Meltdown in Iceland

The first of the Western fiat currencies goes pfffft...

People go bankrupt all the time. Companies do, too. But countries?

Iceland was on the verge of doing exactly that on Thursday as the government shut down the stock market and seized control of its last major independent bank. That brought trading in the country's currency to a halt, with foreign banks no longer willing to take Icelandic krona, even at fire-sale rates.

As the meltdown in the Icelandic financial system quickened, with the government seemingly powerless to do anything about it, analysts said there was probably only one realistic option left: for Iceland to be bailed out by the International Monetary Fund.

"Iceland is bankrupt," said Arsaell Valfells, a professor at the University of Iceland. "The Icelandic krona is history. The IMF has to come and rescue us."

And as Vox asks, why is it the IMF might be able to help? Because unlike your average person, bank or government, it actually owns gold. But you know what they say about the "Golden Rule..."

Imagine if Ron Paul had been given a serious hearing over the past year. Given the events of the past couple weeks he could have won this race in a walk, had the gatekeepers not intervened.