Helsingin Sanomat election machine
I threw Helsingin Sanomat’s election machine (from the Uusimaa electoral district) into a machine translator, here’s what it spit out. Use at own risk. When you’re done, be sure to post your results in the comments section!
Click “more” to see the questions and answers:
1. What mind are you from the following claim: On Finland’s labour market one should take, to learn Tanskanen, where the dismissal is easier but level of the unemployment benefits higher.
The totally same mind.
The nearly same mind.
Rather separate mind.
Totally separate mind.
2. Should Finland persuade foreign labour?
Yes.
The work permits must be more flexibly than at present granted when necessary but the large-scale migration should not be striven for.
The present practice is good.
One not but the present practice should be tightened.
3. What mind are you from the following claim: The Globalisation and the free trade have been to the welfare of the Finns mainly an advantage.
The totally same mind.
The nearly same mind.
Rather separate mind.
Totally separate mind.
4. The alcohol taxation was lightened in 2004. How should the alcohol taxation be developed?
The tax should be still lightened.
The present level is suitable.
The taxation of strong drinks should be tightened.
The taxation of alcohol should be tightened all over.
5. The general value-added tax is 22 per cent in Finland. To the food the adjusted value-added tax is lower, in other words 17 per cent.
The value-added tax of the food should be raised.
The present level is good.
The value-added tax of the food should be lowered.
6. The salary taxation would come in the following electoral period
One lightens straightforwardly.
One lightens a little.
One keeps as it is now.
One tightens.
7. The inheritance taxation would come in the following electoral period
One tightens.
One keeps as it is now.
One lightens only in connection with the transfers of farms to descendants of companies.
One lightens all over.
The inheritance tax should be totally removed.
8. The child benefit is 100 euros per month nowadays from the first child and the addition rises step by step so that beginning from the fifth child it will be 172 euros per month. What should be done to the child benefits?
One raises from all the children in the relations which are in accordance with the present system.
One raises emphasising v{h{lapsinen families.
One raises emphasising monilapsinen families.
The raisings are not necessary.
9. The voluntary retirement pension insurances are supported nowadays with the tax advantage. Should the tax
advantage of the pension saving be extended also to other saving ways such as shares, funds and deposits?
Yes.
One not.
Even the present tax advantage must be removed.
ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT
10. In Finland the rise in price of the energy and the options of noted Fortum in the stock exchange cable have been discussed. What mind are you from the following claim: A new state energy company should be founded in Finland?
The totally same mind.
The nearly same mind.
Rather separate mind.
Totally separate mind.
11. With what kind of methods should the growth of the energy consumption be checked in Finland?
The taxation of electricity and fuels should be noticeably tightened.
The taxation of electricity and fuels could be tightened a little but the consumption of the main stress in the control of the growth should be in the education.
The saving should be striven for only with the methods of the education.
The growth of the energy consumption does not need to be checked.
12. What mind are you from the following claim: The sixth nuclear power plant should be built in Finland.
The totally same mind.
The nearly same mind.
Rather separate mind.
Totally separate mind.
13. What kind of line should Finland advocate in the climate policy of the EU?
EU.n should be a pioneer and should restrict the emissions of gases, even others as USA and China would not be to it yet willing.
The emissions must be globally reduced but EU should not commit itself to the reductions more than other countries.
It at least is not yet topical to reduce the emissions of gases.
14. In Finland 220 –250 is a wolf at the moment. There is a number
Too small.
Suitable.
Too big.
SEXUAL EQUALITY
15. Should an adoption right be allowed to gay pairs and lesbian pairs which live in a registered pair relation?
Yes, the same rights as being in the marriage should be allowed to them.
Internal adoption of the family in which one of the spouses can adopt its partner the child should allow.
An adoption should not be allowed to the ones the same sex.
DIGI-TV
16. In Finland it has been decided that the analogous television broadcasts end 31.8.2007. Would the decision to break and to give the extra time to analogous transmissions come?
Yes.
One not.
