Vaalipodi: Vieraana Li Andersson | #rahapodi 324

Introduction

In this section, the hosts introduce their guest, Li Andersson, the chairman of the Left Alliance. They discuss how many times she has been on the show and briefly mention topics from previous episodes.

Guest Introduction

• The hosts introduce their guest, Li Andersson, the chairman of the Left Alliance.

• Li Andersson talks about her background and how the Left Alliance has reformed itself in recent years.

The Left Alliance's Supporters

In this section, Li Andersson discusses who supports the Left Alliance and what unites them.

Supporters' Backgrounds

• Li Andersson explains that supporters come from a variety of backgrounds.

• She notes that despite different backgrounds, supporters share a strong set of values focused on combating inequality and reducing poverty.

Differences Between Parties

In this section, Li Andersson discusses how the Left Alliance differs from other political parties in Finland.

Competitors and Differences

• The closest competitors to the Left Alliance are SDP and Greens.

• One key difference between SDP and the Left Alliance is their environmental and climate policy views.

• There are also differences in labor market political issues between Democrats (Dems.) and the Left Alliance.

Differences between Left Alliance, Greens and Democrats

In this section, the speaker discusses the differences between the Left Alliance, Greens and Democrats in Finland.

Key Points

• The Left Alliance has a different social and labor market policy view than the Greens and Democrats.

• The Greens have been ready to weaken earnings-related unemployment security.

• The Left Alliance is a party on the left, while the Greens are not.

• During this government period, there has been an attempt to lump together Democrats, Greens and Hammers as if they agree on everything, but that's not the case.

Differences between right-wing parties in Finland

In this section, the speaker talks about differences between right-wing parties in Finland.

Key Points

• There are many right-wing parties in Finland including Liike Nyt (liberals), Christian Democrats and Center Party.

• Currently there are more people on the right side than actually on the left side.

Influence of Left Alliance on other parties

In this section, the speaker talks about how influential Left Alliance is.

Key Points

• It would be wonderful if Left Alliance is so influential that it has been able to influence other parties' agendas.

• Parties exist to change society in a direction they want by making decisions themselves.

Comparison with Social Democratic Party (SDP)

In this section, the speaker compares their party with SDP.

Key Points

• Compared to SDP, Left Alliance has a stricter line on labor market issues, income distribution issues and environmental and climate policy.

• In these elections, SDP has come along the lines of the left-wing coalition in terms of economic policy.

Political Parties and Issues

In this section, the speaker discusses political parties in Finland and their stance on various issues.

Left Alliance's Preferred Party for Debate

• The Left Alliance prefers to debate with the coalition as they talk about issues of the content of politics.

• They have a different line when it comes to tax policy, growth, and employment.

Identity Politics vs. Policy Content

• The Basic Finns practice identity politics which takes away from substantive issues.

• The left-wing union wants to be more involved in political issues rather than being seen as only representing a certain type of people.

Differences Between SDP and Coalition

• There is talk that the differences between SDP and Coalition are minimal in practice.

• However, there are still differences that can be found.

Cornerstones of Left-Wing Politics

In this section, the speaker talks about the cornerstones of left-wing politics in Finland.

Reducing Inequality

• Reducing inequality is one of the most important cornerstones for left-wing politics.

• This includes income distribution issues and services.

Sustainable Social System

• Changing our social system to a more sustainable basis is also an important issue for left-wing politics.

• This includes changes required in industry, housing, traffic, taxation, ways of living etc.

Education and Know-how

• Increasing education and know-how has become a strong theme for left-wing politics.

• It is at the heart of economic and employment policy.

Taking Care of Weaklings

In this section, the speaker objects to the idea of taking care of weaklings and discusses how the coalition is campaigning for a billion income tax reduction while also pushing for cuts to the livelihoods of people with the lowest incomes.

Coalition Campaigning for Income Tax Reduction

• The coalition is campaigning in these elections for a billion income tax reduction.

• At the same time, they are pushing for cuts to the livelihoods of people with the lowest incomes.

• This promise of a billion income tax reduction destroys their claim that cuts are necessary because of the economy.

Policy Giving to Well-off and Taking from Lowest-income

• The policy gives to the well-off and takes from those with low incomes.

• Shortening earnings-related benefits would take several hundred euros per month from unemployed individuals who drop into basic daily allowance or labor market support many months earlier.

• Cuts proposed to housing allowance would mean more than 110 euros less support for rent payment than now.

Incentives and Long-term Unemployment

In this section, incentives related to steering long-term unemployed individuals back into work are discussed. The majority of unemployed individuals get a job at the beginning of unemployment. Cuts will not change factors studied as background and cause of long-term unemployment in Finland.

Steer Long-term Unemployed Individuals Back into Work

• The right wants everyone to have a job and wants everyone to have a chance.

• Most unemployed individuals get a job at the beginning of unemployment.

• Factors studied as background and cause of long-term unemployment in Finland are not related to the fact that unemployment insurance is too good.

• Cuts of 20 or 10 or 50 euros will not change these factors.

• Factors include problems with health and ability to work, skills not matching what employers are looking for, and living in a place where there are no jobs available.

