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https://fee.org/articles/the-m...

http://www.nationalreview.com/...

https://sweden.se/culture-trad...

https://stream.org/5-myths-nor...

It's mostly a myth.

Sweden is capitalist. Individuals can own capital. See this article for more details.

Hmm. Sweden. Low federal and corporate income taxes.

You and I have differnet definitions of the term "low":

Sweden's "low" income taxes: no taxes on first 413,200 SEK ($46,376US), 20% tax up to 591,600 SEK ($66,399US), and 25% tax on all income above 591,600 SEK ($66,399US)

Sweden's "low" investment tax is 30%

Sweden's "low" corporate taxes are 22%

Source: https://sweden.se/society/why-...

SEK to US Dollar conversion tool: http://www.likeforex.com/curre...

Yikes, no citations. Let's fix that. The following is from the Swedish government education site. Executive summary: Sweden has centralized and uniform funding, entrance exams, curriculum, teacher training/certification, and grading. Even independent charter schools must follow the same system!

From the age of six, every child has equal access to free education in Sweden. The Swedish school system is regulated through the Education Act, which ensures a safe and friendly environment for students. The act mandates nine years of school attendance for all children from the year they turn seven...

New education act

The new Swedish Education Act of 2011 contains basic principles and provisions for compulsory and further education, pre-school, pre-school year, out-of-school care and adult education. It promotes greater oversight, freedom of choice, and student safety and security.

New curricula

New consolidated curricula for compulsory schools for all students, Sami schools, special schools and upper secondary schools came into force 1 July 2011. The curricula contain new general goals, guidelines and syllabuses. The pre-school curriculum includes clearer goals for children’s linguistic and communicative development and for science and technology. Mandatory national subject tests are held in years 3, 6 and 9 of compulsory school to assess student progress. There are also new qualification requirements for areas including upper secondary school studies.

New grading system

The old Swedish system with four grades from Pass with Special Distinction (MVG) down to Did Not Pass(IG) was replaced by a new grading scale with six grades from A to F in 2011. A to E are passing grades, with F as a failing grade. Grades are assigned starting in year 6. The new grading system is very similar to the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS), the standard grading system for higher education in Europé.

Teacher certification

As of 1 December 2013, professional certification is required for school and pre-school teachers on permanent contracts. The decision, a milestone in Swedish education policy, aims to raise the status of the teaching profession, support professional development and thus increase quality in education...

Same rules apply

In Sweden, charter schools must be approved by the Schools Inspectorate and follow the national curricula and syllabuses, just like regular municipal schools.

https://sweden.se/society/education-in-sweden/

Four months is a good start, I'm going on my second leave in two weeks, staying home with my 1 year old for two more months.

Once more companies start doing it, and people actually start using it, the leave becomes more accepted, even expected, and then it wont be an issue at all.

And for those "unfair if I dont have / want kids" - people; kids are generally considered to be something good for society as a whole.

Gates has a valid point. Taxing corporations takes money away from job creation and innovation. Most people don't realize that countries like Sweden have both solid industry and social services precisely because they have a very low corporate tax rate mixed with a high person income tax rate. (thus encouraging capital investment while simultaneously addressing extreme inequality) On the other hand, corporations currently use their lower tax to do things that amount to consumption rather than capital investment. For example if the CEO wants' a private jet to fly to Hawaii instead buying it with their own taxable salary, they'll put on the tab of the company as a "business expense". Want to hide personal capital gains? Just keep the funds in an executive company investment plan. Ideally corporations should face zero tax and consumption should be the target -- but in practice in most instances because of these loopholes taxing corporations too little hurts the public coffers even further. If we want to change that a review of the tax code to close these loopholes must be the first step. Not sure how Sweden manages it but it would be a good thing to take a close look. https://sweden.se/society/why-... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

Well... (from the angle of the only word in the world which is absolutely politically correct; also, don't miss writings of Securityemo here; and note how I'm mostly just having a laugh from across the Baltic... though I do look a bit like a stereotypical Viking, if with undone hair and too long from last shaving)

I'm so proud, it makes me want to cry.

And move to Sweden.

As if Swedish women weren't enough incentive.

