*sigh* Is it 2010 yet?

The Core RPGC Main Forum
1

This new goverment of ours (Swedish) is unbelieveable -_-

Not only has a few of the politicians been forced to quit due to not paying their TV-license taxes (we have a system where a few TV-channels are commercial free, but for that everyone who owns a TV/radio/computer pays a certain sum each year) and illegally hiring people to be nannies just a few weeks after being installed*, they’re raising the unemployment payments with 300% or more. For each month. And making it mandatory even if you don’t have a job to pay that sum, too, from what I understand.

The unemployment payments have worked as such that as long as you work, you pay a (once) small sum each month as an insurance to help you if you find yourself without employment. It used to be around what would be $10 or so, now we’re talking $30-40 a month. And they’re making it mandatory.

Even the goverment themselves admit that this will be harsh on women (because most part-time workers are women, and they’ll still have to pay as much as the full-timers) and people who are already financially weakened.
But that’s okay, you know, because all those part-time women will realize that they should get married already and let their husbands take care of them!

BUT the politicians are lowering our taxes, just like they said! Huzzah! -_- And social safety goes out the window**. Hello anti-depression pills for the people.
Of course, we won’t be able to afford that either.

Under Göran Persson, everything slugged on at the same usual pace and at least we knew what we’d get. Now we have a sunny happy-happy Reinfeldt who doesn’t believe in that people can be burned out or sick or old. Nope, we’re all energetic 25-year olds ready to bounce out and happily clean toilets if there’s nothing else to do.

The goal is employment for all, but God help anyone falling on the wayside.

And in four years, the social democrats will (please, please) be back in power and start to clean up this mess. This happened in the 90’s too, except then I was so mercifully young that it slipped me by.

*This is from a political alliance who takes payment and taxes very seriously.
**Sweden has some of the highest taxes in the world, but as a result we’ve had a really good social safety net to lift people up when they need it. Not so much for at least the next four years.

2

Both of our governments are in the crapper. :frowning:

offers a cookie as consolation

3

Eeh. We’ve more or less the same situation here, except that here it’s the social democrats which are creating the mess and ruining the environment and acting like arrogant bastards. It’s what democracy is like. Sadly.

4

I agree.

I didn’t know about the unemployment payment issue, honestly. How annoying.

However, I’m confident that the social democrats will get back in four years. The pattern simply works that way. :slight_smile:

5

I don’t have anything good to say about my government. It’s actually a factor of shame for us. All the good things about Brazil are counterbalanced by our policticians.

Last time, about 2/3 of our federal representatives and I think half of our senators were caught stealing from the federal budget. The president took actions to keep any judgement from happening before elections, which took place a few days ago, and most of the thieves got reelected. A few days after the first findings on corruption, they found out another group selling ambulances to the health department for more than 10 times the value they were worth. We’re ruled by heartless demons.

6

Well, I’m beginning to believe people simply get bored of peace and prosperity(which they refer to as “the status quo”, as if its a bad thing) and want to “change the status quo”(which pretty much always results in fucking things up).

It happened in this country. Bush came to office convincing people that the country had stagnated; while leaving out the fact that we had stagnated with a surplus, eased racial tensions, low crime, low unemployment. He appealed to people who were bored and wanted some action - and boy did they get it.

Oh well. We’re coming to the end of our period of ‘adventurism’. Hopefully the Republicans will get their clocks cleaned in this coming election, and we can begin the long, torturous road back to stability and prosperity.

7

I kinda had the same kind of a “WHAT?” after listening to the TV-permit and the dark-hired work. (Who the hell pays a TV permit if in the end games you don’t watch those government-supported channels anyway? News are way too convenient to follow on the net too these days.)

Don’t worry, Tanja Saarela’ll drag us down too. She’s tightening everything and isn’t ready to support students, which is funny coming from a cultural minister.

Borrowed from Wiki: “She was also the subject of a Google bomb for “stupid cow”.”

8

False promises soon forgotten. Seems even Sweden couldn’t pull it off.
edit:

In Greece the government has been having having problems with a 6-week long strike from elementary and secondary grade teachers and 730 schools deciding to sit-down strike. Before summer, students and professors had been demonstrating for three months. On both occasions the Minister of education just closed her ears. A fine red herring she’ll be, in the first opportunity.
Did I mention our PM held for himself the post of Minister of Culture and visited the ministry thrice before giving it to another minister who was haunted by scandals? Stupid politicians.