Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn, the party of hungry children Ian McDonald skrifar 22. mars 2024 12:31 Now that some time has passed since the new collective agreement was signed between the broad alliance of trade unions, Samtök Atvinnulífsins and the Icelandic government. The dust has settled, people have had the chance to read and understand the substance of the agreement and how it will help working people over the coming years. This agreement promises to inject substantial amounts of tax-free disposable income into the pockets of working-class individuals and families, by increasing child benefit payments, lowering housing costs, lowering the cost of living by ensuring that the government reduces interest rates, and not least of all by making primary school meals free. It is on this last point that there has been objection to, particularly from Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn, and specifically (and vocally) from Oli Björn Kárason, a high-ranking member of the party. My immediate reaction to hearing that a member of the independence party doesn´t believe that it is the responsibility of the state to.....feed children..... was just a sigh and a shrug. But of course. That fits entirely with the ethos and brutal austerity politics of his chosen ideology. But then I thought a little deeper. This is a man who has been in the highest levels of Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn for a very long time. He has stuck with them through scandal after scandal, corruption, nepotism, public embarrasments and illegality. Through rampant cuts to public services and the measurable worsening of quality of life for the people he is paid to serve. And through all that, this man has held his tongue and not raised his head above the parapet. But the issue of ensuring that children have full bellies and that their families do not have to worry about the spiralling cost of meals is apparently one that he is willing to stand up in public and voice his opposition to. This is something that Óli Björn (and others) are willing to go on the record against and mark his part in Icelandic political history. To not believe that feeding children should be accepted as a bare minumum standard of care and decency in our society. That parents who are already struggling to make ends meet should be forced to scrape and save what little disposable income they have to ensure that their children aren‘t going hungry. And if they can´t afford it? Well i guess then work two jobs and pay the difference? I am well aware that the objections to increases in welfare such as this are always dressed up in political language, jargon and double-speak. The implication that somehow the Icelandic government does not have the money for this, or that it will result in inevitable cuts elsewhere. The debate surrounding free school meals for children is not merely a matter of economics; it's a litmus test for the moral conscience of our leaders. Yet, time and again, we see certain politicians barricading themselves behind bureaucratic jargon and hollow justifications, conveniently forgetting the dire realities faced by countless families struggling to put food on the table. These politicians, ensconced in their ivory towers of privilege, fail to comprehend the harsh truth that for many children, the school lunch may be their only nutritious meal of the day. By denying them this basic necessity, these politicians are complicit in perpetuating a cycle of poverty and hunger that stifles the potential of entire generations. Let's be unequivocal: objecting to free school meals for children is not a political stance; it's a moral failing. It's a betrayal of the fundamental duty of elected officials to safeguard the welfare of their constituents, especially the most marginalized among them. As a British ex-pat, my mind is inevitably drawn to comparisons with my native country, where during the covid-19 lockdowns, the Conservative government refused to feed children who were in lockdown and could not attend school. In that case it took a premier league footballer who started a public awareness campaign to pressure the government into sending food to hungry children. And yes. That is just as dystopian as it sounds. Make no mistake, that same ideaolgy is at work here, Sjalfstæðisflokkurinn are simply a bit further up the road than the British Conservative party. But the end point is the same. As citizens, we must hold these politicians accountable for their abhorrent stance on free school meals. We must demand that they prioritize humanity over politics, empathy over ideology. We must remind them that their duty is to serve the people, not their own self-interests. The author is a manufacturing worker. Viltu birta grein á Vísi? Sendu okkur póst. Senda grein Kjaraviðræður 2023-24 Mest lesið Heilbrigðiskerfi Íslands - Látum verkin tala! Victor Guðmundsson Skoðun Tími formanns Afstöðu liðinn Ólafur Ágúst Hraundal Skoðun Íslendingar – rolluþjóð með framtíð í hampi Sigríður Ævarsdóttir Skoðun Minni sóun, meiri verðmæti Heiða Björg Hilmisdóttir Skoðun Yfirborðskennd tiltekt Guðrún Hafsteinsdóttir Skoðun Konukot Sigmar Guðmundsson Skoðun Þögnin sem mótar umræðuna Snorri Ásmundsson Skoðun Mennskan er fórnarlamb Menningarstríðsins! - Tilvist fólks er aldrei hugmyndafræði eða skoðun! Arna Magnea Danks Skoðun Hróplegt óréttlæti í lífeyrismálum Finnbjörn A. Hermansson Skoðun Dýrasti staður í heimi Ragnhildur Hólmgeirsdóttir Skoðun Skoðun Skoðun „Við getum ekki": Þrjú orð sem svíkja börn á hverjum degi Hjördís Eva Þórðardóttir skrifar Skoðun Hróplegt óréttlæti í lífeyrismálum Finnbjörn A. Hermansson skrifar Skoðun Tími formanns Afstöðu liðinn Ólafur Ágúst Hraundal skrifar Skoðun Þögnin sem mótar umræðuna Snorri Ásmundsson skrifar Skoðun Minni sóun, meiri verðmæti Heiða Björg Hilmisdóttir skrifar Skoðun Yfirborðskennd tiltekt Guðrún Hafsteinsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Konukot Sigmar Guðmundsson skrifar Skoðun Hvers vegna ekki bókun 35? Hjörtur J. Guðmundsson skrifar Skoðun Íslendingar – rolluþjóð með framtíð í hampi Sigríður Ævarsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Við hvað erum við hrædd? Ingvi Hrafn Laxdal Victorsson skrifar Skoðun