Can any immigrants or english speaking Swedes here give us a rundown on what it's like to either:

a. Visit your country on vacation

Just visit! Sweden is really beautiful in the summer and we have something called allemansrätten that attract hundreds of thousands of nature starved forreign tourists (mostly Germans) every year. Stockholm is likely to be least of a culture chock to an US American. Be aware though, living in Sweden is not as cheap as living in USA and there are no cheaper lower standard alternatives. We have a higher standard of living because an avarage Swede earn much more money then an avarege American and many expenses are paid for by our government to a higher degree than in USA (schooling, health care et.c.). We have also a higher VAT on some goods like petrol, alcoholic beverages and tobacco.You will also have to be aware that you, as not being a citizen of any EU or Nordic country, will need your passport when you cross borders to surronding countries. Oh, and absolutely no guns or knifes, the police (and laws) have zero tolerence towards weapons, there are exceptions (i.e. Sweden has more (hunting) rifles and shotguns per capita then USA), but as a tourist I advice you not to carry anything that could be used as a weapon.

or

b. Move to your country, learn your cool-ass "bork bork" language, and assimilate into your culture?

Thanks in advance.

There are lots of native English speaking people that have lived for 30-50 years in Sweden and still don't speak any Swedish. Some of them have even a hard time to understand anything spoken or written in Swedish. As an American speaking Swedish you will sound like a cross breed between Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, Goofy and Pluto, but you're welcome to try. Sweden has at least three times the phonemes of American English (thats one of the reasons we sound like "bork bork" to you, you can't distinguish between our different phonemes) and, unlike any other European language, use tonality a lot (thats why the Swedish chef in early muppet shows is so good, he actually "sings" as some Swedish dialects is spoken, all Swedes love the Swedish chef). On the other hand, Norweigian is easy to learn (at least the dialects that they teach to forreigners) and similar enough to Swedish that every Swede would understand you (and the job market in Norway is one of the best in Europe at the moment).

We have lots of US born people living in Sweden. I can't imagine they would stay if they didn't like it here. You will, however, perhaps have some trouble getting a job. As an American, your language and ethnicity won't effect your chances to get a job (they may even be to an advantage), but your level of education might (Sweden has free of cost education at all levels). Lots of occupations that don't demand an education in USA, do require a formal education in Sweden, you may even face jale time if you to practise your former occupation. There is also a risk of your academic merits being nullified (same rules as in other EU countries apply) or that you have to complement your earlier education to make your old one count.

Sweden is very popular among forreign exchange students, so if you are the right age that may perhaps be an alternative, then you at least would get an international (and EU approved) degree, even if you decided not to stay.

You really think it would make it easier to park in large cities for short errands if they didn't exist? Thank God someone actually thought enough to address the problem.

Please, meters make no difference in ease of parking, currently if you get a ticket and you have the spot for the day that is unless you are parked somewhere where they will tow you (hydrant etc.) or you have more than 3 tickets unpaid and get towed or booted.

The meters make no difference in the time people spend in the spots, they just add to the price of shopping in those areas.

If they really wanted to do something to address the problem with parking in urban areas they would discourage the use of automobiles there period. The Stockholm Solution Other cities do the same thing with similar results.

sweden.se (heh, with a Flickr photoset, even)

Regarding work permits:

This fact sheet describes, in condensed form, Swedish regulations and routines for obtaining entry visas, residence and work permits, and residence permits when establishing a company.

I feel it's an honour (we traditionally adhere to Commonwealth English) when a foreigner takes interest in my country.

sweden.se (heh, with a Flickr photoset, even)

Regarding work permits:

This fact sheet describes, in condensed form, Swedish regulations and routines for obtaining entry visas, residence and work permits, and residence permits when establishing a company.

I feel it's an honour (we traditionally adhere to Commonwealth English) when a foreigner takes interest in my country.

Wait until the eve of the super bowl. Secretly inform the proponents of the law in advance, and then on the eve of the super bowl: Call in congress for a debate and vote on the law by email with one hour's notice. You would be sure to have the majority.

This is what happened in Sweden. It wasn't the super bowl, but an important national soccer match. Soccer is the national sport in Sweden, just as football is in the US.

It's also gearing up for midsummer. In many ways, it's the largest and most important holiday of the year, if for no other reason than it is the epicenter of summer vacations. Nearly everyone, without exception winds down and does nothing serious starting a few weeks before and on until Autumn.

So many, if not most, are already gone for the holidays. Those that aren't are thinking about it and/or slacking. Those not in either of the preceding groups are watching the game. There's not a better date that could be chosen to avoid scrutiny and oversight. So much for democracy in Sweden. Next up, Finland, Denmark and Norway...

and if this Geek fantasy doesn't materialize, what then?