Weighting coefficient
SAFETY AND INTERNATIONAL MATTERS
17. What mind are you from the following claim: The authority of the police should be increased to repel crime and to
increase general safety.
The totally same mind.
The nearly same mind.
Rather separate mind.
Totally separate mind.
18. How should Finland’s defence be arranged?
On extension to NATO and by giving up general liability to military service.
On extension to NATO and by retaining general liability to military service.
To stay outside NATO and by retaining general liability to military service.
To stay outside NATO and by giving up general liability to military service.
19. Would Turkey become the member of the EU, it will take if it fills the
conditions of the membership?
Yes.
One not.
20. How would you like to check the president’s prerogatives?
The president’s foreign-policy power should be reduced for the ##government##.
The president should lead the foreign policy also only in the cooperation with the ##government## but to participate in the summit meetings of the EU still not.
The president’s prerogatives have to be retained as they are now.
The president’s prerogatives should be increased from the present one.
STUDYING
21. In Finland the university studying is free. How should one act henceforth?
The university education has to be free also in the future.
To the students of the EU external countries a term fee should be adjusted.
A term fee should be adjusted to the universities to everybody.
22. How would the students’ livelihood come primarily support in the future?
To raise the study grant.
To encourage students to finance its study with the study loan more than at present.
To encourage more students than before working in addition to the studies by raising the income limit about which student can earn his study grant without losing.
MUNICIPALITIES AND MUNICIPAL SERVICES
23. In Finland a municipality reform is going on. One objective is to reduce the number of the municipalities from the present 416. What would be the suitable number of the municipalities?
About 400 municipalities.
About 300 municipalities.
About 200 municipalities.
About 100 municipalities.
24. What is the best method to secure the citizens’ municipal services?
The country must give the municipalities more money.
The municipalities should cover the need for the extra finance by tightening taxation or by raising
customer payments.
The municipalities should intensify their own production of services.
In the municipalities distinctly more outsourcing services than at present should be utilised.
25. The restricting of the P{iv{hoito-oikeus has been presented as one alternative when the municipalities look for the means to keep the growth of social security expenditures in the discipline. How do you adopt an attitude to the thought?
The children’s p{iv{hoito-oikeus must not be restricted.
The P{iv{hoito-oikeus has to be restricted if one of the parents is at home.
To every one of the subjective so-called p{iv{hoito-oikeus which belongs automatically one should give up.
26. What mind are you from the following claim: Patient payments of the nursing one should scale according to the income level.
The totally same mind.
The nearly same mind.
Rather separate mind.
Totally separate mind.
GOVERNMENT BASE
27. The government will probably only get a majority behind him in the parliament if two of the three biggest parties are along in it. What would be the most suitable combination if the election results allowed?
SDP and National Coalition Party.
Exchange and SDP.
National Coalition Party and exchange Painokerroin
1 331 Sundström Terhi Keskusta 268
2 261 Perälä Sami Liberaalit 255
3 97 Stambej Kenneth RKP 237
4 259 Mattinen Harri Liberaalit 219
5 262 Siivonen Jaakko Liberaalit 203
6 284 Lignell Raakel Kokoomus 199
7 303 Ahvenainen Mikko Keskusta 196
8 81 Harms-Aalto Martina RKP 194
9 280 Komulainen Riikka Kokoomus 185
10 295 Rönkä Antero Kokoomus 178
Bummer, no Jyrki Kasvi in my results.
