Americans in Finland shared similar sentiments. But they weren’t naive about the place, and there was a reason they weren’t buying the latest toys. “I’ll never become rich in Finland,” one explained, “the taxes are just too high.” But for him it was a trade-off worth making. “Great healthcare, basically free. My kids get one of the best educations in the world, free.” By the way, that includes college, free. He had no plans to move back to the States.
The author of this piece of garbage stated that Finns admitted they suffered from low self-esteem. Perhaps this is due to them relying on the government for their well-being? Insane.
The author was just showing his/her preferences. That person like having all of these services instead of having stuff. Note that he was quick to point out what he/she received for the high taxes they paid. They did not emphasize the latest toys they missed: Houses, cars, fuel, electronics, boats. They noted the healthcare was free and great. Becareful about what is behind free and great. It may not be so free or so great if you need a kidney transplant or need dental work or have a chronic illness that is out of the ordinary.
If it’s paradise, they must have good cheeseburgers. But given the extensive government involvement, and how much cheeseburgers factor in to a paradise, I would say then that it can’t be a paradise, since the government would be the cheeseburger-manager.
I had a problem with the last line “The single-minded pursuit of outsized material consumption helped get us into this mess.” I know what he means, but he’s dishonest to think that all Americans are motivated by vain material consumption. In fact, I think many Americans have values “greater” than materialism. I wouldn’t expect a left-winger to not make the blanket whiny assertion that America is capitalist therefore, all of us are obsessed with selfish material desires.
And this piece might be implying a huge non-sequitor. It doesn’t seem that Finns outside of the cities live a simple life because of the social (socialist) spirit of their political economy. They live a simple life because, they have a heavy tax and regulate social democratic economy.
Finally, not to make a blanket claim on left-wingers. But the exact lifestyle he describes from Finnish people, is similar to the lifestyle of rural Americans in the west, midwest. So if he wants to find the simple life, maybe he should spend time with those country bumpkin-cattle ranchers- and hillbillies which on other days he would call racists and gubmint fearing conservatives.
My problem with the article was that the author implies that Finns live a life of luxury BECAUSE of government; thus, he wishes America adopt the same socialistic “policies” of Finland. In addition, I do not disagree that “consumerism” (such a leftist pejorative) is partly to blame, but that is not a feature of capitalism. Unfortunately, leftists use the terms interchangeably.
Some time ago I was active on a forum for expats in Finland.
Much like the free market forums I frequent, which have a socialist pop up every once in a while saying poor people will starve without government, or atheist forums getting a believer trying to convert people with the logic of Pascal’s Wager, this forum for expats got it’s laughs from every odd Yank that would pop up declaring how he hates his country and wants to move to the Paradise that is Finland.
The interesting part is that most of the Finns there actually supported government run healthcare, education, etc., but if there was one thing that pissed them off to no end, it was the Yankee socialist telling them how great their lives must be.
Thus, the tax base to support their one-big-happy-family schemes begins to shrink. Like Western Europe and the US, they will probably resort to mass immigration to stave off the inevitable. The last thing it seems anybody will do is cut back the welfare state to enable affordable family formation.