What sort of country do we want to become? Ian McDonald skrifar 11. maí 2023 07:31 The Icelandic government has undergone a shift in priorities over the past few years. Not too long ago, the welfare and wellbeing of its people were seen as an utmost priority, and everything else existed in order to facilitate that wellbeing. Today, tourists and specifically the money they bring, are valued far more than the lives and livelihood of the people who call Iceland home, and furthermore those people now exist mostly to facilitate the wellbeing and comfort of those wealthy tourists. The government likes to claim that the vast amounts of money brought in by tourism will naturally trickle down and wash over the population, bringing prosperity to all it touches. This might be a reality in a fair and just system, or one where the biggest industries are not owned by a tiny handful of people and their families. In that reality, the riches only get concentrated in a few hands and then squirreled away offshore to avoid scrutiny from the tax office. The end result of this kind of a system is for Iceland to end up as a place just like Monaco. One which is hugely expensive, and where the vast majority of jobs are in the service industry, whose workers cannot even afford to live in the cities which they work, serving the rich who travel there. In these kind of places, the government does not care about high prices for food, housing or transportation because they know that the visiting tourists are happy to pay a premium for the privilege of visiting. Therefore there is no incentive to lower costs. Lower prices mean lower profits. Conversely, the workers are forced to pay these extortionate prices because they have no other choice. They are trapped in a system where they spend their entire paycheck just to survive. If the Icelandic government wants to live up to its well-polished, massaged image of equality and a high standard of living, which it likes to portray to the rest of the world, they must state clearly that the people who live here are prioritized more highly than tourist dollars, and to act accordingly. We live in one of the wealthiest countries in the world. The GDP of Iceland in 2022 was almost 7 percent, which equates to around 25 billion dollars. There is no reason for people to not be able to afford to survive. No excuses. The author is a member of Efling Union. Viltu birta grein á Vísi? Sendu okkur póst. Senda grein Kjaramál Kjaraviðræður 2022-23 Mest lesið Kveðjur úr Grafarvogi til þeirra sem kasta steinum úr glerhúsi Davíð Már Sigurðsson Skoðun Hvað er „furry“ annars? Jóhanna Jódís Antonsdóttir Skoðun Að undirbúa börnin okkar fyrir heim sem er að hverfa Halldóra Mogensen Skoðun Það sem er ósagt varðandi vinnubrögð hjá Háskólanum á Akureyri Þóra Sigurðardóttir Skoðun Opið bréf til fjármálaráðherra, Daða Más Kristóferssonar Íris Róbertsdóttir Skoðun Sjúklingur settur í fangaklefa Arnar Þór Jónsson Skoðun Leiðsöguhundurinn Gaur gerir mig að betri manneskju Þorkell J. Steindal Skoðun Ég kalla hann Isildur; mentorinn minn er gervigreind Björgmundur Guðmundsson Skoðun Fimmtíu ár frá lokum Víetnamstríðsins Finnur Th. Eiríksson Skoðun Hljóð og mynd íslenskra varna Arnór Sigurjónsson Skoðun Skoðun Skoðun Tikkað í skipulagsboxin Samúel Torfi Pétursson skrifar Skoðun Það sem er ósagt varðandi vinnubrögð hjá Háskólanum á Akureyri Þóra Sigurðardóttir skrifar Skoðun Sjúklingur settur í fangaklefa Arnar Þór Jónsson skrifar Skoðun Opið bréf til fjármálaráðherra, Daða Más Kristóferssonar Íris Róbertsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Ég kalla hann Isildur; mentorinn minn er gervigreind Björgmundur Guðmundsson skrifar Skoðun Hvað er „furry“ annars? Jóhanna Jódís Antonsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Jafnaðarmennskan og verkalýðsbaráttan Sigfús Ómar Höskuldsson skrifar Skoðun Hljóð og mynd íslenskra varna Arnór Sigurjónsson skrifar Skoðun Kveðjur úr Grafarvogi til þeirra sem kasta steinum úr glerhúsi Davíð Már Sigurðsson skrifar Skoðun Leiðsöguhundurinn Gaur gerir mig að betri manneskju Þorkell J. Steindal skrifar Skoðun Fimmtíu ár frá lokum Víetnamstríðsins Finnur Th. Eiríksson skrifar Skoðun Að undirbúa börnin okkar fyrir heim sem er að hverfa Halldóra Mogensen skrifar Skoðun Hollar skólamáltíðir fyrir loftslagið og líðan barna Laufey Steingrímsdóttir,Anna Sigríður Ólafsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Bókin er minn óvinur, en mig langar