IF IT WEREN'T EVIL...:

Who pays for Sweden's free lunch?: Sweden's generous welfare system has served to break down the protestant work ethic (Nima Sanandaji, 14th May 2007, The Local)

Sweden has traditionally relied heavily on the strong protestant work ethic of its citizens. A cornerstone of the country's welfare system has been a population which has been reluctant to misuse the system. Although taxes have been high and government benefits generous, the strong work ethic has stopped people from taking advantage of the welfare state. Alas, this attitude has been largely abandoned. As time has passed, people have adapted to the system.

Dependence on state handouts is widespread amongst the adult generations. Today around 21-22 percent of the Swedish population in working age is being supported by one form government handout or another, up from around 11 percent in 1970 (as reported by Swedish Public Television 15th March 2005).

Many unemployed people are unwilling to take jobs that pay less than their former employment. The reason is that government compensation is often almost as high as their previous salaries; taking a job that pays less than their old one might very well mean lower income than the state benefit.

In a survey form the Swedish Enterprise Institute 70 percent of companies with 10-200 employees say that they interviewed who did not even want the jobs offered. This phenomenon is explained by the fact that people seek jobs that they are unwilling to take, only in order to convince public officials that they are actively seeking employment so they can continue collecting government handouts.

As widespread as government dependence is amongst adults, it might yet become worse amongst the new generation of Swedes.

...you'd have to admire the almost feedback mechanism whereby statist policies make people ever more dependent on the state.

Posted by Orrin Judd at May 14, 2007 7:57 PM