Höfuðborgin eftir fimmtíu ár, hvað erum við að tala um? Samúel Torfi Pétursson skrifar Skoðun Pólitískt ofbeldi, fasismi og tvískinnungur valdsins Davíð Aron Routley,Karl Héðinn Kristjánsson skrifar Skoðun Örugg heilbrigðisþjónusta fyrir öll börn frá upphafi - Alþjóðlegur dagur sjúklingaöryggis 2025 María Heimisdóttir skrifar Skoðun Einn pakki á dag Guðmundur Ingi Þóroddsson skrifar Skoðun Heilbrigðiskerfi Íslands - Látum verkin tala! Victor Guðmundsson skrifar Skoðun Hörmungarnar sem heimurinn hunsar Ragnar Schram skrifar Skoðun Dýrasti staður í heimi Ragnhildur Hólmgeirsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Grafið undan grunnstoð ríka samfélagsins Ragnar Þór Ingólfsson skrifar Skoðun Mennskan er fórnarlamb Menningarstríðsins! - Tilvist fólks er aldrei hugmyndafræði eða skoðun! Arna Magnea Danks skrifar Skoðun Milljarðar evra streyma enn til Pútíns Hjörtur J. Guðmundsson skrifar Skoðun Speglar geta aðeins logið – um hlutlægni, huglægni og mennskuna Hjalti Hrafn Hafþórsson skrifar Skoðun Að þétta byggð Halldór Eiríksson skrifar Skoðun Þegar viðskiptalíkan Vesturlanda er stríð – og almenningur borgar brúsann Steinunn Ólína Þorsteinsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Slökkvum ekki Ljósið Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Er það ekki sjálfsögð krafa að fá bílastæði? Aðalsteinn Haukur Sverrisson skrifar Skoðun Of lítið, of seint! 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Now that some time has passed since the new collective agreement was signed between the broad alliance of trade unions, Samtök Atvinnulífsins and the Icelandic government. The dust has settled, people have had the chance to read and understand the substance of the agreement and how it will help working people over the coming years. This agreement promises to inject substantial amounts of tax-free disposable income into the pockets of working-class individuals and families, by increasing child benefit payments, lowering housing costs, lowering the cost of living by ensuring that the government reduces interest rates, and not least of all by making primary school meals free. It is on this last point that there has been objection to, particularly from Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn, and specifically (and vocally) from Oli Björn Kárason, a high-ranking member of the party. My immediate reaction to hearing that a member of the independence party doesn´t believe that it is the responsibility of the state to.....feed children..... was just a sigh and a shrug. But of course. That fits entirely with the ethos and brutal austerity politics of his chosen ideology. But then I thought a little deeper. This is a man who has been in the highest levels of Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn for a very long time. He has stuck with them through scandal after scandal, corruption, nepotism, public embarrasments and illegality. Through rampant cuts to public services and the measurable worsening of quality of life for the people he is paid to serve. And through all that, this man has held his tongue and not raised his head above the parapet. But the issue of ensuring that children have full bellies and that their families do not have to worry about the spiralling cost of meals is apparently one that he is willing to stand up in public and voice his opposition to. This is something that Óli Björn (and others) are willing to go on the record against and mark his part in Icelandic political history. To not believe that feeding children should be accepted as a bare minumum standard of care and decency in our society. That parents who are already struggling to make ends meet should be forced to scrape and save what little disposable income they have to ensure that their children aren‘t going hungry. And if they can´t afford it? Well i guess then work two jobs and pay the difference? I am well aware that the objections to increases in welfare such as this are always dressed up in political language, jargon and double-speak. The implication that somehow the Icelandic government does not have the money for this, or that it will result in inevitable cuts elsewhere. The debate surrounding free school meals for children is not merely a matter of economics; it's a litmus test for the moral conscience of our leaders. Yet, time and again, we see certain politicians barricading themselves behind bureaucratic jargon and hollow justifications, conveniently forgetting the dire realities faced by countless families struggling to put food on the table. These politicians, ensconced in their ivory towers of privilege, fail to comprehend the harsh truth that for many children, the school lunch may be their only nutritious meal of the day. By denying them this basic necessity, these politicians are complicit in perpetuating a cycle of poverty and hunger that stifles the potential of entire generations. Let's be unequivocal: objecting to free school meals for children is not a political stance; it's a moral failing. It's a betrayal of the fundamental duty of elected officials to safeguard the welfare of their constituents, especially the most marginalized among them. As a British ex-pat, my mind is inevitably drawn to comparisons with my native country, where during the covid-19 lockdowns, the Conservative government refused to feed children who were in lockdown and could not attend school. In that case it took a premier league footballer who started a public awareness campaign to pressure the government into sending food to hungry children. And yes. That is just as dystopian as it sounds. Make no mistake, that same ideaolgy is at work here, Sjalfstæðisflokkurinn are simply a bit further up the road than the British Conservative party. But the end point is the same. As citizens, we must hold these politicians accountable for their abhorrent stance on free school meals. We must demand that they prioritize humanity over politics, empathy over ideology. We must remind them that their duty is to serve the people, not their own self-interests. The author is a manufacturing worker.
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Mennskan er fórnarlamb Menningarstríðsins! - Tilvist fólks er aldrei hugmyndafræði eða skoðun! Arna Magnea Danks Skoðun