Sweden has 800 movie theaters for a population of nine million, tickets cost about $10 US. Film in Sweden That suggests something less than a blanket popular endorsement of piracy.

Um, with respect, have you read anything about how far climatologists have gone back? Most studies go back at least 600,000 years, and some about double that. Using core samples of ice from Antarctica and correlating oxygen isotopes within that ice, we get a very good sense of what the mean temperature of the Earth have been for the last 1 million years. Read, ok? Here's just a few: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/icgate.html http://www.esf.org/esf_article.php?activity=1&arti cle=85&domain=3 http://www.sweden.se/templates/cs/News____9220.asp x

US terror watchlist 80,000 names long: report
"The classified list, which carried just 16 names before the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York and Washington had grown to 1,000 by the end of 2001, to 40,000 a year later and now stands at 80,000"
8 Dec 2005
http://www.sweden.se/templates/cs/NewsML____12744. aspx?newsid=1312/

Is Sweden still as open as it was in the 80's?

  Some years ago, I read (in official info, received from the Swedish Institute) that
  almost EVERYTHING produced by a Swedish gov't dep't, authority, etc. is freely
  available for public access.

  http://www.si.se/templates/StartPage.aspx?id=3

  If that link has died/changed, pick your language at the top of the site at:

        http://www.si.se/

  There used to be an SI Fact Sheet (or 3) on all of this, but I couldn't find it
  after 8 minutes at SI's web site...

  (Perhaps Sep 11th has changed Sweden's openness? 'hope not...)

  Surprisingly enough, openness applied even to such sacred cows (in other lands)
  as [most of] the Prime Minister's mail & [most] individual's tax records (useful,
  after all, to family-tree researchers).

  While living/working in the Kingdom of Sweden over 5 chilly "winters," I tested the latter
  claim... walking into the local tax office (Lokallaskattemindigheten, from memory...)
  and - in English - asked to use the Office's "public computer terminal" - still speaking
  English.

  In about 5 minutes, whoever was using a computer terminal finished and I was escorted
  inside, to a place with 2 or 3 computer terminals. A "Public (ie, limited / read-only)
  Access" card was sweeped-in, for my terminal, and I was given practically unlimited access
  (in time spent at the computer terminal).

  Of course, I had to know enough Swedish to be able to understand the prompts & commands
  needed to get to some sample data records, by my own & some few friends' and colleagues'
  data.

  I understand that only the names of children born out of wedlock would have been hidden
  from me; also, data may be hidden at certain points in the processing cycle (eg, before
  it is verified as accurate?)

  The only cost became payable only if I had wanted to print out some of the date I found
  (rather than copy into my notes, by hand).

  (I wonder if - today - one could use digital cameras to photograph data while displayed
  on screens, or - better - whether USB-disks can be used to gether much more information
  in a more convenient & useful manner...? Does anyone know?)

  The openness was said to go far beyond the example mentioned above...

  Any publicly-funded report was to be freely available - on request - at various depart-
  mental libraries.

  Even corporate libraries could be pursuaded to loan some of their materials (via Inter-
  Library Loan arrangements) to individual borrowers, in the community.

  The idea was, I understand, that an informed public was a basic tenet of [Social] Democracy.

  I didn't happen to stumble on any reports on the costs of supplying such information, or
  of not providing it.

  Has anyone got up-to-date info on how it is in Sweden today?

  ( cf: http://www.sweden.se/ for gen'l info )

If not, why do you expect the security guard to know the exact details of the law he's paid to enforce?

Some countries have had a powerful, constitutional freedom of information act since 1766.

I live in Sweden, and here higher education is free for everyone.

We even get governmental funding (~ $350/month, and the posibility to take a government funded loan for another 500$/month). Everyone can do it here, for free.

In fact - if you're a foreign student who comes here to study - it's also free.

Looks as if you are swallowing the Democrat party line of class hatred and not looking at the actual process and results of taxation and the history of how Congress votes.

I know you're probably trolling, but lots of people really believe (and spread) this kind of BS, so I'll pretend you really think what you say.

In short, you get economy 101 but apparently you didn't make it to 102.

Sweden (yes, 50%+ income tax Sweden) has a massively positive trade balance with the USA. When I say massively positive I mean they sell you almost three times as much as they buy from you ! And no, it's not biscuits or linux distros. It's high tech industry-oriented goods. Except for Ikea, Ericsson and Volvo, most Swedish exports are from small specialised companies that employ ridiculously educated workers to desing and produce high value-added goods.

