1. Income differences Income differences in Finland have increased rapidly since the mid-1990s. What should one do about it? A0 N/A A1 Income differences may grow freely A2 Income differences may grow moderately A3 Income differences are appropriate A4 Income differences must be reduced slightly A5 Income differences must be reduces significantly 2. Gay adoption rights In 2009, the Parliament passed a legislation that allows gay and lesbian couples to adopt each other's children. Should they also be allowed to adopt outside the family? A0 N/A AY Yes AN No 3. Nuclear power plant permissions In Spring 2009, the government grant permissions to two new nuclear power plants. The third applicant, Fortum, did not receive the permission, but is hopeful to get granted a permission to replace two of their reactors in Loviisa. Should this permission be granted? A0 N/A AY Yes AN No 4. Child allowances Child allowance is paid for each child living in Finland until they're 17 years old, irrespective of the parents' income. What should be done for child allowances? A0 N/A A1 Child allowances should be removed from high-income families A2 Child allowances should be adjusted to parents' income A3 Keep current status A4 Child allowance should not affect the income support 5. Senior's care guarantee The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is currently planning the so-called Age Law. The law might contain regulations on the minimum quality of care for senior people. Should these requirements be degreed by law and should municipalities provide subjective right for care to all elderly people? A0 N/A A1 No. Municipalities' tasks should not be increased. A2 No. It is enough that seniors' care level is set by recommendations. A3 Yes. Seniors should have a subjective right for good care. 6. Retirement age The current age of retirement to old-age pension is between 63 and 68 years. In my mind, the youngest age for old-age pension should be: A0 N/A A1 Raised by multiple years A2 Reduced A3 Raised by one year A4 Kept as it is 7. Extending working careers The current average retirement age in Finland is below 60 years. Main reason for premature retirement is disability. What of the following methods would you use as the primary method for extending working careers. A0 N/A A1 I would remove the option for part-time retirement A2 I would use these all A3 I would remove the right to extended unemployment allowance before the retirement A4 I would increase the minimum retirement age from 63 years A5 I would not use any of these 8. Bend index Since mid-90s, the old-age benefits are adjusted based on what is known as the bend index. Eighty per cent of the index is based on the consumer price index and 20 percent on the average income index. The bend index has meant that the old-age benefits have grown slower than the average income. What should be done to the bend index? A0 N/A A1 Average income should have larger effect to the index than consumer prices A2 Consumer prices should have larger effect to the index than average income A3 The current index is fine A4 The index should follow the income slightly more A5 The index should be changed back as it used to be, i.e. half income, half consumer prices 9. Cutting public expenditure The new government might decide to cut the public expenditure. Below are some cost-cutting measures that have been proposed. Which one of these would you select first? A0 N/A A1 Social benefits should not be bound on indices A2 Transfer of money from the state to the municipalities should be reduced A3 The subjective right for daycare should be abandoned A4 State expenditure does not have to be cut A5 Child allowances should be removed from high-income families A6 Support for agriculture should be cut A7 Support for businesses should be cut A8 Development aid funds should be reduced A9 Something else A10 Military spending should be reduced 10. Greek debt Finland, along with the other Eurozone countries, has helped to save other Eurozone countries with hundreds of billions of euros worth of support. In Spring 2010, Finland agreed to loan 1.6 billion euros to Greece. Furthermore, Finland agreed to guarantee European Financial Stability Facility's 750 billion euro loaned capital with over 8 billion euros. This might not be enough in the long run. Which of the following claims is closest to your opinions? A0 N/A A1 Finland should support the other countries in the name of European solidarity A2 Finland should abandon the Eurozone as soon as possible A3 Joining the Eurozone was a mistake that we must now pay for A4 Greece should have been put to debt restructuring to avoid the risk of reduced moral in public spending A5 Supporting Greece and Ireland was a mistake as each country should deal with their own issues A6 Supporting the countries that were in trouble was in Finland's interests, as bankruptcy of any country in the Eurozone would endanger the economy in the whole zone. 11. Transaction tax The financial crisis has increased the demands to tax the financial sector and to force it to take part in paying the damages. The European Commission has proposed the global transaction tax to tax bond, stock, currency, and derivative transactions. Which of the following claims is closest to your opinions? A0 N/A A1 Transaction tax makes loaning money harder for privates and businesses alike, weakening the economic growth. It should not be used under any circumstances. A2 EU should collect transaction taxes even if the rest of the world does not A3 Transaction tax should be