MARGRETHE II (2)
The Queen of Denmark has been on the throne since January 1972. Today she becomes the second longest serving monarch in Danish history, surpassed only by the seventeenth century Christian IV, the guy who built so many of Copenhagen's buildings. Coming to the throne as a boy, he reigned for 60 years, so Margrethe II has some way to go. Having said that, she seems in pretty good health, so it is not impossible that she will break the record.
Walter Blotscher
Monday, 31 March 2014
Sunday, 30 March 2014
1814
This year will have a lot of anniversaries for Denmark, not least the psychological one of 1864 (see a later post). But today is a special one for a small minority of people; 200 years ago today, Denmark emancipated its Jews.
Legal emancipation didn't necessarily mean practical emancipation; Jews probably still suffered hassles of one kind or another, some petty, some not so petty. Nevertheless, it marked a major step forward for a people for whom official discrimination was a fact of life in many European countries.
Walter Blotscher
This year will have a lot of anniversaries for Denmark, not least the psychological one of 1864 (see a later post). But today is a special one for a small minority of people; 200 years ago today, Denmark emancipated its Jews.
Legal emancipation didn't necessarily mean practical emancipation; Jews probably still suffered hassles of one kind or another, some petty, some not so petty. Nevertheless, it marked a major step forward for a people for whom official discrimination was a fact of life in many European countries.
Walter Blotscher
Saturday, 29 March 2014
SILLY BANKS
Before the financial crisis, banks lent money to all sorts of silly things. Since the financial crisis, the pendulum has swung completely the other way, and they won't lend money to anything that isn't secured with belt and braces.
Our local cinema has a healthy turnover and makes money, despite having been through a major renovation project last summer. However, we now have a series of bills that have to be paid, notably our insurance, which has to be paid a whole year in advance. The normal course of action would be to get a small overdraft from the bank, secured by a mortgage on our building and equipment. However, the banks now have a rule that they won't lend under any circumstances to a club (even though we have good assets worth ten times the potential overdraft and are debt free), since nobody can give personal guarantees.
This is a silly rule. At some point, the pendulum will of course begin to swing back the other way again; but by that time, we won't need them.
Walter Blotscher
Before the financial crisis, banks lent money to all sorts of silly things. Since the financial crisis, the pendulum has swung completely the other way, and they won't lend money to anything that isn't secured with belt and braces.
Our local cinema has a healthy turnover and makes money, despite having been through a major renovation project last summer. However, we now have a series of bills that have to be paid, notably our insurance, which has to be paid a whole year in advance. The normal course of action would be to get a small overdraft from the bank, secured by a mortgage on our building and equipment. However, the banks now have a rule that they won't lend under any circumstances to a club (even though we have good assets worth ten times the potential overdraft and are debt free), since nobody can give personal guarantees.
This is a silly rule. At some point, the pendulum will of course begin to swing back the other way again; but by that time, we won't need them.
Walter Blotscher
Thursday, 27 March 2014
DET ER FORDI, AT ...
All languages have "filler" expressions, words that don't really mean anything, but which are used to fill out time, while the speaker thinks of something else to say. "Right" or "know what I mean" are examples in English.
The current one in Danish is "det er fordi, at ....", which Danes, particularly of the younger generation, use all the time. There are two things about this expression that puzzle this foreigner. The first is that it is grammatically incorrect. It literally means "it is because that ...". The "that" is redundant and grammatically wrong, and has become a sort of filler within the filler.
The second thing is that it is often used before a question; which is odd, because it is an active statement that ought to be followed by another active statement. Young people come up to me at school and say something like "it is because, that, er .... have you seen Julie?" or "it is because, that, er .... what time is our maths class?".
I have often told them to drop the "det er fordi, at" and use another expression, like "hej" (hello), or even nothing, on the grounds that what they are saying is - literally - inane. But so far, it is having zero effect. Det er fordi I am a foreigner, who just doesn't get it.
Walter Blotscher
All languages have "filler" expressions, words that don't really mean anything, but which are used to fill out time, while the speaker thinks of something else to say. "Right" or "know what I mean" are examples in English.
The current one in Danish is "det er fordi, at ....", which Danes, particularly of the younger generation, use all the time. There are two things about this expression that puzzle this foreigner. The first is that it is grammatically incorrect. It literally means "it is because that ...". The "that" is redundant and grammatically wrong, and has become a sort of filler within the filler.
The second thing is that it is often used before a question; which is odd, because it is an active statement that ought to be followed by another active statement. Young people come up to me at school and say something like "it is because, that, er .... have you seen Julie?" or "it is because, that, er .... what time is our maths class?".
I have often told them to drop the "det er fordi, at" and use another expression, like "hej" (hello), or even nothing, on the grounds that what they are saying is - literally - inane. But so far, it is having zero effect. Det er fordi I am a foreigner, who just doesn't get it.