1 Liberaalit 180 4
2 Kokoomus 68 34
3 RKP 26 28
4 Keskusta 5 28
5 Oikeusturva -5 2
6 Vihreät -52 33
7 Köyhien asialla -93 3
8 SDP -102 31
9 Kristillisdemokraatit -122 29
10 Vasemmistoliitto -134 32
11 Perussuomalaiset -140 27
12 Lista A -192 2
13 SKP -202 20
14 STP -235 5
15 KTP -245 5
16 Itsenäisyyspuolue -293 5
Comment by Phil — Thu, Feb 22nd, 2007 @ 1:38 pm
Uusimaa:
1 324 Saarela Tanja Keskusta 517
2 304 Alkio Mikko Keskusta 428
3 315 Laine Marja-Leena Keskusta 419
4 74 Gestrin Christina RKP 395
5 288 Mäkinen Tapani Kokoomus 393
6 308 Hursti Anna-Mari Keskusta 390
7 69 Tanninen Timo Vihreät 387
8 305 Auvinen Timo Keskusta 377
9 76 Grandin Alexander RKP 374
10 196 Rajajärvi Anu SDP 374
Vaasa:
1 5 Kallis Bjarne Kristillisdemokraatit 378
2 79 Nygård-Fagerudd Wivan RKP 373
3 51 Heikkilä Katja SDP 358
4 70 Cederborg Muluken RKP 353
5 55 Kumpula-Natri Miapetra SDP 343
6 28 Puuronen Jyrki Vihreät 331
7 130 Jaskari Jari Kokoomus 329
8 93 Lapiolahti Päivi Keskusta 327
9 61 Riikilä Leena SDP 322
Comment by FinnFreak — Thu, Feb 22nd, 2007 @ 2:30 pm
Wow. its all about taking more tax money. Little thought ot question like: Would you like the tax rate lowered from 60 to 40%?
Not one question on giving the tax payer some money back.
So live like a third world country. Thats where you are all going.
Comment by winter — Thu, Feb 22nd, 2007 @ 2:48 pm
1 44 Hagerlund Tony Vihreät 390
2 150 Parkkinen Tiina Köyhien asialla 382
3 165 Lievemaa Tommi SKP 381
4 43 Haaranen Tarja Vihreät 381
5 175 Savela Olli SKP 374
6 137 Virta Sari Vasemmistoliitto 374
7 128 Ruuth Saila Vasemmistoliitto 369
8 85 Karlsson-Finne Anna Lena RKP 368
9 36 Ahonala Jukka Vihreät 367
10 40 von Essen Kristian Vihreät 359
And for comparison, here are my top 10 results from Hufvudstadsbladets election machine:
135 Kati Tyystjärvi, Vanda (Vänsterförbundet) 83.8%
178 Arjo Rainer Suonperä, Esbo (Finlands Kommunistiska Parti) 83.8%
47 Eeva Honkanummi, Esbo (Gröna Förbundet) 83.1%
40 Kristian von Essen, Sjundeå (Gröna Förbundet) 82.5%
107 Birgitta Gran, Hangö (Vänsterförbundet) 81.3%
264 Kalevi Wahrman, Borgå (Finlands Arbetarparti) 81.3%
99 Fredrika Wickström, Karis (Svenska Folkpartiet i Finland) 80.6%
86 Tiina Kujala, Esbo (Svenska Folkpartiet i Finland) 80.0%
175 Olli Savela, Hyvinge (Finlands Kommunistiska Parti) 79.4%
186 Maria Guzenina-Richardson, Esbo (Finlands Socialdemokratiska Parti) 79.4%
I actually am thinking of voting for either Mikaela Nylander or Christel Liljeström. But, perhaps I should listen to my results more!
Comment by JG — Thu, Feb 22nd, 2007 @ 3:00 pm
Winter, what you don’t seem to understand is that not everyone wants to live in a society where the GDP is growing at a massive level and the taxes are very low when this also causes massive differentials between the richest and poorest in society.
Finnish, Swedish and other Nordic electorates have frequently voted against parties proposing tax cuts in the past. Our economy is growing; yes it grows more steadily and slowly than countries that have no concern for social welfare and the increase of equality, but that is the trade-off we are willing to make in order to live in a more equal society without the large scale poverty that is found in some other lands.
They are different models, why can you not accept that ours is as acceptable as that which you promote.
Comment by JG — Thu, Feb 22nd, 2007 @ 3:07 pm
Awww, winter, just be a good little boy and chew those sour grapes of yours properly. Otherwise you might get bad indigestion.
Comment by Ã…boy — Thu, Feb 22nd, 2007 @ 3:09 pm
Otherwise you might get bad indigestion.