used, but only if it is globally collected 12. Tax increases Which of the following forms of tax would you be most willing to increase? A0 N/A A1 Real-estate tax A2 Business income tax A3 Income tax A4 None of these A5 Energy tax A6 No taxes should be raised at all A7 Value-added tax A8 I would return the capital tax A9 Capital-income tax 13. Tax deductions Taxes are used not only to collect money but also to support certain types of actions by giving them tax deductions. In year 2009 the government lost 13 billion euros of tax income — about one quarter of the annual budget — due to the deductions. To cover these loses, other taxes must be increased. Which of the following deductions would you cut first? A0 N/A A1 Tax-free status of housing benefit (lost tax income: 280 Me in 2009) A2 Tax-free status of child allowances (lost tax income: 510 Me in 2009) A3 Household-work deduction (lost tax income: 245 Me in 2009) A4 Employee-benefit deductions (lost tax income: 260 Me in 2009) A5 Labour union fee's reduction from income (lost tax income: 210 Me in 2009) A6 Tax-free status of home-seller's profits (lost tax income: 900 Me in 2009) A7 None of these 14. Mortgage interest's tax deduction What should be done for mortgage interest's tax deduction right? A0 N/A A1 The tax deduction right should be extended A2 It should be removed completely A3 It should be removed gradually with long transition period A4 It should be kept as is 15. Real-estate tax Real-estate tax is collected from land meant or used for building. Should the tax be extended to forests and fields as well? A0 N/A AY Yes AN No 16. Conscription Universal male conscription is practiced in Europe on in Greece and Cyprus, in addition to Finland. How should the Finnish conscript system be organized? A0 N/A A1 The conscription should be extended to females A2 The conscript system should be abolished A3 The military service should be volunteer for both sexes A4 The conscript system should be more selective A5 The current system is fine 17. NATO Should Finland apply for NATO membership? A0 N/A A1 Yes, if also Sweden applies A2 Yes, as soon as possible A3 Yes, but during the next election term A4 Not at least during the next election term A5 Never 18. Human rights Should Finland emphasize human rights and democracy in foreign relationships with China and Russia? A0 N/A A1 No, financial interest should be given priority A2 No, domestic politics of China and Russia are not Finland's business A3 Yes, but only jointly with the rest of EU A4 Yes, Finnish foreign policy should be founded on human rights and democracy 19. Russian land-owners From the begin of the year, Russia has banned foreigns to own real estates from its border regions. In Finland, there is virtually no restrictions on foreign land owners and in recent years, Russians have bought thousands of real estates from Finland. What would be the proper course of action? A0 N/A A1 Foreigners' right to buy land and real estates should generally be restricted in Finland A2 Finland should not restrict foreigners' right to buy land or real estates A3 Finland should restrict Russians' right to buy land and real estates to achieve parity in the legislation 20. Development aid Finland has agreed on UN's goal of increasing the development aid funds to 0.7 per cent of GDP by 2015. Last year, Finland paid 965.6 million euros in development aid, that is, 0.55 percent of GDP. What should be done to development aid? A0 N/A A1 State money should not be used on development aid A2 Development aid should not be increased A3 Development aid should not be reduced A4 Development aid should be moderately increased if the financial status allows A5 Finland should follow its agreement and increase the development aid to 0.7 per cent during the next election term 21. Facebook Choose three countries from below that Finland should ask for its Facebook friends, should Finland have a Facebook account. A0 N/A A1 Bolivia A2 Brasilia A3 UK A4 Spain A5 Ghana A6 India A7 Iran A8 Island A9 Israel A10 Italy A11 Canada A12 China A13 Cuba A14 Norway A15 Poland A16 France A17 Sweden A18 Germany A19 Tanzania A20 Danemark A21 Tunisia A22 Turkey A23 Russia A24 Estonia A25 USA 22. Gun legislation In Fall 2010, the permission to own firearms was made harder to obtain; for example, the minimum age for owning a handgun was raised to 20 years. What should be done to the gun legislation? A0 N/A A1 Gun legislation should be loosened A2 Handguns should be made illegal A3 Storing handguns to home should be illegal A4 Current gun legislation is fine 23. Other domestic language In the compulsory school, the students must study two languages that are not their mother tongue. One of these languages must be the other domestic language. Should studying the other domestic language be made volunteer? A0 N/A AY Yes AN No 24. Suvivirsi hymn Is is acceptable to sing the Suvivirsi hymn in the end-of-school-year event? A0 N/A A1 Yes, but atheists and followers of other religions must have alternative program A2 No, religious ceremonies do not belong to school A3 Yes, if atheists and followers of other religions do not have to take part on the singing A4 Yes, it is part of the Finnish tradition 25. Immigration policy 2007-2011 electoral term saw Finnish immigration policy becoming more strict. What is your opinion about the current immigration policy of Finland? A0 N/A A1 It is too strict A2 It is too loose A3 It is fine 26. Saimaa ringed seal Saimaa ringed seal is endangered species, with population of approximately 270 individuals. Some