Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn, the party of hungry children Ian McDonald skrifar 22. mars 2024 12:31 Now that some time has passed since the new collective agreement was signed between the broad alliance of trade unions, Samtök Atvinnulífsins and the Icelandic government. The dust has settled, people have had the chance to read and understand the substance of the agreement and how it will help working people over the coming years. This agreement promises to inject substantial amounts of tax-free disposable income into the pockets of working-class individuals and families, by increasing child benefit payments, lowering housing costs, lowering the cost of living by ensuring that the government reduces interest rates, and not least of all by making primary school meals free. It is on this last point that there has been objection to, particularly from Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn, and specifically (and vocally) from Oli Björn Kárason, a high-ranking member of the party. My immediate reaction to hearing that a member of the independence party doesn´t believe that it is the responsibility of the state to.....feed children..... was just a sigh and a shrug. But of course. That fits entirely with the ethos and brutal austerity politics of his chosen ideology. But then I thought a little deeper. This is a man who has been in the highest levels of Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn for a very long time. He has stuck with them through scandal after scandal, corruption, nepotism, public embarrasments and illegality. Through rampant cuts to public services and the measurable worsening of quality of life for the people he is paid to serve. And through all that, this man has held his tongue and not raised his head above the parapet. But the issue of ensuring that children have full bellies and that their families do not have to worry about the spiralling cost of meals is apparently one that he is willing to stand up in public and voice his opposition to. This is something that Óli Björn (and others) are willing to go on the record against and mark his part in Icelandic political history. To not believe that feeding children should be accepted as a bare minumum standard of care and decency in our society. That parents who are already struggling to make ends meet should be forced to scrape and save what little disposable income they have to ensure that their children aren‘t going hungry. And if they can´t afford it? Well i guess then work two jobs and pay the difference? I am well aware that the objections to increases in welfare such as this are always dressed up in political language, jargon and double-speak. The implication that somehow the Icelandic government does not have the money for this, or that it will result in inevitable cuts elsewhere. The debate surrounding free school meals for children is not merely a matter of economics; it's a litmus test for the moral conscience of our leaders. Yet, time and again, we see certain politicians barricading themselves behind bureaucratic jargon and hollow justifications, conveniently forgetting the dire realities faced by countless families struggling to put food on the table. These politicians, ensconced in their ivory towers of privilege, fail to comprehend the harsh truth that for many children, the school lunch may be their only nutritious meal of the day. By denying them this basic necessity, these politicians are complicit in perpetuating a cycle of poverty and hunger that stifles the potential of entire generations. Let's be unequivocal: objecting to free school meals for children is not a political stance; it's a moral failing. It's a betrayal of the fundamental duty of elected officials to safeguard the welfare of their constituents, especially the most marginalized among them. As a British ex-pat, my mind is inevitably drawn to comparisons with my native country, where during the covid-19 lockdowns, the Conservative government refused to feed children who were in lockdown and could not attend school. In that case it took a premier league footballer who started a public awareness campaign to pressure the government into sending food to hungry children. And yes. That is just as dystopian as it sounds. Make no mistake, that same ideaolgy is at work here, Sjalfstæðisflokkurinn are simply a bit further up the road than the British Conservative party. But the end point is the same. As citizens, we must hold these politicians accountable for their