samt í verknám! Davíð Bergmann skrifar Skoðun Ilmurinn af jarðolíu er svo lokkandi Sævar Helgi Lárusson skrifar Skoðun Hvað er að frétta af humrinum? Jónas Páll Jónasson skrifar Skoðun Þeir greiða sem njóta, eða hvað? Jóhannes Þór Skúlason,Pálmi Viðar Snorrason skrifar Skoðun Samskiptasáttmáli; skúffuskjal eða stórgott verkfæri Helena Katrín Hjaltadóttir,Íris Helga G. Baldursdóttir skrifar Skoðun Sigrar og raunir íslenska hestsins Elín Íris Fanndal skrifar Skoðun Reykjavíkurborg á flestar félagslegar íbúðir en Garðabær rekur lestina Heimir Már Pétursson skrifar Skoðun Góðir grannar Landsvirkjunar og við hin Kjartan Ágústsson skrifar Skoðun Hittumst á rauðum sokkum 1. maí Finnbjörn A. Hermannsson,Kolbrún Halldórsdóttir,Magnús Þór Jónsson,Sonja Ýr Þorbergsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Mikilvægi orkuspáa Ingvar Júlíus Baldursson skrifar Skoðun Þegar innflutningurinn ræður ríkjum Anton Guðmundsson skrifar Skoðun Vladímír Pútín: Hvað er að marka hann? Steinar Björgvinsson skrifar Skoðun Örlög Úkraínu varða frið og öryggi á Íslandi Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Vegamál á tímum skattahækkana og vantrausts Benedikt S. Benediktsson skrifar Skoðun Konur og menntun Sigríður Ingibjörg Ingadóttir,Steinunn Bragadóttir skrifar Skoðun Aðför ríkisstjórnar Kristrúnar Frostadóttur að flóttafólki Hópur stjórnarkvenna í Solaris skrifar Skoðun Hanna Katrín og Co, koma til bjargar Björn Ólafsson skrifar Sjá meira
The Icelandic government has undergone a shift in priorities over the past few years. Not too long ago, the welfare and wellbeing of its people were seen as an utmost priority, and everything else existed in order to facilitate that wellbeing. Today, tourists and specifically the money they bring, are valued far more than the lives and livelihood of the people who call Iceland home, and furthermore those people now exist mostly to facilitate the wellbeing and comfort of those wealthy tourists. The government likes to claim that the vast amounts of money brought in by tourism will naturally trickle down and wash over the population, bringing prosperity to all it touches. This might be a reality in a fair and just system, or one where the biggest industries are not owned by a tiny handful of people and their families. In that reality, the riches only get concentrated in a few hands and then squirreled away offshore to avoid scrutiny from the tax office. The end result of this kind of a system is for Iceland to end up as a place just like Monaco. One which is hugely expensive, and where the vast majority of jobs are in the service industry, whose workers cannot even afford to live in the cities which they work, serving the rich who travel there. In these kind of places, the government does not care about high prices for food, housing or transportation because they know that the visiting tourists are happy to pay a premium for the privilege of visiting. Therefore there is no incentive to lower costs. Lower prices mean lower profits. Conversely, the workers are forced to pay these extortionate prices because they have no other choice. They are trapped in a system where they spend their entire paycheck just to survive. If the Icelandic government wants to live up to its well-polished, massaged image of equality and a high standard of living, which it likes to portray to the rest of the world, they must state clearly that the people who live here are prioritized more highly than tourist dollars, and to act accordingly. We live in one of the wealthiest countries in the world. The GDP of Iceland in 2022 was almost 7 percent, which equates to around 25 billion dollars. There is no reason for people to not be able to afford to survive. No excuses. The author is a member of Efling Union.
Skoðun Það sem er ósagt varðandi vinnubrögð hjá Háskólanum á Akureyri Þóra Sigurðardóttir skrifar
Skoðun Hollar skólamáltíðir fyrir loftslagið og líðan barna Laufey Steingrímsdóttir,Anna Sigríður Ólafsdóttir skrifar
Skoðun Samskiptasáttmáli; skúffuskjal eða stórgott verkfæri Helena Katrín Hjaltadóttir,Íris Helga G. Baldursdóttir skrifar
Skoðun Reykjavíkurborg á flestar félagslegar íbúðir en Garðabær rekur lestina Heimir Már Pétursson skrifar
Skoðun Hittumst á rauðum sokkum 1. maí Finnbjörn A. Hermannsson,Kolbrún Halldórsdóttir,Magnús Þór Jónsson,Sonja Ýr Þorbergsdóttir skrifar
Skoðun Aðför ríkisstjórnar Kristrúnar Frostadóttur að flóttafólki Hópur stjórnarkvenna í Solaris skrifar