Walter Blotscher
Wednesday, 26 March 2014
IDENTIFYING POLICEMEN
A recent trend in Denmark has been an increase in the number of complaints against the police. Not only individual cases, such as deaths in custody. Some of their more general actions, notably pre-emptive arrests before and during the big climate change conference in Copenhagen a number of years ago, have been deemed illegal by the courts.
In order to succeed, complainants have to be able to identify the policeman involved. In many countries such as the U.K., that can be done because policemen have an identification number on their uniforms. As is the case in Norway and Sweden.
But not in Denmark. This makes it difficult to complain, because the police are adept at not being able to find - definitively - the person involved. The Government has decided to introduce what seems an eminently sensible change, and give everybody an identification number. What is surprising is the vehemence with which the police union is resisting that change, and the increasing ridiculousness of the arguments they are using to support that resistance.
It is sometimes the case when you live in a foreign country that things can seem bizarre; this is one of them.
Walter Blotscher
A recent trend in Denmark has been an increase in the number of complaints against the police. Not only individual cases, such as deaths in custody. Some of their more general actions, notably pre-emptive arrests before and during the big climate change conference in Copenhagen a number of years ago, have been deemed illegal by the courts.
In order to succeed, complainants have to be able to identify the policeman involved. In many countries such as the U.K., that can be done because policemen have an identification number on their uniforms. As is the case in Norway and Sweden.
But not in Denmark. This makes it difficult to complain, because the police are adept at not being able to find - definitively - the person involved. The Government has decided to introduce what seems an eminently sensible change, and give everybody an identification number. What is surprising is the vehemence with which the police union is resisting that change, and the increasing ridiculousness of the arguments they are using to support that resistance.
It is sometimes the case when you live in a foreign country that things can seem bizarre; this is one of them.
Walter Blotscher
Tuesday, 25 March 2014
CHILD BENEFIT (3)
One of the good things about the newly reactivated debate about child benefit (and welfare benefits in general) is that more and more facts are being put on the table.
The latest concerns the total amount of money paid out by the state in the form of welfare benefits (child benefit, unemployment benefit, cash help and efterløn) to people from different countries. For Danes, it is on average kr.46.409, or about £5,000, a year. Top of the list are people from Somalia, Lebanon and Irak, who all receive kr.110-120,000. Many of these are refugees or asylum seekers, who do not earn, but live on welfare; you would expect the social cost of these people to be high.
What is interesting is the cost of people from other E.U. countries, and particularly those from the former Eastern Europe. For Poland it is kr.42.108, Romania kr.25.158, and for Ukraine kr.23.175. In other words, the average East European costs the Danish state less in welfare benefits than the average Dane.
Although these figures are averages, and so can mask large differences, the broad trend is clear. East Europeans, on average, come to Denmark to work; as such, the only welfare benefit they can expect to get is child benefit. When taxes are offset against this, the net benefit to Danish society will be positive.
Facts on the table should lead to a better class of debate. However, judging from the reaction to this latest lot, this is not going to happen.
Walter Blotscher
One of the good things about the newly reactivated debate about child benefit (and welfare benefits in general) is that more and more facts are being put on the table.
The latest concerns the total amount of money paid out by the state in the form of welfare benefits (child benefit, unemployment benefit, cash help and efterløn) to people from different countries. For Danes, it is on average kr.46.409, or about £5,000, a year. Top of the list are people from Somalia, Lebanon and Irak, who all receive kr.110-120,000. Many of these are refugees or asylum seekers, who do not earn, but live on welfare; you would expect the social cost of these people to be high.
What is interesting is the cost of people from other E.U. countries, and particularly those from the former Eastern Europe. For Poland it is kr.42.108, Romania kr.25.158, and for Ukraine kr.23.175. In other words, the average East European costs the Danish state less in welfare benefits than the average Dane.
Although these figures are averages, and so can mask large differences, the broad trend is clear. East Europeans, on average, come to Denmark to work; as such, the only welfare benefit they can expect to get is child benefit. When taxes are offset against this, the net benefit to Danish society will be positive.
Facts on the table should lead to a better class of debate. However, judging from the reaction to this latest lot, this is not going to happen.
Walter Blotscher
Sunday, 23 March 2014
SHARP EDGES
If you have a lawn next to a wood (as I do), then you need to make sure that the boundary is clearly delineated. Woods are forever creeping up on you, so it's a way of telling them "this far, but no further".
Making a clear boundary was my task for the day. And since I have a lot of lawn and a lot of wood, it took me most of the day. But it is done. All that remains is for the wood to take heed.
Walter Blotscher
If you have a lawn next to a wood (as I do), then you need to make sure that the boundary is clearly delineated. Woods are forever creeping up on you, so it's a way of telling them "this far, but no further".
Making a clear boundary was my task for the day. And since I have a lot of lawn and a lot of wood, it took me most of the day. But it is done. All that remains is for the wood to take heed.
Walter Blotscher
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