Cradle to Grave- Social safety net- Up for cuts.No -Not Canada - Denmark.
Seems to many are doing squat and living a decent life while others pay for it. These are able bodied by abusers of the social safety net.
Denmark looks to overhaul welfare state where perks are plentiful - The Globe and Mail
It began as a stunt intended to prove that hardship and poverty still existed in small and wealthy Denmark, but it backfired badly. Visit a single mother of two on welfare, a liberal member of Parliament goaded a skeptical political opponent, see for yourself how hard it is.
It turned out, however, that life on welfare was not so hard. The 36-year-old single mother, given the pseudonym “Carina” in the news media, had more money to spend than many of the country’s full-time workers. All told, she was getting about $2,700 a month, and she had been on welfare since she was 16.
Denmark has among the highest marginal income-tax rates in the world, with the top bracket of 56.5 per cent kicking in on incomes of more than about $80,000. In exchange, the Danes get a cradle-to-grave safety net that includes free health care, a free university education and hefty payouts to even the richest citizens.
Parents in all income brackets, for instance, get quarterly checks from the government to help defray child-care costs. The elderly get free maid service if they need it, even if they are wealthy.
Few experts here believe that Denmark can long afford the current perks, however. So Denmark is retooling itself, tinkering with corporate tax rates, considering new public sector investments and, for the long term, trying to wean more people – the young and the old – off government benefits.
“In the past, people never asked for help unless they needed it,” said Karen Haekkerup, the minister of social affairs and integration, who has been outspoken on the subject. “My grandmother was offered a pension and she was offended. She did not need it.
One study, by the municipal policy research group Kora, recently found that only three of Denmark’s 98 municipalities will have a majority of residents working in 2013. This is a significant reduction from 2009, when 59 municipalities could boast that a majority of residents had jobs. (Everyone, including children, was counted in the comparison.)
Nielsen said he was able-bodied but had no intention of taking a demeaning job such as working at a fast-food restaurant. He made do quite well on welfare, he said. He even owns his own co-op apartment.
Unlike Carina, who will no longer give interviews, Nielsen, called “Lazy Robert” by the news media, seems to be enjoying the attention. He says he is greeted warmly on the street all the time. “Luckily, I am born and live in Denmark, where the government is willing to support my life,” he said.
Some Danes say the existence of people like Carina and Nielsen comes as no surprise. Lene Malmberg, who lives in Odsherred and works part-time as a secretary despite a serious brain injury that has affected her short-term memory, said the Carina story was not news to her. At one point, she said, before her accident when she worked full-time, her sister was receiving benefits and getting more money than she was.
“The system is wrong somehow, I agree,” she said. “I wanted to work, but she was a little bit: ‘Why work?’”
Seems to many are doing squat and living a decent life while others pay for it. These are able bodied by abusers of the social safety net.
Denmark looks to overhaul welfare state where perks are plentiful - The Globe and Mail
It began as a stunt intended to prove that hardship and poverty still existed in small and wealthy Denmark, but it backfired badly. Visit a single mother of two on welfare, a liberal member of Parliament goaded a skeptical political opponent, see for yourself how hard it is.
It turned out, however, that life on welfare was not so hard. The 36-year-old single mother, given the pseudonym “Carina” in the news media, had more money to spend than many of the country’s full-time workers. All told, she was getting about $2,700 a month, and she had been on welfare since she was 16.
Denmark has among the highest marginal income-tax rates in the world, with the top bracket of 56.5 per cent kicking in on incomes of more than about $80,000. In exchange, the Danes get a cradle-to-grave safety net that includes free health care, a free university education and hefty payouts to even the richest citizens.
Parents in all income brackets, for instance, get quarterly checks from the government to help defray child-care costs. The elderly get free maid service if they need it, even if they are wealthy.
Few experts here believe that Denmark can long afford the current perks, however. So Denmark is retooling itself, tinkering with corporate tax rates, considering new public sector investments and, for the long term, trying to wean more people – the young and the old – off government benefits.
“In the past, people never asked for help unless they needed it,” said Karen Haekkerup, the minister of social affairs and integration, who has been outspoken on the subject. “My grandmother was offered a pension and she was offended. She did not need it.
One study, by the municipal policy research group Kora, recently found that only three of Denmark’s 98 municipalities will have a majority of residents working in 2013. This is a significant reduction from 2009, when 59 municipalities could boast that a majority of residents had jobs. (Everyone, including children, was counted in the comparison.)
Nielsen said he was able-bodied but had no intention of taking a demeaning job such as working at a fast-food restaurant. He made do quite well on welfare, he said. He even owns his own co-op apartment.
Unlike Carina, who will no longer give interviews, Nielsen, called “Lazy Robert” by the news media, seems to be enjoying the attention. He says he is greeted warmly on the street all the time. “Luckily, I am born and live in Denmark, where the government is willing to support my life,” he said.
Some Danes say the existence of people like Carina and Nielsen comes as no surprise. Lene Malmberg, who lives in Odsherred and works part-time as a secretary despite a serious brain injury that has affected her short-term memory, said the Carina story was not news to her. At one point, she said, before her accident when she worked full-time, her sister was receiving benefits and getting more money than she was.
“The system is wrong somehow, I agree,” she said. “I wanted to work, but she was a little bit: ‘Why work?’”