Finland’s birth rate has been falling for some time, and in a new report published on Tuesday, which is covered by most of the media, the Finnish Family Association looks at how it could be raised.
Economic life says the report, which includes articles by several researchers, finds two main reasons for the declining birth rate: lifestyle and insecurity.
Anna Rotkirch The federal government writes that people of childbearing age do not want to have children, even if they are not sure if they can afford a decent-sized apartment, they are not sure of their own financial prospects and they may also be unsure of their relationship to take on a new addition to the family.
Lifestyle issues are clearer according to Talouselรคmรค. People are reluctant to compromise on the freedom and quality of life they currently enjoy and fear that children will change it significantly.
Rotkirch urges policy makers to invest in day care services and early childhood education, to pay for so-called Baby premiums – and to encourage the construction of a home in the growing cities of the South so that people are more likely to find a place where they want to raise children.
Marin votes well
Helsingin sanomat newspaper perform a query the prime ministerโs popularity has fallen slightly but remains at an unusually high level.
In a survey that was also reported by most other media, 74 percent of respondents are satisfied Sanna Marin’s (SDP) performance. It fell from 78 percent in May.
The proportion of respondents who are very satisfied with Mariniโs performance has fallen from 39 per cent in May to 28 per cent now, while 22 per cent are dissatisfied with the prime minister.
Voters tell the newspaper that the reason may be that in May, Mariniโs main report was about his actions around the coronavirus crisis, but he has recently been criticized for his economic policies.
Veikkaus’ budget problems
Next week, the government will meet to compile a budget for 2021, and one of the topics on the agenda is to fill the funding gap for organizations that are currently dependent on the money from Veikkaus, the stateโs state gambling monopoly that funds charities.
These funds are tied to certain good purposes, and in a normal year the money is about a billion euros.
This money goes to everything from the National Opera to NGOs and even the War Veterans Alliance, but this year the shortfall is around โฌ 300 million.
This is due to the long-term evolution of peopleโs habits – they are unlikely to play lotteries or gambling – but also to the governmentโs decision earlier in the year to close vending machines in stores to combat the coronavirus.
HS considers hole filling options. One option is to try to block foreign gambling sites in order to better protect Veikkaus’ market.
Other options are to switch some budget lines to general budget spending, but it has risks for recipients: while hardly anyone would dare cut funding for war veterans, the National Opera may have fewer supporters among younger MPs.
Politicians could also give up their monopoly position altogether and move to taxing all gambling companies operating in Finland, but Veikkaus’ recipients estimate that this could generate only a third of the current funds.
Source: The Nordic Page