is this a joke:) ?

No, it’s Kellie Pickler from the last season of American Idol, she’s lovely. Too bad she’s dumb as a brick.

What was this from? Is this some game show or something?

I don’t believe that Americans are dumber than anyone else. I do, however, believe they are more shamelessly dumb than anyone else.

Does this prove anything about Americans being dumb I mean afterall, the kid(s) seemed to be on the right track and I take it they’re American too. Probably more to do with hair colour and gender

OOPS

Beautiful women… they get away with murder

Nice contrast with the PISA post. She still probably makes more money than 10 average Finns.

Why is it that you retards can only value money?

Who said anything about value? Just stating a probable fact.

Freeridin’ – More like 100 or 1000.

You know, if guys didn’t look at her tits or hair so much, maybe she’d have bothered to stay awake in school. Jesus…I just have to believe that she was just putting on an act for the ratings.

Besides, only privileged, pampered elitists can afford to scoff at money and the “retards” who care about it. People who experience scarcity first-hand, such as those who are queuing at the Salvation Army soup kitchen, know the value of money. Ever had to scavenge small change to get something to eat for the day? Ever had to WORK to get something to eat?

People like our man(?) Anonymous here display one negative aspect of a social welfare state: in a way, the entire population becomes a decadent aristocracy.

Welfare state aristocrat? Oxymoron?

I can’t believe it is true. She’s acting.

#12: A very fitting description of someone who considers himself above such mundane matters as money – things that concern only lower-class “retards”.

We’re all above money you moron.

Haha. That was great…..she wasent for real..right?

“Nice contrast with the PISA post. She still probably makes more money than 10 average Finns.”

You are starting to sound as bad as Kristins new “broken record” hit single.
Go to those olders threads to to talk about it pleaseee.

Good that people can eat a little humble pie on a show such as this for charity

#15: Good for you, your excellence. I, on the other hand, have bills to pay and will have to earn the money with my own work.

#17: Kristian may be annoying and repetitive and his voodoo ideology sometimes drives him to get his facts from a parallel universe, but he is right on the money about some things. I don’t recall Phil or anyone else appointing Mr. Random moderator, by the way.

I thought Hungary was when a desire food and Hungry was a country?

Hungary ought to get together with Greece and Turkey so they can change their name to “Full”.

Take it like professional wrestling. It’s all theatre. And some charity benefited by 25 grand. And she does have a lovely pair of tremblers on her. I wouldn’t climb over her to get at you lot. Not even to duct-tape Kristian’s mouth shut.

geek, what a dum blond. Did anything she said show any intelligence?

Ok, so this shows the dept of knowledge in the educated singer class found by American Idle.

I bet she thinks China is something she serves dinner on.

Americans aren’t dumb, she is.

OK, how many of you guys who has seen “Krisse” took her as real thing, even at first sight?

Maybe she didn’t know the answer, but that was some good showmanship. And it might sound like an easy question but not many Europeans can name the capital of Wyoming for example.

“You know, if guys didn’t look at her tits or hair so much, maybe she’d have bothered to stay awake in school.”

Do the stares of horny teenage boys have a sleep-inducing effect on women? The things you learn here…

I’ve just stumbled upon your blog… and what an excellent idea. Finland and the US. Okay, I don’t want to be too off topic so I’ll weigh in on Kelly Pickler. She is an idiot, plain and simple. She seems like a nice person, but man is she dumb, not smarter than a fifth grader certainly. As an American I hate to say it, but the education system here is poor. By the time most kids hit high school, many are too worried about drugs and sex. The intelligent ones are made to feel inferior if they’re not ‘cool’ . The dumb ones usually are ‘cool’. I’ll have to check your blog out more and see more about what Finland is like and if you mention the education system there. The only two things I know about Finland are that it’s cold, and Helsinki is the capital(I do believe). It almost reminds me of where I am(weather wise) in Alaska, USA.

