The government’s austerity measures have manifested in severe spending cuts across critical sectors, including healthcare, social benefits, government agencies, and civil society. Additionally, regressive tax increases, notably a 1.5 percentage point rise in the basic VAT rate to 25.5 percent, have further burdened the population.
Beyond the questionable economic outcomes, the social costs are becoming increasingly apparent. Projections indicate a 9.2 percent increase in poverty and a 13.6 percent rise in child poverty. After a period of decline, homelessness is once again on the rise, driven by cuts to social benefits and housing services. The government’s dismantling of social housing is also expected to escalate housing costs.
Just 35 years or so behind the US. Great job, Finland!
Et tu, Finland?
This has been openly happening in Iceland for about 20 years.
90% of new apartment buildings arr bought by rent-to-live firms. All critical social systems have been starved. The roads are bumpy and you have to wait 18 hours in the emergency room before being told to fuck off.
And more….
You Finns need to stand up to these fuckers.
Thanks. It does not look like the far-right idiots are going to be part of the next government, but it’s still almost 2 years til then. And it’s not like the neolib/conservatives aren’t responsible too.
We were lucky to have a good ol’ social democrat government before that which carried us smoothly through the pandemic. But immediately afterwards it was economy this and rebuild that. Workers in the social/public sector getting rather less money now. You still remember how they were cheering us on the balconies?
I don’t think things will ever go back to the way they were before, largely because the USSR has dissolved. The European elites, and in particular the Nordic ones, allowed social democracy to flourish out of fear that people, influenced by the Soviets, would join a communist revolution in their respective countries. That threat has disappeared.
The problem is that nobody pushes things back to the left. In the US the Right kept making changes when they got control and when the libs had their shot they kinda shrugged about giving the rich more money and power. They made a big deal out of lgbtq rights or pot legalization, but didn’t fix the wealth and power imbalance. Repeat, again and again and now there are pretty much no liberals, they gave up all their power, and lgbtq rights and all that are on the chopping block.
The problem is right there: liberals. What we really needed was progressives and socialists, who are actually left to push things left.
Yeah, the logic overwhelmingly tells you it doesn’t make sense and won’t work, the past experience empirically proves it doesn’t help the vast majority of the people, the politicians can’t really explain why would that work for the people, we absolutely know who pushes this agenda (the rich that are about to get richer, investing in lobbyists and marketing/propaganda) … yet here we are, listening to how this will be great, this time.
I guess Finland is about to lose their happiest country on earth status to make a few extra bucks. Good luck with that neolib shit. America tried it for the past 40 years and well it hasn’t gone that well.
We’re not making any extra bucks though, just more people unemployed Link
Are they? “Happies country on earth” isn’t actually measuring how happy people are.
It’s partially neoliberal propaganda that uses measures like GDP per capita as proxies for happiness.
Glad somebody notices!
Yep, it sucks, esp. for low-income people. The savings are minimal and very questionable considering that this will cost the country much more in the long run.
Didn’t even know about the dismantling of social housing. Jesus fucking holy Christ.
Who’s responsible? Far-right populists and the conservative party pandering to their constituency. Idiots.
Far-right and ancap/neolib types love austerity.
If you look at it from a certain angle, fascist parties are especially about imposing some sort of austerity in order to make sure that a special class gets more wealth and privilege.
Here’s a relevant interview:
The Roots of Austerity and 20th Century Fascism (feat. Clara Mattei) - YouTube
If you look at it from a certain angle, fascist parties are especially about imposing some sort of austerity in order to make sure that a special class gets more wealth and privilege.
You mean they’re not actually on the people’s side? 🤯
Yeah now in Finland if you have a good salary you get tax cut. On the other hand, union fees are not deductible anymore.
…
I mean, genius, right?
Did Stubb support this?!?
isnt he from the rich people party anyway? why wouldnt he
I really need to translate “Birds of a feather flock together” for the Finns.
Much like in Sweden!
OK, this is interesting. Can you tell me if the far-right populists have been in power for more than one term or how that went?
Right now it doesn’t look like they will join government come next term in Finland. And many people have been theorising/postulating that “once they’re in power people will realise how clueless they are, and that’s that then.” It certainly looks like it now, but I remain skeptical.
But of course we still have our very own neoliberals; economically they’re not much better.
Well, at least the potatoes and NCP lost a lot of seats in the local elections already, so I gained a bit of hope.
Young people not fucking voting though still remains an issue.
Welp, there goes my hope that maybe Eastern European democracy will survive.
Fascist neoliberalism is right now a metastasizing cancer and we are at the point of where everybody knows that the patient has not much time left and survival chances are slim. Good night democracy, it was at least not bad, for sure better than whatever will happen next.
Et tu, Brute?
