Budget | The opposition criticizes the government for “crony capitalism” and the continuation of indebtedness

Sdp’s Member of Parliament and head of the Finance Committee Joona Räsänen wonders that even though “the state is getting into debt at a record pace, it can still afford crony capitalism that favors the well-off”.

With “crony capitalism”, Räsänen refers to the fact that the government will boost private health care with almost half a billion euros during the election period.

Petteri Orpon The (kok) government agreed on next year’s budget presentation on Tuesday. It was presented in the closing information of the budget meeting on Tuesday evening.

“The benefit of this policy is non-existent, they do not reduce treatment queues and the increases are aimed at the best-off in society. At the same time, the government makes it difficult to access public health care. This is completely harsh interest group politics,” Räsänen states in the press release.

Räsänen is also surprised that the government did not start reforming the relaxed dividend tax treatment of unlisted companies.

“So, in the government’s opinion, the state is still not in such a difficult situation that, in the government’s opinion, even those with good incomes should participate in the economic balancing efforts, but instead the line of crony capitalism is allowed to continue,” Räsänen scolds.

Unfortunately the budget proposal does not restore trust in Finland, and the downward spiral of the Finnish economy will not be corrected, criticizes the vice-chairman of the center Markus Lohi in its announcement.

According to Lohe, the results of the budget tussle should be viewed through the overall picture of the public finances. In other words, will Finland get on the path to growth, will confidence in the Finnish economy be restored and will it be possible to sustainably curb the growth in spending, Lohi asks. He answers himself:

“These are now shown to fail.”

According to Lohe, the size category of the adaptation is right in itself. Despite that, the state economy cannot be fixed. Lohi reminds us that the deficit of the state budget economy from the Orpo government’s two budgets is already around 25 billion euros in total.

“Consumption taxes are being raised to the limit and unemployment is increasing, but no decisions were made to bring about a better turn around. It was promised to stop the indebtedness, but the direction is different.”

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“Ordinary people’s affairs are left undone.” – Antti Kurvinen (center)

Chairman of the Center parliamentary group Antti Kurvinen states in his press release that “Finland is drifting when the ministers are sitting on a racism course”.

“There are more than 300,000 people unemployed in Finland, the economy is not growing, everyday costs are rising and health and elderly services are being reduced. It was possible to cut and increase taxes, but what was done about these big everyday things? Nothing at all”, writes Kurvinen.

“Ordinary people’s affairs remain unaddressed and Finland’s problems unsolved, when the ministers’ time seems to be spent on other things. If not to blame the previous government, then to a course on racism.”

The greens chairman of the parliamentary group Oras Tynkynen according to the press release, the government’s budget is “unsurprising, unfair and discouraging”.

“Unfortunately, as expected, the budget is unfair from the point of view of Finns and discouraging from the point of view of reforming the economy,” Tynkkynen writes.

“The Orpo government continues with the old line, where balancing the economy is paid for by the unemployed, sick, students and low-income workers. Still – despite the harsh cuts – indebtedness continues at a record pace,” summarizes Tynkkynen.

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“The government barely has any money to strengthen nature conservation.” – Oras Tynkkynen (green)

Tynkkynen, however, thanks the fact that the government has wisely decided to cancel some of its most harmful cuts, such as the attempt to make secondary education fee-based again.

According to Tynkkynen, the budget proposal was particularly weak in terms of the environment.

“Many Finns are shocked by the brutal destruction of Suomussalmi. In spite of this, the government hardly even gets a dime to strengthen nature conservation. Previous cuts continue to weaken the conditions for nurturing raw rivers and Finland’s other unique nature,” Tynkkynen criticizes.

The Left Alliance chairman of the parliamentary group Aino-Kaisa Pekonen with its budget presentation, the government is disciplining the sick and endangering social security services.

“The financing of our common health services is at stake and the government is just avoiding its responsibility instead of putting on the gloves and getting to work,” Pekonen states in the press release.

In Pekonen’s opinion, Orpon and Riikka Purran (ps) when leading the country, “everyone should fervently hope to stay healthy”.

“In the future, it seems that only people with good incomes can afford to get sick. Hundreds of euros will be taken from the sick allowance of a middle-income person, social security customer fees will be increased and medical costs will be increased. At the same time, the government can afford to distribute half a billion euros in new Kela compensations, which will flow into the growing profits of healthcare companies,” says Pekonen.