Forgot to leave my info… Blogging from the top of the world, Alaska USA.

“And it might sound like an easy question but not many Europeans can name the capital of Wyoming for example.”

No but they do know that Wyoming is not a country, that North America is a continent and that the capital of Wyoming is most certainly not Los Angeles. Besides, European capitals tend to be the cultural and economic hubs of the countries with the largest populations whereas American state capitals tend to be purely political. They are often small and insignificant.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUtBuGNU50E&feature=related

Welcome RealTrue. I am in the USA, but in way southern Maryland.

So what is the Capital of Maryland? No peeking?

I confess, I peeked. So, the median household income of Maryland is $65,144. Wow. Lots of Billionaires, then? You can just about buy a Hummer with that, even if it is the queer version.

@28 It almost reminds me of where I am(weather wise) in Alaska, USA.

Well, Anchorage and the coastal bit is actually on a more south parallel than Helsinki, and we got much fewer mountains, but indeed, the forests, moose , mosquitoes and sun/dark patterns are the same… and no, if I’d move to the US it would be Arizona or Hawaii, don’t much want to see “beautiful snow”…

@ 30, Yeah, it’d be the same if the “capital of Finland” was Porvoo.

Yes, but I don’t have a Flat 35% Tax rate when I earn my money, and then get hit by a 22% VAT when I spend it.

Thats a 57% Tax rate, makes the difference, giving the average Finn a $28,000 GDP (In 2003).

So with my bad math skills, why do I have a 2X income advantage here in Maryland?

@ 30, Yeah, it’d be the same if the “capital of Finland” was Porvoo.
Haha, are you suggesting we are small and insignificant!

Seriously though, I agree with what you are saying. I doubt many people could name the capitals of the Brazilian states, German länder, Finnish provinces. They are sub-national entities after all, and thus less visible globally, just as US states are likewise. National capitals are a different matter.

winter: “Ok, so this shows the dept of knowledge in the educated singer class found by American Idle.”

I happen to be a big fan of Billy Idle.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSxyMTFfV2A

Seriously, Maryland is one of my favorite US provinces. Income is reasonable, but the cost of living is very low and it’s not crowded. Land doesn’t cost much either; you can still buy property along the Chesapeake Bay and build your own boat dock. And building materials are dirt cheap, too (compared to Finland).

There are scattered areas of poverty, but that’s mainly because Maryland was once a big tobacco growing state with huge plantations and mansions everywhere; but also lots of ex-slaves running around.

Costs are up here in Maryland. A 15Ft green pole for a dock is now around $175.00, plus another $175-200 to have it put in. Thus a dock can cost 20-30K if you want a big one.

Mine has a boat lift, where i put the jet ski in the summer. kinda overkill, but the sailboat is way to heavy for it, and the jet ski is way to light. Every gail we get seems to push the jet ski around, even to the point of pushing it off the lift. Yea, I forgot to tie it down.

#37: Great that you don’t have a flat tax! Me neither, municipal tax notwithstanding. Currently I pay about 21% income tax. The average for the year will probably be around 25%. VAT is pretty high, probably a relic of recession-era protectionism.

As for the why…it may have something to do with you being more creative with numbers than Michael Moore.

The young lady on the video is not the only dumb one in the world.Finns also have very limited knowledge of the rest of the world!
I am doing a degree program here, and in one of the classes a discussion got on the way about housing in various parts of the world. To my surprise the lecturer actually said that we in the Caribbean live in poorly constructed bungalows. Try as I may to convince her that no one lives in bungalows back home, and that our homes are a lot bigger than the homes in Finland, she would not budge.
Well, well. A major earthquake measuring 7.4 on the richter scale hit my island a few days ago.No fatalities, and just one home damaged!To put things in perspective, the earthquake which caused the great tsunami a few years ago measured about 6.6.
Other earthquakes of much lesser magnitude have caused countless damage to properties in the US and elsewhere!
Yet our poorly constructed bungalows withstood an earthquake of that magnitude.
Not to mention that earlier this year also, a hurricane hit the island, and also left the “poorly constructed bungalows” intact!
Said all of this to further illustarte my point that even educated Finns have limited knowledge of the rest of the world!
ONE LOVE . RASTAFARI!!