Income Angle

In this section, the income angle related to solving problems faced by unemployed individuals is discussed. The left wants to solve these problems while the right wants everyone to have a job.

Solving Problems Faced by Unemployed Individuals

• The left wants to solve problems faced by unemployed individuals.

• Everyone is better off if they are working and not dependent on subsidies.

• Cuts only increase dependency on income support.

Understanding Unemployment

In this section, the speaker discusses the psychological impact of unemployment and how it affects a person's self-esteem and belief in their own possibilities.

Impact of Unemployment

• Unemployment is a tough place for a person psychologically, causing uncertainty and worry about the future.

• Prolonged unemployment affects self-esteem and belief in one's own possibilities.

• Financial insecurity and low income add to the stress of unemployment.

Basic Income Experiment

In this section, the speaker talks about the Sipilä government's basic income experiment and how it challenges common arguments against basic income.

Basic Income Experiment

• The most common argument against basic income is that it passivates people.

• The basic income experiment showed no difference in employment between those who received basic income and those who received normal paid unemployment insurance.

• This result challenges the argument that basic security passivates people.

Simplifying Social Security

In this section, the speaker discusses how bureaucracy can discourage people from accepting jobs and how simplifying social security could help.

Simplifying Social Security

• Bureaucracy can discourage people from accepting jobs because they don't know which supports are coming from below.

• Basic income would be very clear in that sense, making it easier for people to accept jobs.

• Research has shown that there are incentive traps when transitioning from unemployment to work due to differences in net hourly wage.

• When making social security/salary comparisons, it's important to take into account a person's family situation and other benefits they may receive.

• Efforts have been made to increase financial incentives in unemployment insurance to address incentive traps.

Marginal Tax Percentage and Minimum Wage

The discussion is about the marginal tax percentage and minimum wage in Finland. The speakers discuss how the current salary level in relation to the cost of living, especially in the capital region, is too low for many working people.

Marginal Tax Percentage

• If your salary goes up, you move pretty quickly from one pay category to the next one, and then the difference you get is not necessarily one that encourages you to work.

• For some people, the marginal tax percentage might be almost a hundred in practice.

• Everything you get as a salary, then you lose those subsidies and payments increase. The net effect is such that you really have to think whether there is any point in this.

Minimum Wage

• A minimum hourly wage of 12 euros translated into full-time work would still require an increase in housing allowance and social security in the capital region.

• It can be very difficult to find affordable housing even in the suburbs of Helsinki if you have a family and are on a low salary.

• One important thing would be to get more euro-denominated wage increases for low-wage sectors. This could help that low-paid crowd.

Affordable Rental Apartments

The discussion focuses on solutions for ensuring there is a sufficient supply of reasonably priced rental apartments.

Solutions

• Cutting housing allowance only means that the same person has to get by with even less money. Solutions should be sought through salary levels and by having more affordable rental apartments or family apartments.

• Efforts should be made in urban planning, zoning, and construction to ensure that there is a sufficient supply of reasonably priced rental apartments.

Supporting Employees in Care and Education

The discussion centers around ensuring that employees in care for the elderly or early childhood education can live comfortably in Helsinki without having to move far away from their workplace. Housing allowance is discussed as a means of support for low-income earners.

Housing Allowance

• Support should be provided to ensure that employees in care for the elderly or early childhood education can live comfortably in Helsinki.

• Housing allowance is determined based on income, with lower-paid individuals receiving more support.

Finland's Egalitarianism and Welfare State

The conversation explores Finland's reputation as one of the most equal countries on earth, while acknowledging that there are still people who struggle due to various reasons. The welfare state is praised for its success but criticized for not doing enough to break intergenerational disadvantage.

Finland's Equality

• Finland is considered one of the most equal countries on earth.

• Studies show that the majority of Finnish children, young people, and adults are doing well.

Intergenerational Disadvantage

• A group of individuals who are not doing well have problems that accumulate and are often inherited.

• The welfare state supports the well-off majority but has not found effective means to break intergenerational disadvantage.

Challenges Facing Social Welfare

This section discusses challenges facing social welfare systems such as child welfare foster care and pension systems. Early interventions are suggested as a way to break intergenerational chains.

Child Welfare Foster Care

• A billion euros per year is spent on child welfare foster care, which is expensive in terms of both human and social costs.

Pension System

• A quarter of the salary cost goes directly to financing Finland's pension system.

• Long-term investment in every child born in Finland could finance the entire pension system.

Early Interventions

• Early interventions are suggested as a way to break intergenerational chains.

• Prevention measures such as low-threshold support for families, home service, and early childhood education could be effective if more money was allocated towards prevention rather than corrective services.

The Market Economy and Competition

This section discusses the idea that the market economy is based on competition, and how this affects companies and wages.

The Market Economy and Competition

• The market economy is like Darwinism, where life is a competition.

• Companies live in a competitive environment with grandiose orders that require certain wage levels.

• However, we live in a global market economy where our standard of living is at an extremely high level but moderately expensive.

• It's important to have clear rules about what the minimum level of employee protection or wage level should be so that all companies in Finland comply with them.