According to Pekonen, “Purra’s scissors are hitting social security services ranging from child protection to elderly care”. While access to treatment in primary health care was speeded up during the previous government term, the government is now extending the treatment guarantee from two weeks to three months.

“This is a leap from the Nordic welfare state towards American health care, which is expensive and unequal.”

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“And the government still doesn’t intervene in tax subsidies that benefit the wealthy.” – SAK’s Ilkka Kaukoranta

Finland The Central Association of Trade Unions SAK emphasizes in its press release that “the government’s cutting line got a new seal in the budget crisis”.

“With the government drastically cutting social security and public services, there is enough money for the increased Kela compensations, which mainly serve the well-off. And the government still does not intervene in tax subsidies that benefit the wealthy. So there are alternatives to cuts, and the allocation of adaptation measures is a political value choice”, commented SAK’s chief economist Ilkka Kaukoranta in the bulletin.

According to Kaukoranta, the government’s cuts weaken the economic situation because they reduce consumers’ purchasing power and domestic demand.

“Instead of easing the recession, the government’s actions increase unemployment. The recessions that come with the cuts will be more severe, because social security no longer protects the livelihood of those who become unemployed in the same way, and thus domestic demand in recessions,” states Kaukoranta.

Awkward resents the fact that new growth measures were missed in the budget frenzy. In its press release, it pointed out that no essential decisions were made regarding the reform of the business support system.

Actions should have been taken to reduce unemployment and solve the skills shortage, but in the rush no attention was paid to reducing unemployment.

“During the budget rush, only a few growth, competitiveness and employment measures were taken, even though we desperately needed new openings. We consider it important to get more investments and attraction factors in Finland”, stated Akava’s chairman Maria Löfgren in the bulletin.

“Hopefully, this will be a reflection of the government’s new growth package for mid-term 2025, which must be prepared in a comprehensive and well-organized manner. Both labor market organizations and other expert bodies must be involved in its preparation,” the statement continued.

of STTK chief economist Patrizio Laina states in the organization’s press release that the government’s budget scramble failed to create hope and confidence in the future, which would now be badly needed to overcome the recession and unify the nation.

According to Lainà, despite the tough adjustment – ​​or actually because of it – economic growth freezes, the debt ratio does not collapse and deficits grow.

In STTK’s opinion, fairer means would have been available to strengthen the public economy, which would not have cut economic growth.

“For example, increasing Kela reimbursements for private doctor’s visits has not increased doctor’s visits or broken down treatment queues, but it will increase public spending by half a billion euros during the government’s term,” states STTK.

Sivistisala ry condemns the further cuts in vocational education in his press release. The organization criticizes the government’s decision to allocate an additional cut of 20 million to vocational training in addition to the previously decided 100 million.

“It is impossible for educational institutions to plan their future when funding is constantly on an uncertain basis. Education was supposed to be outside of savings, but the government has broken this promise regarding vocational education for the second time,” says Sivistysala ry’s director of policy and advocacy Heikki Kuutti Uusitalo in the bulletin.

Social-the health and education professional organization, according to Tehy, “decision-makers have lost their sense of reality”. According to the organization, this is evidenced by the fact that key government ministers’ use of language regarding welfare areas has hardened.

According to the organization, during the budget tussle, Finance Minister Riikka Purra had stated that she considered the “welfare area reform to be a clear failure”. Purra threatened the welfare areas with the assessment procedure of the Ministry of Finance and even the merging of the areas.

Tehy also reminds that in the past the decision-makers have spoken of the welfare areas as a “money hole” and “expenditure item”, but now Purra already called them a “problem point”.

Also the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Sari Essayah (kd) has criticized welfare areas for excessive spending and accused them of “moral loss”.

“On the contrary, the problem and the loss of morale are precisely in political decision-making. When the finance minister’s only tool is a hammer, all problems look like nails. In Riikka Purra’s world, there is no value in what welfare areas produce for society and its residents,” says Tehy’s chairman Millariikka Rytkönen in the organization’s bulletin.

Correction 3.9. 9:50 p.m.: Sivistysala ry criticizes the government’s decision to allocate 20 million, not 20 billion, to vocational training, an additional cut in addition to the previously decided 100 million.