Just what the hell is going on?

This whole Cypriot bailout story is plain insane (haircutting citizens, Russian money laundering, etc.). And it sounds like a terrible idea. Here is some commentary:

• This House Has No Confidence In Olli Rehn, Nor Anyone Else 
• More on the Russian angle 
• A muddled and risky approach to Cyprus

Of course Prof. Krugman has a couple of comments on the situation, here and here.

But so far my favorite comment has been by Duncan Black, as usual:

"Always dangerous to wish for revolutions, but people in Spain and Italy and Greece really should consider pulling all of their money out of the banks, both as a precaution and as protest. If a bank run happens, the banks will just be bailed out again, as magically more free money will appear. For the banks."

Jamie Dimon And The Fall Of Nations

The historical evidence is overwhelming. Many societies have done well for a while – until powerful people get out of hand. This is an easy pattern to see at a distance and in other cultures. It is typically much harder to recognize when your own society now has an elite less subject to effective constraints and more able to exert power in an abusive fashion. And given the long history of strong institutions in the United States, it appears particularly difficult for some people to acknowledge that we have serious governance issues that need to be addressed.

“Who gives a crap about some imbecile?”

Yeah, this kind of attitude and PR are really going to help your case:

If successful businesspeople don’t go public to share their stories and talk about their troubles, “they deserve what they’re going to get,” said Marcus, 82, a founding member of Job Creators Alliance, a Dallas-based nonprofit that develops talking points and op-ed pieces aimed at “shaping the national agenda,” according to the group’s website. He said he isn’t worried that speaking out might make him a target of protesters.

“Who gives a crap about some imbecile?” Marcus said. “Are you kidding me?”

How about a boycott of the Home Depot? (Marcus is one of the co-founders). I wonder if any of his customers are so-called "imbeciles"?

What kills me is that these people rail and rail about their taxes as if they couldn't possibly pay more, when historically taxes on income at these levels is at an all time low. Just give us all a break already.