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 Ian McDonald Mest lesið Börn í gámaskólum á meðan bæjarskrifstofur stækka – hvar er forgangsröðin? Ásgeir Elvar Garðarsson Skoðun Munar þig um 5-7 milljónir árlega? Jón Pétur Zimzen Skoðun Umbætur á skólakerfinu. Hættum að ljúga. Hættum því alveg og hættum því strax Atli Harðarson Skoðun Keldnaland – fjölmenn hverfi í mótun Þorsteinn R. Hermannsson Skoðun Skýr stefna um málfrelsi Róbert H. Haraldsson Skoðun Eflum traustið Helgi Áss Grétarsson,Marta Guðjónsdóttir Skoðun Hver er kjarninn í samfélagi sem selur hjarta sitt? Trausti Breiðfjörð Magnússon Skoðun Heilsufarsmat á vinnustöðum: Góð fjárfesting í heilbrigði og vellíðan starfsfólks Gígja Valgerður Harðardóttir Skoðun Vindorkuvæðing í skjóli nætur Kristín Helga Gunnarsdóttir Skoðun Framtíð nemenda í Kópavogi í fyrsta sæti Halla Björg Evans Skoðun Skoðun Skoðun Þegar orkuöflun er sett á ís - dæmið frá Suður-Afríku Hallgrímur Óskarsson skrifar Skoðun Framtíð nemenda í Kópavogi í fyrsta sæti Halla Björg Evans skrifar Skoðun Skýr stefna um málfrelsi Róbert H. Haraldsson skrifar Skoðun Heilsufarsmat á vinnustöðum: Góð fjárfesting í heilbrigði og vellíðan starfsfólks Gígja Valgerður Harðardóttir skrifar Skoðun Munar þig um 5-7 milljónir árlega? Jón Pétur Zimzen skrifar Skoðun Keldnaland – fjölmenn hverfi í mótun Þorsteinn R. Hermannsson skrifar Skoðun Eflum traustið Helgi Áss Grétarsson,Marta Guðjónsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Börn í gámaskólum á meðan bæjarskrifstofur stækka – hvar er forgangsröðin? Ásgeir Elvar Garðarsson skrifar Skoðun Hver er kjarninn í samfélagi sem selur hjarta sitt? Trausti Breiðfjörð Magnússon skrifar Skoðun Seljum börnum nikótín! Hugi Halldórsson skrifar Skoðun Sundrung á vinstri væng Jökull Sólberg Auðunsson skrifar Skoðun Þegar samfélagið missir vinnuna Hrafn Splidt Þorvaldsson skrifar Skoðun Akademískt frelsi og ókurteisi Kolbeinn H. Stefánsson skrifar Skoðun Hvar liggur ábyrgð hins fullorðna á hegðun ungmenna í samfélaginu? Rakel Guðbjörnsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Yfir hverju er verið að brosa? Árni Kristjánsson skrifar Skoðun Umbætur á skólakerfinu. Hættum að ljúga. Hættum því alveg og hættum því strax Atli Harðarson skrifar Skoðun Stjórnvöld sem fjárfestatenglar Baldur Thorlacius skrifar Skoðun Ákall til ESB-sinna: Hvar eru undanþágurnar? Einar Jóhannes Guðnason skrifar Skoðun Er ég ömurlegt foreldri ef ég segi nei við barnið mitt? Stefán Þorri Helgason skrifar Skoðun Vindorkuvæðing í skjóli nætur Kristín Helga Gunnarsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Þátttökuverðlaun Þórdísar Ragnar Þór Pétursson skrifar Skoðun Fjármálaráðherra búinn að segja A Ögmundur Jónasson skrifar Skoðun Hagfræði-tilgáta ómeðtekin Karl Guðlaugsson skrifar Skoðun Ótryggt aðgengi á Veðurstofureit Friðjón R. Friðjónsson skrifar Skoðun Stattu vörð um launin þín Davíð Aron Routley skrifar Skoðun Byggjum fyrir eldra fólk, ekki ungt Ólafur Margeirsson skrifar Skoðun Hlustum í eitt skipti á foreldra Jón Pétur Zimsen skrifar Skoðun Hugleiðingar um ástandið fyrir botni Miðjarðarhafs Örn Sigurðsson skrifar Skoðun Heildstætt heilbrigðiskerfi – hagur okkar allra Alma D. Möller skrifar Skoðun Vanþekking eða vísvitandi blekkingar? Hjörtur J. Guðmundsson 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.
Börn í gámaskólum á meðan bæjarskrifstofur stækka – hvar er forgangsröðin? Ásgeir Elvar Garðarsson Skoðun
Umbætur á skólakerfinu. Hættum að ljúga. Hættum því alveg og hættum því strax Atli Harðarson Skoðun
Heilsufarsmat á vinnustöðum: Góð fjárfesting í heilbrigði og vellíðan starfsfólks Gígja Valgerður Harðardóttir Skoðun
Skoðun Heilsufarsmat á vinnustöðum: Góð fjárfesting í heilbrigði og vellíðan starfsfólks Gígja Valgerður Harðardóttir skrifar
Skoðun Börn í gámaskólum á meðan bæjarskrifstofur stækka – hvar er forgangsröðin? Ásgeir Elvar Garðarsson skrifar
Skoðun Hvar liggur ábyrgð hins fullorðna á hegðun ungmenna í samfélaginu? Rakel Guðbjörnsdóttir skrifar
Skoðun Umbætur á skólakerfinu. Hættum að ljúga. Hættum því alveg og hættum því strax Atli Harðarson skrifar
Börn í gámaskólum á meðan bæjarskrifstofur stækka – hvar er forgangsröðin? Ásgeir Elvar Garðarsson Skoðun
Umbætur á skólakerfinu. Hættum að ljúga. Hættum því alveg og hættum því strax Atli Harðarson Skoðun
Heilsufarsmat á vinnustöðum: Góð fjárfesting í heilbrigði og vellíðan starfsfólks Gígja Valgerður Harðardóttir Skoðun