February 17, 2012

Kill the commies!

I'm actually a socialist. I believe in social ownership and state control of economy, and I also believe that the state should provide all of its citizens some free services like healthcare. I've lived in Finland my whole life and I'm pretty happy about the free services I've had during my life. I mean, my teeth are straight, I have no deadly diseases and althought I've been out of work for long periods, I have not starved to death. I've also never had to live under a bridge, so that's a bonus.

But the welfare states are crumbling all over the Europe. In my home country they are trying to save it with desperate measures, eg. raising taxes and reducing the number of municipalities. I also heard that there are people who have been waiting dental checkout or knee surgery for YEARS. So obviously the system is not working.

Below is a graph of how much people pay taxes in Finland. On the left is the tax-% and at the bottom is the yearly income. As you can see it only goes up to 200 000 but above that the division of tax-% is pretty much the same. Until 50 000 euro the taxing is progressive but after that you see something strange. There is a lot of variation and around 150 000 yearly income you see people who actually pay no taxes at all. This is because in Finland we have no progressive taxing for unearned income, which is money from investments, dividends, etc. We have constant tax rate of 30% for unearned income and after tax deductions it can actually go down to zero. So, just like we have freeriders among the poor (and most of the time, lazy) people, we also have those at the top end of the income graph. I suppose it's same thing in the States, all other countries of Europe, and basically every country except Cuba and North Korea.


Tax rate by income in Finland (2009)


My plan is to pay zero taxes when I'm 40 and use all the benefits of our welfare state. I want to be ultimate parasite!

February 16, 2012

Why self-help books are useless

I've read few self-help books in my life, mostly because I was bored and couldn't handle anymore the of classics. Then I have browsed a few, just so I could confirm how full of bullshit they are. I mean, look at some of the covers: The Science of Getting Rich, The Greatest Saleman in the World, 4-hour workweek... what the fuck?! Are people so stupid that they actually believe this bullshit? Mostly these books have the same
content and only one who's getting rich by following them is the author and the writer. And some faggot listed these as the greatest self-help books of all time.

Self-help faggot: "Now just do what I did!"
Stupid reader: "Om nom noooom OK!"

"Well, these guys got rich by following their rules", you might say. Yes, they sure did, but here's the biggest thing why they are rich and you are not: you are not them. These people are often ambitious, cunning, socially active, hard working and sometimes they even look good! They have a skillset that allows them to thrive in the writing business and they have hit their jackpot writing their crappy book and got it published. Someone could make research (I won't, I'm too lazy) how many self-help books did NOT get published. I can make a summary of all self-help books (except those written by Tolle, but they are more like religion thingy if you ask me):

* Set goal
* Do thing that help you achieve that goal
* Stop doing things that prevent you from achieving that goal
* PROFIT

These books don't even include factors like luck and economy! And there's a reason for that too: when their books come out, the writers and authors are already kinda famous and they have no need for such thing. They already had their stroke of luck when they made millions of dollars with their shitty book. And good luck getting your shit running during the next recess (it's just around the corner...).

February 15, 2012

How do I manage with minimum working hours?

I think it's time to make a little update on this blog. The main reason why I haven't been writing for a while is because I still like my current job and my projects. I'm currently doing research at the University for around 10-20 hours a week and I do it just because I enjoy it. I wouldn't have to do it, since I have secured my income a while ago. How did I do it in under a year, you may ask.

I saved some money and invested it. I took huge risks and it paid off. I'm still investing into small startup companies that have a great, fresh idea that might change the Internet in some way. I'm also administrating few websites that bring me constant advertisement money. So I wouldn't have to work but I WANT to work because I enjoy what I do. As much as I hate free market and  capitalism, it has brought me the wealth and freedom to do anything I want. So how much do I earn? It varies between 500-6000 euros a month. Sometimes when I feel like I have more money than I need or can spend, I slow things down.

God I hate these pictures depicting startup companies. Fuck the suits!
Here's a little tip if you want to earn money investing: Check out small startup companies with unique ideas. Read Techcrunch, Slashdot, your local IT blogs, etc. to find good ideas for spending your money and try to contact these people through e-mail, phone... Cut the middleman, you don't really need them. You have to take risks and spend money to make money.