Simple rule of the entertainment industry,
ignorance breeds profits.
More likely, confusing ignorance with
a down to earth sensibility breeds Americans.

Hi from a USA IP number (proxy). I was trying to see if I could access any of the Finnish tax record websites, like http://www.yle.fi/verokone. No problems accessing that one from outside the EU.

When a female has too much female hormone in her body or when a male has too much male hormone in his body, their IQ goes down. They become concerned with only fashion and fun. The Finnish “Pissis” girls might fit into this category. In the case of a female, they become like the classic “blondie”, not necessarily with the blond hair.

In the case of a male, they become an agressive body builder or soldier-of-fortune type, who is only good for being a bouncer (doorman) or in the military/paramilitary.

They don’t do well with jobs or activities that require thinking.

“Said all of this to further illustarte my point that even educated Finns have limited knowledge of the rest of the world!
ONE LOVE . RASTAFARI!!” – wonderfully different

OK, Mr. Wonderful… But why take your gripe with a professor here to a bunch of people who do not know what you are talking about.

Perhaps you might consider stalking the professor or maybe sending her hate mail, rather than post irrelevancies on unrelated blogs?

no math here. i just happen to be of the opinion that “winter” is full of shit. i’m guessing dude is driving a beat’up old volkswagon rabbit and working in a convenience store. no american billionaire would dream of leaving a comment on this blog. your 2x income advantage? whats 2X american minimum wage? leave us your tax info and i’ll take you seriously. until then, i’ll just assume that you are typical white trash nouveau rich with half an education. bet you grew up on free lunch and foodstamps.

how about a post or two about whats cool in finland. i like it here. i’m happy i moved here. at least when i pay taxes here i’m not killing iraqis or afghanis.

as far as winters crappy math goes. i pay 21% tax in finland. in the u.s. i paid 27% plus state plus municipal for a grand total of 33%. after social security and medicare i was paying around 34%. and i didn’t get shit back for my tax investment besides crappy roads and a war that i didnt want. so compared to back “home”, i’m living in a low-tax paradise. so winter can kiss my ass. suvs are for small-dicked men anyways.

Finally, willie #46-47, you offer a reference for what I try to point out through 5 years of life in Finland. Telling people I’m from California, the second question asked, “How can you move to a place so expensive?” Expensive? Try San Francisco or Los Angeles out for size. I still cannot find the sources people claim for higher salaries for the same job, since people do not get jobbed here the way they would in the States, and that’s after listening to talk radio for hours while gridlocking down a beautiful freeway.
Now, do I need to mention the first question everybody asks? My answer, if you can’t take the winter, you don’t deserve the summer. And I mosquitoes to American cops any day of the week.

Gee willie I posted some facts on Finland and the USA and you go nuts.

Is the 21% VAT TAX killing you yet?

As for Iraq, well, we quit. We gave you the Darfur fun road trip, and you did not go. So 1 million dead, is now no big problem to the world, I guess.

Willie and Ari,

Excuse me gentleman and willie. Here’s a basic truths which are accepted by everyone on both sides of the fence as fact.

The cost of living is higher in Finland than in the US.

Taxes are higher in Finland than in the US at pretty much all income levels.

The debate here is not about weather the high taxes and cost of living actually exist, it’s about if they are worth it or not. On this reasonable people can disagree.

Willie- I hope you wash your feet every time after you insert your foot in your mouth which you seem prone to do. I’d feel sorry for your toes if they have to endure your mindless spittle.

“The cost of living is higher in Finland than in the US.”

That is most certainly true if living only involves buying beer at the local supermarket. But if it also involves living somewhere as in a house, occasionally seeing the doctor and educating yourself or your children, things are not quite that simple.