estimates consider its extinction ”very probable.” So far, the conservation efforts have been based mostly on volunteer actions, such as fishing restrictions. How should the conservation be done? A0 N/A A1 The conservation measures are already too much A2 Fishing with nets should be completely banned in the whole Lake Saimaa A3 In addition of completely banning net fishing in the whole Lake Saimaa also building on the shores should be made harder A4 Current conservation measures are enough A5 Fishing with nets should be banned on the areas where the seal nests 27. Municipal outsourcing Municipal have outsourced their services in recent years, and the pressure to outsource more is increasing. Which of the following claims best matches with your opinions? A0 N/A A1 All services provided by the municipalities should be opened for competition and the municipalities should automatically outsource all services A2 Outsourcing should be increased as private companies are more effective on producing the services but municipalities have the final word on what to outsource A3 None of these A4 Outsourced services should be returned back to the municipalities. Municipalities have legal obligation to provide these services, so they should also produce them A5 Outsourcing should be increased, but municipalities should learn to request the quotes and chose the providers more carefully A6 Outsourcing should not be increased from the current level, as outsourcing has the risk of reduced quality and does not provide significant savings 28. Number of municipalities The number of municipalities in Finland has reduced to 336 due to mergers. The goal of the mergers is to improve the efficiency, as many small municipalities have issues on producing their required services. What would be a good number of municipalities is Finland? A0 N/A A1 More than 400 A2 340-400 A3 Less than 170 A4 170-229 A5 230-289 A6 290-339 29. Capital Region mergers Merging the municipalities in the Capital Region area has been discussed for long time. Per proponents, the mergers would help on planning the traffic and use of land. The leadership of Helsinki are in support of the mergers, while their counterparts in Espoo and Vantaa are against it. Also the future Parliament and government have their words to say. What should be done? A0 N/A A1 The merger must happen, even if the government must force it A2 Current status is fine A3 The municipalities should be kept, but the area should have a new, elected regional council that should be responsible for most of the tasks the municipalities currently handle A4 Collaboration should be increased, but based on voluntary 30. Equalization transfers Government transfers money from richer to poorer municipalities to balance their fiscal state. The system guarantees every municipality fiscal income that is 91.86 per cent of the average municipal fiscal income. The largest payers of the system are Helsinki and Espoo: 500 million euros of municipal taxes are transferred from them to poorer municipalities. How should one think about the system? A0 N/A A1 Equalization system should be abolished A2 Capital region should transfer more municipal income to elsewhere in country A3 Capital region should be allowed to keep more of their municipal tax income A4 The curernt system is fine 31. Parties in government Name exactly three parties you think should definitely be part of the next government. IDP No affiliation YS Non-aligned IPU Independency Party Itsenäisyyspuolue http://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itsen%C3%A4isyyspuolue KES Centre Party Keskusta http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centre_Party_%28Finland%29 KOK National Coalition Party Kokoomus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Coalition_Party KA For the Poor Köyhien asialla http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_Poor KD Christian Democrats Kristillisdemokraatit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Democrats_%28Finland%29 KTP Communist Workers' Party – For Peace and Socialism Kommunistinen Työväenpuolue http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Workers%27_Party_%E2%80%93_For_Peace_and_Socialism M2011 Change 2011 Muutos 2011 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Change_2011 PS True Finns Perussuomalaiset http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finns_Party PIR Pirate Party of Finland Piraattipuolue http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirate_Party_%28Finland%29 RKP Swedish People's Party of Finland Suomen ruotsalainen kansanpuolue http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_People%27s_Party_of_Finland SDP Social Democratic Party of Finland Suomen Sosialidemokraattinen Puolue http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Democratic_Party_of_Finland SEN Seniors’ Party Suomen Senioripuolue http://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suomen_Senioripuolue SKP Communist Party of Finland Suomen Kommunistinen Puolue http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Party_of_Finland STP Workers Party of Finland Suomen Työväenpuolue http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workers_Party_of_Finland VP Freedom Party – Finland's Future Vapauspuolue http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_and_White_Front VAS Left Alliance Vasemmistoliitto http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left_Alliance_%28Finland%29 VIHR Green League Vihreät http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_League