…and when people call you an old fart, they really mean it - literally.
Comment by FinnFreak — Thu, Feb 22nd, 2007 @ 3:14 pm
I’m a one issue voter, and this year my issue is wolves. I want a candidate who supports heavy wolf population in Finland. I could care less about taxation, sexual minorities, and healthcare. My only concern is wolves.
Comment by Phil — Thu, Feb 22nd, 2007 @ 3:42 pm
I say raise the tax. I need more Kela, for my student assistance…4th year now…I love the free living life. Hyväääää Suomiiiiii
Free live is great for me.
FREE LIFE IS GOOD FOR ME! YOU DO NOT LIKE FREE LIFING. NO COME HERE. You like free living ? come to Suomi Finland.
Make more tax. I do not want to work. Beer is good.
Timo
Comment by Timo — Thu, Feb 22nd, 2007 @ 3:44 pm
Wolves is an odd one. Every edition of the party leader questioning on FST:s OBS programme has so far asked the leader about whether more wolves should be allowed to be shot. It is quite amusing in a strange way. I think they should be allowed free university education if they speak both national languages.
Although, I have to admit to disproportionately caring where candidates stand on Sipoo/Helsinki.
Comment by JG — Thu, Feb 22nd, 2007 @ 3:46 pm
There are WAY too few wolves in Finland - tenfold the population & we’ll be able to hunt them without a permit. woohoo.
Comment by FinnFreak — Thu, Feb 22nd, 2007 @ 3:55 pm
“No concern for social felfare” and yet you have a 10% and higher unenployment rate.
Wow. Those two do not converge at all guys. You can’t say you like the little guy and then vote to put him out of work with high taxes.
Comment by winter — Thu, Feb 22nd, 2007 @ 4:07 pm
I’m a one issue voter, and this year my issue is wolves. I want a candidate who supports heavy wolf population in Finland. I could care less about taxation, sexual minorities, and healthcare. My only concern is wolves.
:D
Uusimaa:
1 304 Alkio Mikko Keskusta 406
2 87 Liljeström Christel RKP 405
3 74 Gestrin Christina RKP 392
4 324 Saarela Tanja Keskusta 389
5 76 Grandin Alexander RKP 383
6 194 Alho Arja SDP 382
7 136 Uotila Kari Vasemmistoliitto 376
8 86 Kujala Tiina RKP 363
9 280 Komulainen Riikka Kokoomus 363
10 305 Auvinen Timo Keskusta 358
My vote still goes to Kasvi.
Comment by Passer-by — Thu, Feb 22nd, 2007 @ 4:11 pm
JG: “…not everyone wants to live in a society where the GDP is growing at a massive level and the taxes are very low when this also causes massive differentials between the richest and poorest in society.”
Unfortunately for the egalitarians among us, corporations have already thwarted any notions we have about equality by paying exorbitant salaries to those near the top.
At the end of the day, high taxes—including those paid by Finland’s poor (!)—are what contribute most to our inequality. Or at least to the lowered quality of life for poor people in absolute terms. Consider that without a high GDP, we can’t raise our medical care to higher standards.
Of course, it’s not such a problem for those who can afford supplementary insurance. But those who don’t have the money get to wait in the terveyskeskus for 4-hours. Or even worse, they get wait-listed for operations.
I’m very much in favor of the OECD’s recommendations for Finland:
+Lower income taxes;
+Draft more flexible central wage agreements;
+Better target welfare to avoid unemployment and poverty traps.
Their suggestions are hard to ignore, especially in light of competition from—e.g.—eastern
Europe.
http://www.oecd.org/document/36/0,2340,en_33873108_33873360_36552804_1_1_1_1,00.html
Otherwise, I like Phil’s idea of more wolves. We need more here in Espoo, where there are plenty of household pets for them to eat ;p
Comment by Kristian (in Espoo) — Thu, Feb 22nd, 2007 @ 4:30 pm
Wow, a Finn is recommending “+Lower income taxes;”
get out the tar and feathers. Or was the BBC turned off?
