It’s a well known fact that the Scandinavian countries have to deal with a lot of problems and we’ll try to outline them in this article.
Although health care and education in Scandinavia are free, there are still many problems along this line that require thinking.
Citizens of Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland pay high taxes. The Scandinavian countries are considered socialist countries and socialism does not prevent social and economic problems faced by their citizens. The Left in these countries are not satisfied with the organization of their tax system, because taxation of wealthy citizens in the Nordic countries are with higher rates compared to the same category of rich people in the United States.
One of the reasons why it is considered that it is not correct for a country such as Sweden to be considered socialist, is that it actually has historically been more advanced than it is now. Because of the progressive tax rate in Sweden, it is in fourth place on the list of the richest countries in the world. In just 23 years, it fell fourteen places. Under the policy of the dominant conservative parties across the Nordic countries, they are rejecting the support of the free market and progressive politics.
However, the Swedish government has recognized the problems in the economy and in order to prevent and reanimate the Swedish economy, it has introduced several capitalist reforms. As a result of these reforms to reduce unemployment, Swedish GDP is growing steadily. Although it seems that Sweden is a less progressive country compared to the United States, unemployment in the US is as high as 45.1%. Treasure that the richest people possess in Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway accounted for about 69% of the total wealth of these countries.
Scandinavian Countries Have High Taxes and High Personal Debt
Despite the disparity of wealth between the US and citizens of Sweden, Swedes set aside 12.3% of their income in liabilities, Denmark 26.4%, 10% Norwegians, Finns 12.9%, while the Americans only 9.8%. This is one reason why the government debt of the Scandinavian countries is lower than the United States. A progressive tax system in Scandinavia in this way, fails to protect its citizens from personal debts.
As for the educational system, the Swedish system is ranked lower than the US. This negates the belief that socialist Scandinavian educational institutions are among the best in the world. The conclusion is that high tax rates do not provide quality education in Sweden.
The Non-Socialist European Success Story: Switzerland
An example that a country as Non-Socialist can be very successful, is Switzerland. Citizens of Switzerland only pay 8.6% of their personal income in liabilities annually. The economic climate in Switzerland is particularly positive adjusted for activities involving entrepreneurship. It employs three quarters of the working-able population in small and medium enterprises. Globally, Switzerland ranks as the country with the highest economic growth in several categories such as employee training, attracting talent and innovation.
There is an evident advantage of Switzerland in relation to the Scandinavian countries, despite the fact that it is capitalist and they are socialist countries. The unemployment rate is only 4.5% and is one of the lowest unemployment rates in the world. The poverty rate is also low. The employment rate of people who immigrate to Switzerland is 76%, while the European average for this category is 62%.
The education system in Switzerland is 3rd in the world in terms of quality. Higher ranked are only the education systems of Japan and Korea, meaning that the educational system of Switzerland is the best in the Western world.
Inequality income and debts in Switzerland are very low. Wealthy Swiss pay 20.9% of taxes in the country. Despite the low tax burden on the rich, the country has a high rate of GDP compared to the Nordic countries.
The perception of Switzerland as a “paradise” is justified, although it is essentially a capitalist country. Maybe it is time for the socialist countries and the US to take part of this ideology to increase values
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It is said that everything has a price, even happiness and prosperity. Scandinavian countries are also on the verge of paying that price, not in the literal form though, but in an even worse one.
According to a survey conducted last summer, millennials and people older than the age of 80 considered themselves as unhappy and unsatisfied in Scandinavian countries including Sweden and Denmark. Although the percentage is still under 20%, it is yet an alarming phase shift for countries where living standards are promisingly pleasant for the outer world.
The feelings of dissatisfaction are largely linked to the mental health of the participants of the survey. Another factor that could play a pivotal part is claimed to be unemployment for these people. Irrespective of the cause, Scandinavian countries are facing more than just the traditional problems now. However, such surveys could be really helpful in finding the root cause and eliminating them, and surely country officials are already working on resolving them.
Scandinavia countries were the first who pour the color of democracy and capitalism in the European Society. People of this region have a liberal approach to sexuality. No virginity-worship, most people here would probably consider it a -negative – to wed as a virgin. Scandinavian people are helping and kind. They help disabled and old people when they are in need even though they do not know them. People never leave people in need before real help like ambulances arrive.
The use of “Scandinavia” as a proper generic term for Denmark, Norway, and Sweden is honestly recent. According to some recorders, it was used and added in the 18th century, at a time when the thoughts about a common culture started to emerge and grow into early linguistic Scandinavism. Before this event, the term “Scandinavia” was familiar to classical philosophers through Pliny the Elder’s scripts and was used illegally for Scania and the southern area of the peninsula.