Community Chat

[terrier3]

On 2/3/2015 Caravaggio said:

On 2/3/2015 terrier3 said:

On 2/3/2015 Cattitude said:

On 2/3/2015 terrier3 said:

On 2/3/2015 happy housewife said:

"willingness to get a job" is more related to the example parents set and the culture a child is raised in - not something they are born with. A child raised all their life knowing they will have to earn a living will earn a living and those raised to live off the system will live off the system.

But many people live "off the system" in Scandinavia.

They get free healthcare, free education, free childcare, housing and energy allowances, free re-training and long unemployment and maternity benefits too.

The ALL "live off the system: to a much greater degree than here - and they have a much better social safety net.

They actually pay lots of taxes so it's not exactly free stuff. They've paid for it themselves even though the government gets the credit.

Yes...but if they lose their jobs or have a baby, they get long, lucrative benefits too.

If we paid those kind of taxes, we could eliminate a lot of poverty here too.

Nobody stops you from paying more if you think it will help by all means...

We used to pay a LOT more (back in the 50s) and the middle class was vibrant. It didn't stop us from going to the moon, building the tallest buildings, scientific innovations, etc.

Now just going back to taxes at Ron mid 80s levels - people freak out!!!!!

[Catitude]

On 2/3/2015 terrier3 said:

On 2/3/2015 Cattitude said:

On 2/3/2015 terrier3 said:

On 2/3/2015 happy housewife said:

"willingness to get a job" is more related to the example parents set and the culture a child is raised in - not something they are born with. A child raised all their life knowing they will have to earn a living will earn a living and those raised to live off the system will live off the system.

But many people live "off the system" in Scandinavia.

They get free healthcare, free education, free childcare, housing and energy allowances, free re-training and long unemployment and maternity benefits too.

The ALL "live off the system: to a much greater degree than here - and they have a much better social safety net.

They actually pay lots of taxes so it's not exactly free stuff. They've paid for it themselves even though the government gets the credit.

Yes...but if they lose their jobs or have a baby, they get long, lucrative benefits too.

If we paid those kind of taxes, we could eliminate a lot of poverty here too.

how exactly would we do that?

The poor need cars to get to work, they need laptops, cellphones (for the job searches of course) they WANT all sorts of things that the Danes live without.

edited to add: Americans want nice houses, not cracker boxes with 10 family members living in, which the Danes think is perfectly happy living conditions. They gather around the fire in winter and snuggle a lot.