Is it even possible to retire before you've ever set foot in a workplace? This is a question that's becoming increasingly relevant in Finland, as a significant number of young individuals are applying for disability pensions before they've had the chance to gain any work experience. Helsingin Sanomat reports on this concerning trend, highlighting a study by Keva, the public sector pension insurer. Astonishingly, the report reveals that only about 20 percent of those under 30 who sought disability pensions or vocational rehabilitation due to mental health reasons had any prior employment history. It seems mental health challenges are now the primary driver for disability pensions and earnings-related rehabilitation within Finland's public sector. But here's where it gets even more complex...
When the wind turns icy, so does your electricity bill. Kauppalehti sheds light on a peculiar weather phenomenon that's sending Finland's spot electricity prices soaring. Imagine this: ice is forming on the blades of wind turbines, and to make matters worse, the winds are weak. This dual whammy has drastically reduced the energy output from the country's wind farms. And the outlook? Forecasts suggest Wednesday will bring even more challenging conditions. On Tuesday, the cost of electricity on the spot market surged to nearly 40 cents per kilowatt-hour! While icing on turbine blades is a common winter issue in Nordic regions, the severity this year is notably worse. Although blade heating systems exist to combat this, the responsibility for implementing them has largely fallen on the shoulders of the wind power industry itself. Is it fair to leave such crucial infrastructure protection solely to private companies?
Is your digital inbox truly free, or are you paying a hidden price? Hufvudstadsbladet notes a growing movement among Finns to seek alternatives to popular American digital services like Gmail. IT expert Petteri Järvinen, who has long warned about our over-reliance on US tech, makes a bold claim: it's time to ditch the notion that email should be free. "Stop being stingy," he urges, suggesting that users should be willing to pay a modest fee of a few euros per month for a reliable email account. He argues that if we're unwilling to pay, we inevitably become beholden to giants like Google or Microsoft. "If we want European alternatives, we must be ready to pay a few euros per month." Järvinen points out that people readily pay for bus tickets and numerous other services, so why should email be the exception? Do you agree that a small monthly fee could unlock better privacy and support for local tech alternatives, or do you believe email should remain a free service, regardless of the provider?
