European extremes

VOTERS in Europe are a disgruntled bunch. Not only are they tossing out incumbents, there is a marked shift to the extremes in the political spectrum. This could put pressure on our normally-genteel parliamentary system.

IT IS nothing unusual for a party in power to bear the blame for a recession. Voters want a change from a depressed economy and choose whoever is in opposition. This process is so well-established that there is a theory about the “political business cycle,” where politicians try to time a recession into the middle of their term so that the economy will be booming when elections come up. MPs know we voters have very short memories.

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A Finnish city in North Africa

IN A novel idea, Canada will help build a new charter city in Honduras. One could almost think of it as a Canadian city in another country, governed by its own Canadian-inspired rules. The city will be an “independent reform zone,” where Honduras provides the land and Canada provides the institutions.

SPECIAL administrative regions are nothing new. For instance, Finland has special rules for some rural areas to promote economic activity. There is also the autonomous area of Åland. Probably the most famous, and successful, special region is Hong Kong. It is part of China, but is governed by a separate system.

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I was wrong about Nokia

IN June 2011 I wrote a scathing column criticising the ratings agencies for cutting their rankings on Nokia debt. Now almost one year has passed, and they were right, and I was wrong.

I HAVE written about ratings agencies several times in the past. They have been under fire in recent years because they rated shady collateralised mortgage obligations (CMO) highly before these instruments collapsed in the financial crisis. The agencies have also been attacked for downgrading the sovereign debt of troubled nations.

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Vappu and capitalism

AFTER seven years in Finland, I’ve finally discovered the secret to Finnish holidays: alcohol. Armed with this forbidden knowledge, I devised a new holiday, a holiday which will rejuvenate our economy and make us as rich as Swedes.

I realised that no matter what we try, a day to celebrate something eventually becomes devoted to booze. Think about it. What do you remember most about Christmas? Going to church or listening to the mayor of Turku declare the Christmas Peace? No. You remember, vaguely, making drinks that were equal parts glögi and Finlandia vodka.

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The return of bartering

A currency, when it functions correctly, is a wonderful medium of exchange. A person works, is rewarded currency, and uses that money to buy anything she wants. Yet in Europe today this system is partially breaking down, and people are returning to the ancient barter system.

BARTERING can be rather difficult. For example: I’m a writer and I need to eat. So my option would be to offer a farmer a story in exchange for food. If I looked hard enough I could probably find someone to take me up on my offer, but it would be undoubtedly difficult and time-consuming.

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More bailout money (but not from us?)

I HAVE become rather unsettled with recent events in Europe. The bailouts are failing and everyone realises it. European authorities have acknowledged that something more needs to be done, but at the same time they don’t want their own countries to do anything.

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Your taxes and Muxlim

A BOOK I wrote is causing controversy, and it has not even been released yet. Mohamed 2.0 tells the story of Mohamed El-Fatatry and Muxlim, the company he founded. Muxlim ended up failing, and some people are angry about the tax money it received.

MUXLIM was variously a social network for Muslims, a content aggregator, and a consumer consultant. It and El-Fatatry received a great deal of attention, both here and abroad. Journalist Esa Mäkinen of Helsingin Sanomat received an advance copy of the book and wrote a critical article on 18 March about the collapse of Muxlim.

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The private sector and public problems

GOVERNMENTS are having a tough time. They are under pressure to tighten their budgets and control spending, but a sluggish economy impels them to increase spending to spur production and help those in need. In such a situation MPs should be open to novel ideas. One of the most interesting is the social impact bond, where private investors are encouraged to fund a social programme, and are only paid if it works.

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The decline and fall of European democracy

“I don’t need to tell you things are bad. Everybody knows things are bad… All we say is ‘Please, at least leave us alone in our living rooms. Let me have my toaster and my TV and my steel-belted radials, and I won’t say anything. Just leave us alone.’ Well, I’m not going to leave you alone. I want you to get mad.”

THE 1976 movie Network had some powerful writing, including the iconic “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!” line. Recently I’ve been feeling some affinity to the character Howard Beale. I want people to get angry about what is happening in Europe.

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The future of the welfare state

THE European social contract is hinged upon generous public spending. Generous public spending caused the sovereign debt crisis, or, at least, so one argument goes. So does this mean the welfare state, as we enjoy it in the Nordic region, is doomed?

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