abhorrent stance on free school meals. We must demand that they prioritize humanity over politics, empathy over ideology. We must remind them that their duty is to serve the people, not their own self-interests. The author is a manufacturing worker. Viltu birta grein á Vísi? Sendu okkur póst. Senda grein Kjaraviðræður 2023-24 Athugið. Vísir hvetur lesendur til að skiptast á skoðunum. Allar athugasemdir eru á ábyrgð þeirra er þær rita. Lesendur skulu halda sig við málefnalega og hófstillta umræðu og áskilur Vísir sér rétt til að fjarlægja ummæli og/eða umræðu sem fer út fyrir þau mörk. Vísir mun loka á aðgang þeirra sem tjá sig ekki undir eigin nafni eða gerast ítrekað brotlegir við ofangreindar umgengnisreglur. Mest lesið Þegar orðið einelti er gjaldfellt – Til fylgjenda Katrínar Jakobsdóttur Kolbrá Höskuldsdóttir Skoðun Þegar ég heyri nafnið Katrín Jakobsdóttir Hans Alexander Margrétarson Hansen Skoðun Nú vandast valið Ebba Margrét Magnúsdóttir Skoðun Hvaða eiginleika þarf forseti að hafa? Hildur Eir Bolladóttir Skoðun Halldór 18.05.2024 Halldór Ef þú kýst Höllu Tómasdóttur eða Jón Gnarr gætirðu verið að kjósa Katrínu! Ole Anton Bieltvedt Skoðun Halla Hrund eða Katrín? Reynir Böðvarsson Skoðun Birni Bjarnasyni svarað Arnar Þór Jónsson Skoðun Góð gildi og staðfesta Höllu Hrundar Margrét Reynisdóttir Skoðun Er klassískt frjálslyndi orðið að jaðarskoðun? Kári Allansson Skoðun Skoðun Skoðun Þegar orðið einelti er gjaldfellt – Til fylgjenda Katrínar Jakobsdóttur Kolbrá Höskuldsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Hvaða eiginleika þarf forseti að hafa? Hildur Eir Bolladóttir skrifar Skoðun Þegar ég heyri nafnið Katrín Jakobsdóttir Hans Alexander Margrétarson Hansen skrifar Skoðun Í framhaldi af viðtali við Helgu Þórisdóttur Kári Stefánsson skrifar Skoðun Góð gildi og staðfesta Höllu Hrundar Margrét Reynisdóttir skrifar Skoðun Halla Hrund eða Katrín? Reynir Böðvarsson skrifar Skoðun Til áréttingar Kári Stefánsson skrifar Skoðun Kynhluthlaust mál, máltilfinning og forsetaframboð Höskuldur Þráinsson skrifar Skoðun Er klassískt frjálslyndi orðið að jaðarskoðun? Kári Allansson skrifar Skoðun Forseti Íslands veifaði mér Fjóla Einarsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Ákall til framtíðar: Nám í félagsráðgjöf! Steinunn Bergmann skrifar Skoðun Lexía lærð á hálfum degi Stefanía Arnardóttir skrifar Skoðun Ég kýs Helgu Þórisdóttur Gerður Rún Guðlaugsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Yfirborðskenndur stríðsáróður og McCarthýismi hjá háskólaprófessor Tjörvi Schiöth skrifar Skoðun Formaður húsfélagsins Guðmundur Andri Thorsson skrifar Skoðun Opið bréf til landsliðsmanna Íslands í blaki Guðbergur Egill Eyjólfsson skrifar Skoðun Ef þú kýst Höllu Tómasdóttur eða Jón Gnarr gætirðu verið að kjósa Katrínu! Ole Anton Bieltvedt skrifar Skoðun Kosningum frestað Ása Berglind Hjálmarsdóttir,Hrönn Guðmundsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Mesti stjórnmálamaðurinn? Hjörtur J. Guðmundsson skrifar Skoðun Birni Bjarnasyni svarað Arnar Þór Jónsson skrifar Skoðun Því miður ekkert annað í stöðunni en að fresta atkvæðagreiðslu um verkefni Heidelberg Gestur Þór Kristjánsson,Erla Sif Markúsdóttir,Sigurbjörg Jenný Jónsdóttir,Grétar Ingi Erlendsson skrifar Skoðun Baldur Þórhallsson er vitur og vís Bryndís Friðgeirsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Kjósum Katrínu Kjartan Ragnarsson skrifar Skoðun Neikvæð áhrif þess að útiloka forsetaframbjóðendur frá kappræðum strax komin í ljós Ástþór Magnússon skrifar Skoðun Nýtt sveitarfélag Halla Signý Kristjánsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Stafrænn ójöfnuður á upplýsingaöld Stella Samúelsdóttir,Alma Ýr Ingólfsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Varfærnisleg fagnaðarlæti Berglind Sunna Bragadóttir skrifar Skoðun „Ég skal baka fyrir Gunnar en ég kýs Kristján“ Páll Magnússon skrifar Skoðun Daðrað við sölu Björn Sævar Einarsson skrifar Skoðun Rannsóknir á söfnum skapa dýrmæta þekkingu Arndís Bergsdóttr skrifar Sjá meira
