijcs/)

26 Mar 2013, 5:07 PM PDT

Obama signs bill to avoid government shutdown (http://feeds.foxnews.com /~r/foxnews/politics/~3/da57QufhAp8/)

26 Mar 2013, 1:08 PM PDT

Alleged gunman holed up in home after ring shots in Wash. neighborhood (http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews /national/~3/-t0UK0tjZ9Q/)
26 Mar 2013, 5:05 PM PDT

Ian Poulter birdies rst playo hole, lifts Albany past Lake Nona in Tavistock Cup (http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews /sports/~3/KigcllzFSIs/)
26 Mar 2013, 4:30 PM PDT

What to Cut: Excess federal property costing taxpayers billions (http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews /politics/~3/G-erg1VLQVs/)
26 Mar 2013, 12:39 PM PDT

Miss. sheri: 3 found dead, each shot once (http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews /national/~3/wtTkxCpNQnY/)

26 Mar 2013, 4:14 PM PDT

Hayes gets 4 hits, Royals set team record with 23rd spring training win, 9-6 over Mariners (http://feeds.foxnews.com /~r/foxnews/sports/~3/v80HjBZT3qk/)
26 Mar 2013, 4:29 PM PDT

Obama names rst female director of Secret Service (http://feeds.foxnews.com /~r/foxnews/politics/~3/_w4OyS07Z_M/)

26 Mar 2013, 11:52 AM PDT

APNewsBreak: Conn. priest to admit to drug charge (http://feeds.foxnews.com /~r/foxnews/national/~3/VgKgMPEoDCU/)

26 Mar 2013, 2:59 PM PDT

Cardinals guard Smith establishing himself as tournament's top player for top-seeded Cardinals (http://feeds.foxnews.com /~r/foxnews/sports/~3/8Z-TH_skGHI/)
26 Mar 2013, 4:25 PM PDT

2 of 2

03/27/2013 08:53 PM