Welcome to the dark side Kristian….We have all the Billionair’s here.
Comment by winter — Thu, Feb 22nd, 2007 @ 4:42 pm
I’m a one issue voter, and this year my issue is wolves.
Why? And why this particular issue?
Comment by Ã…boy — Thu, Feb 22nd, 2007 @ 5:00 pm
“Welcome to the dark side Kristian….We have all the Billionair’s here.”
Thanks winter, but just to be clear… I’m not crossing over to any “dark side”
I simply want a system that works for everyone. Here in corporate-heavy Finland, we tend to stack our unemployables (those without corporate skills or academic inclinations) in high-concentration tenement complexes. We pay them welfare and tell the world “Look, no poverty here in Finland!”
Whereas I’m not against welfare one bit, we need to have a local economy that gives those non-corporate types a chance to succeed. The restrictive high-tax model prevents it.
Sweden has an even bigger problem with its unemployable immigrants. Again, a high-tax system that can’t sustain employment at the bottom end. No poverty there either…….but lots of violence.
Comment by Kristian (in Espoo) — Thu, Feb 22nd, 2007 @ 5:10 pm
Winter: “We have all the Billionair’s here.”
You see, here is the difference illustrated again. To me this gives off a negative meaning… whereas to you it is positive.
To me it says “selfish people without regard to fellow members of society.”
I don’t understand why you can not understand that we don’t all think in your way and keep on condemning some of our ways with often very poorly articulated arguments that board on the hysterical. You manage to make often irrelevant comments about “the welfare state” in almost every topic. I wonder if you realise how you come across. You sound like a broken version of the American Fox News Channel’s rhetoric machine.
Comment by JG — Thu, Feb 22nd, 2007 @ 5:11 pm
wanting more wolves is for gays
Comment by gaywolf — Thu, Feb 22nd, 2007 @ 5:55 pm
JG, no point in trying to talk some sense into winter. He’s beyond rational thought. He’s stuck on the cold-war era (poor fellow didn’t even know that the Soviet Union has collapsed) and pictures Finland as one of the Soviet states. In his limited little mind there’s no difference between communism and social democracy. For him, “welfare state” is synonymous with North Korea.
Just thought to save you the trouble of trying to reason with a hydrocephalus (no disrespect meant to any decent hydrocephaloids out there).
Comment by Ã…boy — Thu, Feb 22nd, 2007 @ 6:03 pm
Wow, that translation machine works as well as the electronic voting system in the states.
Comment by Keksi — Thu, Feb 22nd, 2007 @ 6:32 pm
Why? And why this particular issue?
Greater chance that Tarja Halonen gets eaten.
Comment by Phil — Thu, Feb 22nd, 2007 @ 7:43 pm
I oppose increasing the wolf population. Wolf immigrants will only take the jobs of Finnish wolves.
Comment by Anonymous — Thu, Feb 22nd, 2007 @ 7:43 pm
Hmpf…I took the ‘test’ and I’m appalled at the sorry state of our democracy. It seems that we could go straight to one-party system:
- There was a SDP candidate both in my top 10 and worst 10.
- In Helsinki my top candidate was from Greens, while in Oulu I should go for KePu or True Finns.
I guess nowadays the political programs are designed by the same people, who are summoned to help, if market share of margarine A is dropping.
And yes, a wolf pack having Fifi’s for breakfast in Kaivopuisto is absolutely needed.
Comment by Antti (the redneck one) — Thu, Feb 22nd, 2007 @ 7:46 pm
Eh Phil, do you know where your dog is?
Comment by Kristian (in Espoo) — Thu, Feb 22nd, 2007 @ 8:03 pm
Douglas Adams on Democracy
From So Long and Thanks for All the Fish …
[An extraterrestrial robot and spaceship has just landed on earth. The robot steps out of the spaceship...]
“I come in peace,” it said, adding after a long moment of further
grinding, “take me to your Lizard.”
