>>>>>3. A Lagarde & Co. trial balloon. Basically the same idea but to gauge applicability worldwide, not just in the Eurozone
>>>>
>>>>I don't think so. There are too many countries where this is simply inconceivable.
>>>
>>>Argentina? Mexico? Thailand? ...
>>
>>Yeah, I sort of meant countries like US, CA, UK, Germany, Holland, France, etc. Surely these countries would not dare such a thing? But who knows today anymore.
>
>That's EXACTLY my point. The IMF could be boiling frogs, getting first-world countries used to the idea that their deposits could get confiscated. I can't think of a better test case than Cyprus in its current state - small enough to not matter at a macro level, but a full member of the EU (!)
>
>Confiscating the deposits of ordinary savers - yet another miserable example of good deeds getting punished.
>
>I wonder if Greece and Spain are seeing any flights of capital yet...

Yeah, I find the whole thing extraordinary but I'm no expert so what do I know. I can only imagine (as I think you said too) that these people at the top (the troika, IMF, etc.) are not stupid. They are all educated and experienced - they must know the reaction of the population, the risks of bank runs, civil unrest, etc. Yet they did it anyway - so there must be some reasons for it but what ..? The most "benign" thing I can think of is plain old fashioned political posturing. But I wouldn't be surprised if there is more to it than that.