Tax. Billionaires.
Out of existence preferably, but at least to the extent that they would have been a century ago.
And if they do clever things to dodge the tax, their assets should be seized and their companies should be rendered to the employees.
this post was submitted on 29 Sep 2025
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Note that I used Finland is this example. While not perfect, Finland is pretty good at taxing the wealthy (for example Mikko Kodisoja, Supercell founder payed 13,2m€ of his 35,3m€ paycheck as income tax in 2022. Still 20m€ in hand, but another quarter of everything he buys will be taxed as VAT).
Outside the ~~theocratic libertarian hellhole~~ USA, shouting "Tax the rich" isn't really a solve-everything-button.
Entirely fair - I don't know much in general, but I'm most familiar with the US and UK, where aside from failing to tax the rich, there are general issues with private equity gobbling up all the value in business and real estate. Does that happen in Finland too?
Not really, for example I recently learned that both property-tax (a yearly tax based on property value) and property-transfer-tax (a one time 3% tax on every property transaction) basically kills speculation on properties.
As a result, houses prices are actually humane (between 50k-300k, depending on age, surroundings, size, etc. To compare, the median income is roughly 45k per year).
Of course there is still a capitalist class, but they are nowhere as parasitic as they are in the US/UK. Though if that is due to the welfare culture or a thought out tax policy I can't say.
That's fantastic. Obviously there are still economic issues at play though, and it might just be the fact that Finland's economy is more fairly structured making it more realistically respond to the economic reality of COVID. It was a massive hit, and the economies that came out looking the healthiest are, imo, the ones that are faking it the hardest and relying on a lot of weird behaviours (further economic disparity, market irrationality, brutal consolidations of power, silencing of dissent, etc) to pull it off. The answer might just be to stay sane, trim the fat where possible, keep quietly rebuilding, and come out of it genuinely healthy while avoiding the booms and busts abroad.
Personally, having come from a more idealized American mindset I like the "New Deal" approach to recessions. A big spend upfront on investments in people, infrastructure, and land improvement will usually pay long-term dividends. I would love to see Finland attempt some version of a Green New Deal, or possibly something towards water purification in anticipation of fresh water scarcity later this century. Build sustainability and resilience to prevent future economic harms would be my advice.