Preventive Health Checks

This section discusses preventive health checks and their effectiveness.

Preventive Health Checks

• Transferring money for prevention would be much cheaper and smarter than treating problems later.

• Finland has built one of the world's most successful countries by guaranteeing equal opportunities for everyone through its education system.

• Screening healthy people without grounds ties up resources to care for sick people.

• Health checks for long-term unemployed individuals can be smart because it can detect diseases early on before they become more expensive to treat.

Discussion on Fiscal Policy and Growth

The speaker discusses the mistakes made in Finland's fiscal policy during previous election periods, which led to a decline in employment and economic productivity. They express concern about the current proposal for a 6 billion adjustment and suggest that a more realistic amount would be 3 billion.

Mistakes Made in Previous Election Periods

• In previous election periods, cuts were focused on education and science, which are factors that can best promote productivity.

• Adjusting 6 billion during weak economic growth contributed to the decline of employment and economic productivity.

• During this period, Finland's employment rate was lower than other Nordic countries, and long-term unemployment was higher.

• The speaker questions whether Finland has learned from these mistakes.

Concerns About Current Proposal

• There is a risk that a large adjustment of 6 billion will contribute to further decline in growth if weak economic growth continues.

• A more realistic amount for adjustment would be 3 billion based on current growth forecasts.

• It is unlikely that the coalition's promises can be fulfilled without touching social security or education.

The 10 Billion Deficit and Energy Crisis

In this section, the speakers discuss the 10 billion deficit and the energy crisis. They talk about how they would have been ready to do more on the income side, but the biggest problem was the energy crisis. They also discuss how the government reacted to it and why there are grounds for criticism.

Deficit and Income Side

• The speakers discuss the 10 billion deficit that was created.

• They mention that they would have been ready to do more on the income side.

• One of them confirms that they in Vasi would have been ready to tighten financial policy with tax decisions.

Energy Crisis

• The biggest problem in 2022 was the energy crisis.

• One speaker criticizes how reactive the government has been at every turn regarding this issue.

• Another speaker mentions that during August budget fuss, they warned about rising energy prices in December being a big issue next winter.

Decline in Finland's PISA Results

In this section, one of the speakers talks about Finland's decline in PISA results over a period of 15-20 years. They discuss several social changes that may have contributed to this decline, including reading habits and family background.

Reading Habits

• Reading habits have changed due to digital devices, especially for boys.

• Two-thirds of Finnish boys only read if they have to, which correlates with success in all subjects.

Family Background

• The proportion of low-performing students has increased, primarily related to the student's family background.

• Family background affects learning results more than before, especially if there is a low level of education or unemployment.

Finnish Education System

The speaker discusses the Finnish education system and the changes that have been made to improve it.

Changes Made to Improve Education

• Resources for education have been reduced over the past 15 years.

• Group sizes in early childhood education have been reduced, and support is provided earlier to children who need it.

• A binding school community work has been created for elementary schools to tackle school dropouts.

• Needs-based funding has been provided for kindergartens and schools located in weaker socio-economic areas.

• National criteria have been created to support teachers when giving grades.

Inclusion vs Observation Class

• Inclusion means that each student should be given support corresponding to their needs, and all children would be entitled to receive support in their own neighborhood school.

• Small groups or special classes can still exist within inclusion.

• Municipalities decide how much and for whom any form of support is best.

Overall, the Finnish government has made efforts to improve its education system by reducing group sizes, providing earlier support, creating a binding school community work, providing needs-based funding, and creating national criteria for grading. The concept of inclusion means that each student should receive support corresponding to their needs, but municipalities ultimately decide what type of support is best.

Learning Support and Efficiency in Public Administration

In this section, the speakers discuss the importance of providing learning support to students based on their interests and needs. They also talk about the need for efficiency in public administration.

Importance of Organized Learning Support

• Students with learning difficulties should not be transferred to a separate group or school if they can do well in the general education group.

• The state needs to provide funding for municipalities to implement learning support according to student's interests.

• The state is obliged to finance new obligations given to municipalities.

Efficiency Measures in Public Administration

• Inefficiency in public administration can be addressed by making it more efficient rather than just cutting staff from administration or support services.

• One example of inefficiency is buying low-quality computer software like Abbot.

• Administrative tasks take up an increasingly large part of working time for teachers, doctors, and nurses.

• Organizations can be made more effective by shaping workflows that are smoother and burn fewer resources.

Investing in Finland's Economy

In this section, the speakers discuss the need for investments in Finland's economy and getting resources to fix problems before they become bigger issues.

Need for Investments

• Finland is 14 years behind other countries and needs investments.

• A deadlock after elections could be resolved with a Jyrki Katainen-style rainbow government.

Fixing Problems Before They Become Bigger Issues

• Resources are currently focused on taking care of consequences rather than causes.

• The economy needs to be fixed so that resources can be used to fix problems before they become bigger issues.

Closing Remarks

In this section, the speakers conclude their conversation and say goodbye.

• "Until next time then."

• "Thank you."

Subtitles: Inscripta Oy