“as far as winters crappy math goes. i pay 21% tax in finland. in the u.s. i paid 27% plus state plus municipal for a grand total of 33%. after social security and medicare i was paying around 34%.”

1. You paid a municipal tax???!! What state was that in????!!! I smell a skunk.

2. In previous post on a different thread you mentioned how you almost were killed when you needed an emergency appendectomy at hospital in MN. You did forget to mention all the inconvenient truths in your story, but that’s a separate issue which I addressed after you made the aforementioned comment. Now you share your income tax bracket and we find out you were not the poor bum who was screwed by the system that you hinted you were earlier in the very misleading “brink of death by ineptitude” comment. So either you are lying about the surgery or you are lying about your income. Either way, you are lying.

3.I suppose you didn’t have any tax write offs either.

“That is most certainly true if living only involves buying beer at the local supermarket. But if it also involves living somewhere as in a house, occasionally seeing the doctor and educating yourself or your children, things are not quite that simple.”

We make more money, have less taxes and have more purchasing power. It is simple.

If you want to argue that your quality of life is better and that you have more equality, I’ll give you that(especially regarding “equality”).

“That is most certainly true if living only involves buying beer at the local supermarket. But if it also involves living somewhere as in a house, occasionally seeing the doctor and educating yourself or your children, things are not quite that simple.”

Have you checked the local real estate prices in Helsinki Freeridin’? 500k euro just for a crappy row house in Espoo. That kind of dough would get you a really nice house back here. With the much higer US salary, lower taxation and lower prices at the grocery it is definitely cheaper to live here in the US. Things are creeping up though with the gas prices. I haven’t bought beer in a long while but my whisky is definitely cheaper here, too.

hfb:
“Have you checked the local real estate prices in Helsinki Freeridin’?”

Sure I have. That’s why I rent, taking advantage of the fringe benefits. Please take into account that 80% of Finns do not live in the capital area and while most growth centres are bubbly, in most of the country housing is still dirt cheap. If you’re willing to live, say, 40 km outside of Tampere, you pay basically nothing. Sure, new developments are ridiculously priced everywhere, but who says you have to buy them?

“What kind of dough would get you a really nice house back here.”

Where’s here? On Manhattan that’ll buy you a studio. I don’t think it’ll take you very far in OC, either.

“I haven’t bought beer in a long while but my whisky is definitely cheaper here, too. ”

Could be. I’ve found the price differences for the good stuff pretty negligible. Alko could always have a better selection, I admit. I have a soft spot in my heart for Irish and the situation is abysmal. It’s basically Jameson and a couple of others.

maksalaatikko:
“We make more money, have less taxes and have more purchasing power. It is simple.”

If we look at median wages, no you don’t. Ditto for taxes. As I said, in the case of beer your purchasing power might be better.

Freeridin’ – Well, sure, if I was an uneducated prole and didn’t have much prospect of a salary greater than 40k per year, yeah, Finland would look pretty attractive. As an educated professional with two decades of experience….no.

And back here is Boston. ~700k in dollars would get you a nice single-family 4bd house with a lawn inside the 128 zone of easy commuting and civilisation.

And Alko could definitely sport a better selection of single malts. I don’t consider the Irish malts drinkable though. I’ve got a good supplier here, I even get my Ardbeg for under 50 bucks a bottle.

“If we look at median wages, no you don’t. Ditto for taxes. As I said, in the case of beer your purchasing power might be better.”

In the case of EVERYTHING the purchasing power is better in the US, except for maybe sauna accessories, pine tar, and maksalaatikko. If your a poor homeless bum in Finland, then you pay less taxes and have more purchasing power. If one has no income to tax, no home, and digs food out of a dumpster; then one’s taxes are low and purchasing power is high.