Ford Prefect, of course, had an explanation for this, as he sat with
Arthur and watched the nonstop frenetic news reports on television, none of which had anything to say other than to record that the thing had done this amount of damage which was valued at that amount of billions of pounds and had killed this totally other number of people, and then say it again, because the robot was doing nothing more than standing there, swaying very slightly, and emitting short incomprehensible error messages.
“It comes from a very ancient democracy, you see…”
“You mean, it comes from a world of lizards?”
“No,” said Ford, who by this time was a little more rational and coherent than he had been, having finally had the coffee forced down him, “nothing so simple. Nothing anything like to straightforward. On its world, the people are people. The leaders are lizards. The people hate the lizards and the lizards rule the people.”
“Odd,” said Arthur, “I thought you said it was a democracy.”
“I did,” said ford. “It is.”
“So,” said Arthur, hoping he wasn’t sounding ridiculously obtuse, “why don’t the people get rid of the lizards?”
“It honestly doesn’t occur to them,” said Ford. “They’ve all got the vote, so they all pretty much assume that the government they’ve voted in more or less approximates to the government they want.”
“You mean they actually vote for the lizards?”
“Oh yes,” said Ford with a shrug, “of course.”
“But,” said Arthur, going for the big one again, “why?”
“Because if they didn’t vote for a lizard,” said Ford, “the wrong lizard might get in. Got any gin?”
Comment by mh — Thu, Feb 22nd, 2007 @ 9:35 pm
What’s all the shit about taxes, wolves and unemployment? The only thing I got from this article is what I already know, that Finnish sounds fucking stupid directly translated into English.
Comment by gopha — Fri, Feb 23rd, 2007 @ 12:23 am
Phil:
“I’m a one issue voter”
I wouldn’t expect anything MORE CLEVER in your case. Sorry.
Comment by Thomas — Fri, Feb 23rd, 2007 @ 12:40 am
“welfare state†is synonymous with North Korea.
Well yea. You have a 10% unemployment rate. The USA fires any government with those numbers, so our taxes stay low.
So head down the road to a North Korea style state. Its where you all will be, 3rd world, asking the USA for tofu or rice to shut down your nukes.
Comment by winter — Fri, Feb 23rd, 2007 @ 1:19 am
Indians scattered on dawn’s highway bleeding.
Ghosts crowd the young child’s fragile eggshell mind.
Jim Morrison
(aka The Lizard King)
Comment by Kristian (in Espoo) — Fri, Feb 23rd, 2007 @ 1:29 am
The greed and the missiles
Exploding somewhere every day
Hideous dark secrets under the sea and in holes in the ground
The cold war’s gone
But those bastards’ll find us another one
They’re here to protect you, don’t you know?
So, get used to it - Living With The Big Lie, Marillion
Comment by FinnFreak — Fri, Feb 23rd, 2007 @ 9:21 am
I would vote for Kristian if I lived in Espoo.
Comment by Anonymous — Fri, Feb 23rd, 2007 @ 2:43 pm
Finnish sounds fucking stupid directly translated into English
Those kinds of translators don’t even translate directly. They translate word by word, without regarding the sentence (not even considering the context). Literal translations hardly ever make any sense. Literal, word by word translating never works. English translated to Finnish in this fashion sounds pretty fucking stupid as well.
Comment by Ã…boy — Fri, Feb 23rd, 2007 @ 4:15 pm
1 303 Ahvenainen Mikko Keskusta 330
2 100 Ã…berg Gustaf RKP 323
3 283 Lehti Eero Kokoomus 323
4 332 Särkiniemi Seppo Keskusta 283
5 304 Alkio Mikko Keskusta 282
6 298 Sandström Tomi Kokoomus 276
7 98 Stormbom Lars RKP 272
8 329 Siberg Heli Keskusta 272
9 306 Helenius Annukka Keskusta 269
10 295 Rönkä Antero Kokoomus 263
And my party selection:
1 Kokoomus 183 34
2 Liberaalit 181 4
3 Keskusta 156 28
4 RKP 132 28
5 Kristillisdemokraatit 101 29
Not one single SDP loser on my list
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