Rules and regulations that destroy service sectors jobs…

When I travel I want to enjoy local events, products and culture. When I go to Vienna’s railway station or airport I can buy locally produced sandwiches that are not found anywhere else. In Munich and Berlin local beer and food cannot be missed. In France, Japan and Singapore local delicacies are found at every airport and main station. In Italy local wine, bread and cheese are found and advertised in every town, village and road. During the holiday seasons, restaurants are open for tourists every day, with the exception of their weekly “ruhetag” or rest day… In Finland we do things differently. Have a look at our railway station in Helsinki – Burger King, Hesburger and Picnic are not exactly Finnish delicacies nor are they big tourist pulls. It is the same at our main airport where wet sandwiches and water sell are world record high prices. If I did not have my Google Map app I would have thought that I was in London or some other brain dead airport or railway station…. Small local producers, farm shops and restaurants are basically banned from advertising on major roads and motorways. Roadside advertising is controlled by regulations that give the same Neste/Kesko and S-market/ABC a huge marketing advantage. You see their huge billboards and advertising towers every 30 km. Few small shops and restaurants can afford to pay staff to stay open on the only days when business is brisk, weekends and holidays. This is when they must pay double or triple wages! Every midsummer, Easter and Christmas Helsinki is closed down and becomes a ghost town. Naturally, the big players see business every day and have relatively much lower labour costs in relation to turnover. Trade unions battle for their members and show their middle finger to the unemployed and entrepreneurs. Sunday public holiday wage extras for shops, hotels, cafes and restaurants are holy shrines even though the unions are secular organizations. It is great use religion to get some extra cash for members! And naturally ABC and Neste supermarkets are open 24/7 without any hassle from interfering officials. Who makes the rules here? Did you know that “Regional State Administrative Agencies” (AVI) take turns in deciding when shops and restaurants can stay open for the whole country! It is a hidden commercial paternalistic censorship that goes back to the Middle Ages. Naturally we need hundreds of officials to write obtuse rules and regulations to stop our service sector and local products from working at full potential efficiently to ensure that the maximum number of visitors do not get what they really came here for. That’s how we do things differently. Isn’t it time to catch up with the rest of the world?