Now that some time has passed since the new collective agreement was signed between the broad alliance of trade unions, Samtök Atvinnulífsins and the Icelandic government. The dust has settled, people have had the chance to read and understand the substance of the agreement and how it will help working people over the coming years. This agreement promises to inject substantial amounts of tax-free disposable income into the pockets of working-class individuals and families, by increasing child benefit payments, lowering housing costs, lowering the cost of living by ensuring that the government reduces interest rates, and not least of all by making primary school meals free. It is on this last point that there has been objection to, particularly from Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn, and specifically (and vocally) from Oli Björn Kárason, a high-ranking member of the party. My immediate reaction to hearing that a member of the independence party doesn´t believe that it is the responsibility of the state to.....feed children..... was just a sigh and a shrug. But of course. That fits entirely with the ethos and brutal austerity politics of his chosen ideology. But then I thought a little deeper. This is a man who has been in the highest levels of Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn for a very long time. He has stuck with them through scandal after scandal, corruption, nepotism, public embarrasments and illegality. Through rampant cuts to public services and the measurable worsening of quality of life for the people he is paid to serve. And through all that, this man has held his tongue and not raised his head above the parapet. But the issue of ensuring that children have full bellies and that their families do not have to worry about the spiralling cost of meals is apparently one that he is willing to stand up in public and voice his opposition to. This is something that Óli Björn (and others) are willing to go on the record against and mark his part in Icelandic political history. To not believe that feeding children should be accepted as a bare minumum standard of care and decency in our society. That parents who are already struggling to make ends meet should be forced to scrape and save what little disposable income they have to ensure that their children aren‘t going hungry. And if they can´t afford it? Well i guess then work two jobs and pay the difference? I am well aware that the objections to increases in welfare such as this are always dressed up in political language, jargon and double-speak. The implication that somehow the Icelandic government does not have the money for this, or that it will result in inevitable cuts elsewhere. The debate surrounding free school meals for children is not merely a matter of economics; it's a litmus test for the moral conscience of our leaders. Yet, time and again, we see certain politicians barricading themselves behind bureaucratic jargon and hollow justifications, conveniently forgetting the dire realities faced by countless families struggling to put food on the table. These politicians, ensconced in their ivory towers of privilege, fail to comprehend the harsh truth that for many children, the school lunch may be their only nutritious meal of the day. By denying them this basic necessity, these politicians are complicit in perpetuating a cycle of poverty and hunger that stifles the potential of entire generations. Let's be unequivocal: objecting to free school meals for children is not a political stance; it's a moral failing. It's a betrayal of the fundamental duty of elected officials to safeguard the welfare of their constituents, especially the most marginalized among them. As a British ex-pat, my mind is inevitably drawn to comparisons with my native country, where during the covid-19 lockdowns, the Conservative government refused to feed children who were in lockdown and could not attend school. In that case it took a premier league footballer who started a public awareness campaign to pressure the government into sending food to hungry children. And yes. That is just as dystopian as it sounds. Make no mistake, that same ideaolgy is at work here, Sjalfstæðisflokkurinn are simply a bit further up the road than the British Conservative party. But the end point is the same. As citizens, we must hold these politicians accountable for their abhorrent stance on free school meals. We must demand that they prioritize humanity over politics, empathy over ideology. We must remind them that their duty is to serve the people, not their own self-interests. The author is a manufacturing worker.
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Skoðun Því miður ekkert annað í stöðunni en að fresta atkvæðagreiðslu um verkefni Heidelberg Gestur Þór Kristjánsson,Erla Sif Markúsdóttir,Sigurbjörg Jenný Jónsdóttir,Grétar Ingi Erlendsson skrifar
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Ef þú kýst Höllu Tómasdóttur eða Jón Gnarr gætirðu verið að kjósa Katrínu! Ole Anton Bieltvedt Skoðun