If you’ve got half a brain, a smidgen of ambition, and a pinch of common sense you’ll be much better of here. If you want to live your whole life on impulse be lazy and irresponsible; you will be much better off in Finland.

maksalaatikko:
“If you’ve got half a brain, a smidgen of ambition, and a pinch of common sense you’ll be much better of here.”

Well, if I was working at, say, Wall Street for 26 hours a day and earning low six figures (about the same I make here), I would be struggling to make ends meet. In Helsinki I live quite comfortably. The balcony of my homeless shelter overlooking the sea and the better parts of Helsinki isn’t bad at all, although I admit it’s a whole lot better in the summer than in the wonderful Helsinki winter. Now, if I happened to have 1M€ capital, I’d get 90k as dividends annually, paying no income or capital gains tax. That’s a 0% tax rate. Dig that for a starter, low tax-boy.

hfb:
“As an educated professional with two decades of experience….no.”

Yeah. Nothing beats Saudi Arabia, especially for medical and IT professionals. Again, your mileage may vary.

“And back here is Boston. ~700k in dollars would get you a nice single-family 4bd house with a lawn inside the 128 zone of easy commuting and civilisation.”

Something like this? I don’t know your standard of an easy commute, though. Under 4 hours/day? As for civilisation, I admit it’s just outside Ring III.

There are plenty of 500k single family homes in Espoo. Most of them should be torn down, of course, even if they were built less than 5 years ago.

“And Alko could definitely sport a better selection of single malts. I don’t consider the Irish malts drinkable though.”

For Scotch, the situation is improving by leaps and bounds. As for Irish, no. Traditional Irish whiskeys are blended anyway. If someone is pushing “Irish malt” to you, you’re being scammed.

Me and my wife decided to move back to Finland when we found out what the cost of putting two kids in a kindergarten would have been. Initially we had planned to stay until the school began: after that we were definitely not going to put them in a public school because you know what. And we didn’t feel comfortable with the idea of a private “elite school” either – and couldn’t probably have afforded it anyway. Whatever way I look at it, as a young family without wealthy parents or any parents anywhere near for that matter, we were better off in Finland even financially, not to mention the social problems that plagued Washington DC. And although the working hours weren’t that different, the vacations were almost non-existent compared to Finland. That didn’t feel right for a young family with kids.

Me and my wife decided to move back to Finland when we found out what the cost of putting two kids in a kindergarten would have been. Initially we had planned to stay until the school began: after that we were definitely not going to put them in a public school because you know what. And we didn’t feel comfortable with the idea of a private “elite school” either – and couldn’t probably have afforded it anyway. Whatever way I look at it, as a young family without wealthy parents or any parents anywhere near for that matter, we were better off in Finland even financially, not to mention the social problems that plagued Washington DC. And although the working hours weren’t that different, the vacations were almost non-existent compared to Finland. That didn’t feel right for a young family with kids either.

Freeridin’ – Well, the problem with Saudi is that I don’t have a gigantic dong between my legs. Maybe in my next life.

Easy commute is, well, we live in a town bordering Cambridge so my husband can get to work in Cambridge with a short walk, short bus ride to Harvard and a short T ride in roughly 35 minutes. If one were to drive…it’d be about 15 minutes but who wants to pay 20 bucks a day for parking? Any commute over an hour each way is just a waste of life.

Nobody would dare push Irish anything to me knowing my very bigoted feelings about whisky.

“Now, if I happened to have 1M€ capital, I’d get 90k as dividends annually, paying no income or capital gains tax. That’s a 0% tax rate. Dig that for a starter, low tax-boy.”

Hey, I know all about that little tax advantage High-Tax Daddy. It’s a great deal for those who can take advantage of it (myself included). What happens if you make a 20% return? I’m sure you know but your not telling us. How much taxes do you pay if you spend some of that interest?

By the way Daddy, I make over 100,000e a year and I did not start paying income tax beyond Social Security and Medicare (royal rip offs) until I hit the $90,000 mark. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

The folks in New York you mentioned make plenty enough to support there living expenses. There is a large range on “low six figures”. Do you live in Kaivapuisto? I live in a city more than twice the size of Helsinki, yet real estate is cheaper. This is fairly well off area to beat. Smoke that too, Pops!

