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 Athugið. Vísir hvetur lesendur til að skiptast á skoðunum. Allar athugasemdir eru á ábyrgð þeirra er þær rita. Lesendur skulu halda sig við málefnalega og hófstillta umræðu og áskilur Vísir sér rétt til að fjarlægja ummæli og/eða umræðu sem fer út fyrir þau mörk. Vísir mun loka á aðgang þeirra sem tjá sig ekki undir eigin nafni eða gerast ítrekað brotlegir við ofangreindar umgengnisreglur. Mest lesið Heilbrigðiskerfi Íslands - Tími fyrir lausnir! Victor Gudmundsson Skoðun „Brandarinn er búinn!“ María Heba Þorkelsdóttir Skoðun 30% kaupmáttaraukning með evru Guðmundur Ragnarsson Skoðun Katrín kann sig Aðalheiður Björk Olgudóttir Skoðun Menntamorð Ingólfur Gíslason Skoðun Algeng mistök við fasteignakaup og hvernig þú forðast þau Kristín Ósk Þórðardóttir Skoðun Forsetinn má ekki fara á taugum Gísli Jökull Gíslason Skoðun Hvers vegna þurfti að farga bókinni? Hjörtur J. Guðmundsson Skoðun Halla Tómasdóttir yrði góður forseti Rannveig Guðmundsdóttir Skoðun Banvænt aðgerðarleysi Tómas A. Tómasson Skoðun Skoðun Skoðun Katrínu á Bessastaði Brynja Þorbjörnsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Eru stjórnvöld að virða réttindi barna á flótta? Hópur fólks í ungmennaráði UNICEF á Íslandi skrifar Skoðun Forseti Íslands, Baldur Þórhallsson Friðrik Erlingsson skrifar Skoðun Algeng mistök við fasteignakaup og hvernig þú forðast þau Kristín Ósk Þórðardóttir skrifar Skoðun Er ungum mönnum sama um sjófólk? Kjartan Sveinn Guðmundsson skrifar Skoðun Þörfin fyrir heimilislækna Bjarni Jónsson skrifar Skoðun Um lýðræði — Þrjár spurningar til forsetaframbjóðenda Hjörtur Hjartarson skrifar Skoðun 30% kaupmáttaraukning með evru Guðmundur Ragnarsson skrifar Skoðun Halla Tómasdóttir yrði góður forseti Rannveig Guðmundsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Forsetinn má ekki fara á taugum Gísli Jökull Gíslason skrifar Skoðun „Brandarinn er búinn!“ María Heba Þorkelsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Katrín kann sig Aðalheiður Björk Olgudóttir skrifar Skoðun Löggæsla er mikilvæg grunnþjónusta við fólkið í landinu Þorbjörg S. Gunnlaugsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Menntamorð Ingólfur Gíslason skrifar Skoðun Náttúruminjasafn Íslands má sinna sýningahaldi! Hilmar J. Malmquist skrifar Skoðun Hvers vegna þurfti að farga bókinni? Hjörtur J. Guðmundsson skrifar Skoðun Hjarta umhverfismála Margrét Júlía Rafnsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Hugsjónir og fræðimennska – einstakt veganesti Baldurs í embætti forseta Íslands Rannveig Traustadóttir skrifar Skoðun Ísland hástökkvari í málefnum hinsegin fólks Guðmundur Ingi Guðbrandsson skrifar Skoðun Banvænt aðgerðarleysi Tómas A. Tómasson skrifar Skoðun Viltu koma í ferðalag? Guðmundur Björnsson skrifar Skoðun „Ég kýs homma“ Óli Gunnar Gunnarsson skrifar Skoðun Forseti sem svarar á mannamáli Erna Ástþórsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Hugrekki Vilborg Gunnarsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Afvegaleiðing SFS? Friðleifur Egill Guðmundsson skrifar Skoðun Jón Gnarr fyrir dýraverndina Árni Stefán Árnason skrifar Skoðun Mannréttindastofnun verður að veruleika Jódís Skúladóttir skrifar Skoðun Samstarf við landsbyggðina Sævar Þór Halldórsson skrifar Skoðun Lausnin út í mýri? Álfhildur Leifsdóttir,Hólmfríður Sigþórsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Takk Ísland fyrir upplýsandi kosningabaráttu! Tómas Ellert Tómasson 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.
Skoðun Eru stjórnvöld að virða réttindi barna á flótta? Hópur fólks í ungmennaráði UNICEF á Íslandi skrifar
Skoðun Algeng mistök við fasteignakaup og hvernig þú forðast þau Kristín Ósk Þórðardóttir skrifar
Skoðun Löggæsla er mikilvæg grunnþjónusta við fólkið í landinu Þorbjörg S. Gunnlaugsdóttir skrifar
Skoðun Hugsjónir og fræðimennska – einstakt veganesti Baldurs í embætti forseta Íslands Rannveig Traustadóttir skrifar