Skip to main content

KAMPAANIA PLATVORM/CAMPAIGN PLATFORM

Eesti pensionid

(English translation below)

Minu peamine valimisplatvorm on tagada vanadele inimestele korralik pension.

Eesti on riik, mis ülistab noori. Kaks viimast peaministrit, Jüri Ratas ja Taavi Rõivas, on olnud nooremad kui 40 aastat. Naiste vanusest ei ole viisakas rääkida, kuid julgen väita, et ka Kersti Kaljulaid on noor naine. USA-s pole viimase 200 aasta jooksul olnud ühtegi riigijuhti, kes oleks olnud noorem kui 40 aastat.

Eesti kujundab endale mainet, kui modernusese Meka, märksõnadeks – üleriigiline WIFI, IT-idufirmade buum, e-valitsus ja e-valimised.

Kunagi väärtustati vanade inimeste oskusi ja tarkust, mida ka põlvest-põlve edasi kanti. Olulised olid ürgsed eesti teadmised – mis aastaajal metsas puutöid teha, kuidas kaevu kaevata, puitu säilitada, mööblit restaureerida, ehitada mesitarusid jne. Moodsas tarbimiskultuuris saavad inimesed kõike osta ja mitte midagi pole vaja ise valmistada. Vanadel inimestel võib tekkida tunne, et neid ei väärtustata enam.

Kapitalismi üks alusprintsiipe on see, et inimene teenib ise oma raha, mitte ei ela valitsuse toetusest.  Parempoolsed erakonnad ei suhtu sellesse eriti tõsiselt, kui inimene ei ole võimeline tööl käima. “Kes ei tööta, see ei söö” – ja nii nende laul kõlabki.

Kapitalism Eestis on veel noor – 27 aastat. Ka Euroopa Liidus on Eesti olnud vaid 13 aastat.  
Enamikel inimestel ei olnud võimalik vanaduspõlveks raha kõrvale panna. Noor inimene võib sattuda majanduslikesse raskustesse halbade otsuste või perekondlike probleemide tõttu. Vanad inimesed on majanduslikes raskustes, sest nad elasid Nõukogude Liidus.

Vanade inimeste pensionid on alla igasugust arvestust. Valitsus lubas kevadel pensionite tõusu, see on väike samm õiges suunas, kuid sellest jääb väheks.  

Kolmanda maailma riikides ei ole pensionisüsteemi. Sugulased tagavad inimesele majandusliku toe. See on üks põhjustest, miks arengumaades on inimestel palju lapsi.

Arengumaades on lapsed su pensionifond, ja mida rohkem lapsi, seda rohkem sambaid.
Nüüd tekib küsimus, miks toimub sama asi Euroopas?
Ma usun, et pensionitõus hõlmab mitut valdkonda. Kui saame asjad liikuma, hakkavad ka teised probleemid lahenema.

Kui pensionäridel oleks parem pension, jääks ka nende sugulastele rohkem raha kätte. Tõsi, pensionitõus tähendaks suuremaid riigi kulutusi, kuid samas stimuleeriks see majandust, mis omakorda tooks maksude kujul riigile raha tagasi.
Hetkel on paljud pensionärid sunnitud töötama miinimumpalga eest. Eestis on enamus pensionäre aga naised.

Ma olen saanud väga palju negatiivset tagasisidet sel teemal, kuid ma usun, et pensionitel on seos ka meeste ja naiste palgalõhega.  Magushapu iroonia on see, et ma ei mõelnud seda ise välja. Ma kuulsin seda tunnustatud feministilt. Kuid kuna ta pole seda avalikult välja öelnud, ei saa ma avaldada ta nime.

Nii palju räägitakse sellest, et meeste ja naiste palgalõhe taga peitub patriarhaalne mentaliteet ja et Eestis on see hullem kui kusagil mujal. Ja ainult kaabakad võiksid väita midagi muud. Kuna ma olen välismaalane, võin ma lubada endale teatud väljaütlemisi, ja ma kordan ennast – selleks, et vähendada soolist palgalõhet, peame me tõstma pensione!
Minult küsitakse: „Miks sa räägid pensiontest, kui praegu toimuvad kohalikud valimised? Pensionid on riiklik probleem.“

Tõsi ta on, ma ei saa mitte midagi garanteerida. See on valijate teha.

Hääl minu poolt saadaks aga valitsusele signaali, et pensionid on teema, mis läheb inimestele korda. Pensionid tuleb seada prioriteediks. Samasooliste kooselu, maksureform, immigratsioon, e-residentsus, e-valimised, tööjõu arendus – need kõik on väga tähtsad teemad, kuid miks ei leia me nende hulgast pensione?





The case for pensions

My main campaign platform is to ensure that older people get a decent living wage.
Estonia is a culture that celebrates youth, the last two prime ministers Jüri Ratas and Toivo Roivas have been under the age of 40. It is not polite to say a lady’s age but I am sure she won’t mind me saying our president Kersti Kaljulaid is still a young woman
In the USAs 200 old odd years, there has never been a head of government younger than 40.
Estonia is a country which promotes itself as a Mecca of modernity; universal wifi, IT start-ups, e-government and e-voting are the buzz words.