Fact: If you are a Sugar Dadday capable of making over 100,000e in Finland; using the numbers only, you would be much better off in the United States.

Can I have my tutti now?

Maybe your spending your 90,000e in interest on berries? There is no tax on berries in Finland right? Now you got me!

hfb:
“Freeridin’ – Well, the problem with Saudi is that I don’t have a gigantic dong between my legs. Maybe in my next life.”

Aw, just use a strap-on. Nobody will notice the difference under a burqa. I don’t know about the whisky prices, but the venues for enjoying it are admittedly limited. Still, the money is good and that’s what we’ve been talking about at least as far as I can tell.

maksalaatikko:
“The folks in New York you mentioned make plenty enough to support there living expenses.”

Donald Trump certainly does. Some lowly geek on Wall St. doesn’t. Sure they do better than an employee in Finland would. Being an employee in Finland simply sucks in countless, unimaginable ways. Unless you’re management anyway.

“Fact: If you are a Sugar Dadday capable of making over 100,000e in Finland; using the numbers only, you would be much better off in the United States.”

According to the job openings, those Wall Street jobs pay less, in absolute terms, than what I make in Helsinki doing the same work. In fact, it’s quite easy to make more. It just depends on your negotiating skills.

London is another matter entirely, but even there money does not grow on Hyde Park trees.

“Fact: If you are a Sugar Dadday capable of making over 100,000e in Finland; using the numbers only, you would be much better off in the United States.”

Would your head totally explode if I told you that I’ve actually looked into this and, in fact, applied for and been interviewed for those jobs?

Then again, New York cab drivers make a decent living as well. As hfb said, take a number and get in line. Go Amerika, become Billionaire.

Wait, you make six figures in Helsinki and you drink Irish whiskey? You need to cultivate a little more sophistication. Only potato farmers and the Irish drink that jet fuel they call whiskey.

hfb:
“Wait, you make six figures in Helsinki and you drink Irish whiskey?”

Well, first of all, due to some prudent tax planning those 6 figures are not immediately at my disposal and secondly, you just can’t appreciate the smoothness brought forward by that third pass. Besides, the folks at Midleton know how to make a ridiculously expensive bottle just as those kilt-wearing dudes.

#26: Name the capital of the province of Southern Finland. That’s the equivalent, not “name the capital of Finland”.

That smoothness on the third pass is there because the jet fuel has finally numbed or killed-off anything that might cause you pain. I stand by my jet fuel description. Besides, it’s not the price that indicates how good the spirit is as, take The Macallan for example; the difference between the 18 and the 21 and the 25 are so subtle that unless you are really attuned, you can save yourself several hundred bucks and get the 18 which is a mighty fine dram for under 80 bucks. Of course, certain expressions are worth a premium price, but you can’t always judge a single malt by merely the age and the price. I’m sure the nuances of Irish jet fuel are similar.

hfb, actually it’s been a while since I’ve drank any Irish. One has to order by the crate or visit the Emerald Island to get the interesting stuff. Jameson 12yo is about the finest that Alko has to offer.

Yes, I’ve heard good things about the Macallan 18yo. I have to sample some. I think that’s one of the cases where Alko’s supply falls short. They only recently added the 12. wtf? But as I said, it’s getting steadily better.

Since we’re on the jet fuel topic, you might like to know, if you don’t know already, that there’s a Finnish single malt: Teerenpeli 5yo! After tasting it, I concluded that it should spend at least an additional five years in the barrel. But hey, if the Japanese do it, why not the Japan of Europe?

I’m going to go with my buddy Fat Mike on this one…

“There is no point for democracy when ignorance is celebrated”

As an American I am ashamed to acknowledge that she sadly is not alone amongst my fellow countrymen.