Red Card for the Money Elite!

The parliament needs new, unspoiled forces. All the parties which are currently in parliament have in turn betrayed the promises given to the electorate when they have been in government and in many municipal councils. Even now they are preparing lists of cuts to be effected immediately after the elections. There is sufficient money to support the banks with billions of Euros, but those with low incomes have to undergo further cuts.

Come and join in to develop resistance and alternatives. With your vote express your opposition to the bankers and the corrupted elite. Demand a radical turn to the left.

Let the speculators pay for their own crisis

People across Europe have risen up against the attempts by governments and the European Union leaders to make the low- and middle-income people pay for the crisis of capitalism which is further exacerbated by the bank lords. We are part of this citizens’ movement, of the European Left and the international movement to free humankind from exploitation, from the power of capital and the insecurity inherent to it.

It's time to put the bank lords under control and to make the stock gamblers pay their bills themselves. Tax on capital income, high incomes and large corporations must be tightened. Stock exchange trading and financial markets must be taxed. We must move from indirect levies and municipal taxes which heavily tax low-income towards a tax system in conformity with paying capacity and a progressive tax system for all incomes.

Stop cut in social spending and the privatization

Finland’s gross domestic product is nearly 50 percent bigger than ten years ago. However, the major political parties advocate measures to weaken public services, employment, pensions and other basic security provisions. The Confederation of Finnish Industries EK and right-wingers want to transform public services into commercial business.

Basic services are a fundamental right of everyone. Their tendering and privatization must be stopped. Statutory services must as a general rule be organized as municipal services and proximity services. For that purpose more money must be raised by means of increased State contributions for the municipalities and taxing capital income.
An Act on Senior Citizens’ Services must be promulgated, which guarantees the right to proper care and treatment.

Funding for public health and personnel must be increased to guarantee access to care. A uniform payment ceiling must be enacted for health and social services. Primary health care should be free of charge.

Primary schools should be developed on the basis of uniformity and equity. Also, vocational and university education should be free of charge. The size of child day care groups must be reduced. Information, data networks, art and culture belong to everyone.

900 euro basic security and 1 500 Euro minimum wage

Government policy has since long been based on a conscious growing of income inequality and of increased indifference for the most deprived. Approximately 700 000 Finns are forced to live with an income under EU poverty line. In particular, poverty among families with children has increased. Also, the number of low-wage working poor has grown.

Basic security must be raised to 900 Euro per month. This means that the basic unemployment benefit, labour market support, small pensions, student allowance, basic income allowance, rehabilitation allowance as well as the lowest sickness, maternity, paternity and parental leave allowances must be raised substantially and be paid from a one-stop office at Kela (Finnish social insurance fund).

A monthly minimum wage of 1500 Euro must be enacted by law, and taxable income lowest threshold is to be raised to 1 100 Euro per month.

For a redistribution of income and shorter working hours

Hundred of thousand of persons in Finland are without a job whereas others are exhausted because of the ever increasing work load. The new employment relationships are more and more of a casual nature. Employers break the job security of their employees, keep pressing their employees and resort to cheap labour. Ever greater parts of the yield of labour are being distributed as dividends to shareholders.

The distribution of wealth between labour and capital must be reorganized to the advantage of the workers. Work and income must be redistributed, through shortening of working time without reducing income level. Especially the salaries of low-payed female sectors must be raised. Resorting without good reasons to precarious forms of labour and to hired labour as well as the use of endless subcontracting chains must be prohibited by law. The practice of equal pay for equal work in one country must be guaranteed. 

The State and the municipalities must invest into the creation of new jobs in the industry and service sector, in environment protection, public transport and other fields of general interests.

The rise in housing costs must be stopped by means of rent regulation, new state supported housing loans and municipality funded building of housing. The right to housing for everybody must be guaranteed by the State and the municipalities.

Climate measures are needed now

There has been a lot of talking on reduction of emissions into the atmosphere, but the deeds have been lagging behind the words. The government of Finland has been among those who have pulled the brakes inside the EU whenever there was a need to move from words to acts. Although the Greens participate in government, the energy policy is focusing mainly on nuclear energy, public transport is being weakened and resources for environmental protection are struck off. 

Finland must enact a climate law reducing emissions by 40% by the year 2020 compared to the level of 1990 and Finland must embark upon a road towards carbon neutral energy. No to nuclear energy and to uranium mining – Yes to energy savings and renewable energy. Public transport must be developed and the price of tickets must be lowered. The bio-diversity of nature must be protected and ecologically sustainable production and consumption patterns must be promoted.

An Alternative to the EU Command

The EU Lisbon Treaty and the neoliberal policy subjugate the people and nature to the greed for profit of the market forces. Because of the free movement of capital the entire development is prisoner of financial markets which has taken us from crisis to crisis. The cuts in public spending as part of EU leaders’ response to the crisis of the Euro as well as the subjugating of national budgets to the control by the EU Commission only aggravate the crisis.

The development of Finland and Europe must be liberated from the power of financial capital and EU command. Instead of the constant race for competitiveness and social dumping, a different Europe of cooperation and solidarity must be built. A referendum on the EU Treaty must be held.

Cooperation between Finland and Russia must be developed and cannot depend on orders from Brussels. Relations with developing countries must be developed on equitable basis respectful of their needs, human rights and their sovereignty over their natural resources.

Withdrawal of the troops from Afghanistan, no to NATO

All political parties of the outgoing parliament have approved the sending of Finnish troops in the Afghan war, that has not brought about peace but ever greater destruction. Finland has been tied to NATO through billions of arms purchases and EU military action.

Peace and security cannot be built with arms but through cooperation. The Finnish troops must be withdrawn from Afghanistan. Finland must be disengaged from NATO partnership. The peace policy and military non alignment must be restored. Armaments spending must be reduced.

From the power of money to the power of the people

Political decisions have been made in small circles, without listening to the citizens and disregarding alternative options. Business people and big corporations have used funding of electoral campaigns to purchase the decision-makers of their liking.

The voice of working and low-income people must be heard in the decision-making. Participative democracy must be developed, such as neighbourhood democracy, regional councils, referendums and citizen’s initiatives. Democracy must expand to reach the field of economics in transferring the banks and financial institutions under social ownership and democratic control. Nobody should be discriminated against on the basis of nationality, language, conviction or any other ground.

Vote for a genuine left wing alternative in parliament – Vote for the Communist Party of Finland!

www.skp.fi/english

CP of Finland / CPF