Old people were once still useful because they had skills and knowledge they could pass down. Old Estonian skills that it took a lifetime to master.  Like; what time of the year to collect wood from the forest, how to dig a well, take water from the well, preserve foodstuff, build a beehive or repair furniture.
In today’s consumer culture, people buy everything they need, they make nothing. Old people can and do feel redundant.
Capitalism is built on the principle that people make their own money instead of having it handed it to them by the government.
The right of centre parties has this attitude that if you can’t work and make money then it is too bad. “Kes ei töötab see ei söö “(Who doesn’t work doesn’t eat) as the song goes.
Estonia has only been capitalist for 27 years and only been in the EU for 13 years.  
A lot of people simply couldn’t save for their retirement. A young person may struggle because of bad decision-making or sometimes because of bad family conditions. An old person struggles because of communism. 


Third World nations don’t have pensions. Relatives provide financial support.  People like to have a lot of children because the more children you have the better your pension policy.
In the developing world, your children are your pension.
Why is this still going on in Europe?

I believe the pension increases are tied into other issues and if we fix this problem it will help fix other issues.

If pensioners had better pensions, their family members could spend more on themselves.  Tradesmen would make more money because the sons and daughters of pensioners have more disposable income.  Yes, rising pension would increase government spending, but it would also boost the economy which means more taxes for the government.

Nowadays, many pensioners must go out and work in minimum wage jobs. In Estonia, most pensioners are women as men die young.

Increasing pensions would reduce the pay gap. I have campaigned for this before.  I was attacked and demonised by my political opponents.

The bittersweet irony was THIS IS NOT MY IDEA! I gained this knowledge from a leading feminist, an expert in her field. I cannot say this person’s name and she will never say this publically.
There is an entire industry built around the myth that the pay gap is caused by patriarchy, and patriarchy is worse in Estonia than anywhere else.  Anyone who says otherwise is villain
Since I am a foreigner and can get away with saying stuff that no-one else will or can say I will say again.  We must rise pensions to reduce the pay gap to average EU levels!
Some people question will ask: “why are you talking about pensions here?

“The local elections are concerned with local issues and in any case,  you’re not able to do anything about it.”

This is true, I can’t guarantee anything.

Only the voter can guarantee a decent living for pensioners.
A vote for me will ensure that the government parties and the parties in opposition will take note and realise that they really ought to make this issue a key issue.  Gay marriage, tax reform, immigration, e-residency and e-government, developing a skilled labour force, these are important issues, but a decent living pension should be at the heart of the national debate.







Popular posts from this blog

Tallinn's unlikely twin By Abdul Turay First published November 2008 The idea behind twinning is that two vaguely similar cities exchange cultural links for their mutual benefit. Warsaw is twinned with Coventry – both cities were flattened by the Luftwaffe, after all. Tartu, the famous Estonian university town, is twined with Uppsala which is the home to the oldest university in Scandinavia. And Tallinn… Tallinn is twinned with Dartford. Come again, Dartford! For those of you who don’t know Britain well, Dartford is a dull dormitory suburb on the back end of London. Dartford is in the county of Kent, the so-called “garden of England”. Technically it is both a town and a borough , but it is not a city since it doesn’t have a Royal charter to call itself that. Say the word “Dartford” to most Britons, and they will answer back “tunnel”. The Dartford crossing is both a tunnel and a bridge. It links up Kent with London both above and below the river Thames. When City Paper called up the
Black men, Estonian women: the truth By Abdul Turay Published Postimees 11 November 2009 Well that got your attention; the headline I mean. Any story on this subject, the technical term is miscegenation, is bound to get punters. The yellow media, women's magazines and reality TV shows are obsessed with the subject. Not a month goes by without some publication writing about it. Anne and Style, for example, recently ran a long feature about mixed couples. Most of these stories are muddle-headed and wrong. There's paranoia in this country that there is an army of dark-skinned men form Turkey, the tropics, some place south, who are going to make off with the nation's women. It's never going to happen. I'll explain why in a minute. Seriously, I think there are more important things to think about and worry about. I worry about feeding my family. I worry about other people being able to feed their families, so I write about politics and economics. But the p
A note for New Tallinners Russian Translation below.  Dear New Tallinners Whether you are here for work or study; welcome to Tallinn, I hope that you have a successful, productive and fun time in our beautiful city. Tallinn has come a long way in the last 20 years. It is hard to believe this city was once grey and Soviet. It can be bewildering at times being in a new city in a new country, when all the information you need is in another language. Did you know that you can help to make it better? Did you know you have access to legal services? What do you know about the sports, leisure and cultural activities going on in Tallinn? The local elections for the City council take place this October 15. Did you know that you can vote?   Everybody registered to live in Tallinn can vote? Voting will give you say in how the city is run? It gives you power? I hope to serve you as your local candidate. How someone like me ended up in Estonian politics, is too long a story to g