Funny. Other countries have inflated away their debt, which is essentially the same thing as just taking a certain fraction of everyone's money. Printing money

Funny. Other countries have inflated away their debt, which is essentially the same thing as just taking a certain fraction of everyone's money. Printing money to pay debts would also have the same effect (since it would cause inflation). The only reason Cyprus would have to resort to taking its citizens' money is because these options aren't available to it, since it doesn't control it's own currency. You'd never see the US do the same because there's no need - a country that controls its own currency should always be able to pay its debts.