France and Germany are a mess, but that's not because of taxes or social security. It's just that they dug themselves into a bureaucratic hole. Saying that a strong state with highly developed social services entails sprawling, Franco-German like bureaucracies is a lie ! Hell, you Americans share a border thousands of miles long with Canada, don't you ever look at what's going on up north ?

Your whole argument about labor costs and massive offshoring is dumb. The same BS that politicians serve us daily. Read any book by Paul Krugman as an introduction (looks like you'll need it), then hit a real economy manual. In short, wages in any given national industry tend to equal the average productivity of this industry in this country. Do you really think that wages in India and China have not risen in the last decade ? See South Korea or Taiwan for other recent examples.

Do the research and really think before you vote.

Yup, good idea.

Thomas-

Socialism has been bandied about unsuccessfully for quite some time now.

No, you're talking communism. All cited examples are dictatorships. Sweden is about the most socialist democratic country theres been - 100% health coverage for everyone, well distributed wealth, free education, 13 month pat/maternity leavy etc etc. Doesn't ruin the economy or it's players either. Read for more info.

So, if someone was holding your loved one, with a knife to their throat, how would you want the police to respond? With a hug?

Yes I am a pacifist. Where applicable. Hitler -> no alternative. Iraq (second and third times around) not necessary. Ex-Yugoslavia - should've been there before and better. My point was against police brutality, not violence. You can learn the subtle yet fundamental difference here.

Fascism bears a 180 degree resemblance to right wing ideology.

This educational site gives : "Mussolini's fascist one-party state emphasized patriotism, national unity, hatred of communism, admiration of military values and unquestioning obedience."

I count five out of five for Bush. But let's not get silly : there is no comparison possible again.

What I don't understand is why any peaceful person would ever want to carry firearms.

How arrogant and totalitarian of you

Ehm. No. I said I don't understand why. Nothing arrogant or totalitarian at all. And you've just completetly failed to convince me that there is any use. I think using firearms to pacify people around you is more totalitarian.

Maybe you need to live in a less dangerous place?

Of course, the overriding truth is that this man's ideas have been the direct cause of over a century of misery and death.

Well, in Europe this man's ideas were also the direct cause of the foundation of the powerful social-democratic parties in Western Europe, like the German SPD, French SFIO or the Swedish SDAP. Marx is as much responsible for Gulag and Stalin as he is responsible for the fact that in Denmark there is simply no such thing as poverty - while the unemployment rate is lower than in the good ol' US of A.

I'm glad you mentioned that and gave me some opportunity to write something leftist for a change :-)

I'm afraid you're reading selectively again. To quote the same report you link, a few para's later:

In November 2000, registered unemployment was 170,000 people, or 3.9 percent of the labor force. Two years ago the corresponding figures were 230,000, or 5.4 percent. The number of people enrolled in government-financed or subsidized training and employment ("labor market policy") programs has also fallen sharply, from 185,000 in November 1998 (4.4 percent) to 142,000 (3.3 percent) in November 2000. In 1999, the total imbalance (percentage of the labor force that were unemployed or in labor market policy programs) was 8.9 percent. By 2000, the imbalance had shrunk to 7.9 percent.

On income levels you're even more confused, inasmuch as you are quoting Per Capita GDP and describing it as income. In comparison, the report I linked above gives actual and specific income figures, broken down by professional area no less -- and in each area, a Swede earns between 25 and 45 percent of the salary of an American similarly employed.

And finally, you make much of the fact that the bottom tax bracket in Sweden and Denmark pay zero percent income tax, yet this is true in the US as well -- and in fact 35% or so of American workers pay no income tax at all! In contrast, the top one percent of Americans pay 36% of all income taxes -- and this is the system you describe as `regressive'. (Source: Associated Press -- you can find the article online here or via Lexis/Nexis).

Finally, it's clear that you're not on the popular side of the upcoming election. I'd also argue that you're not on the correct side. :-) If you indeed wish for the more civil tone we discussed, you might argue why you're right, not dismiss those who disagree with you as `brainwashed', `hubristic', or `complacent'.

This is because the `registered unemployed' in Sweden are the permanently unemployable

You are mistaken, Neocon:

The purpose of the incentive is to make it easier for long-term unemployed people registered with the Employment Service to find jobs.
-- http://www.sweden.se/templates/FactSheet____4020.a sp

"Registered," in Sweden, means people activly seeking work, which is exactly how the U.S. BLS measures unemployment.

You are also mistaken about the difference in cost of living required for purchasing power parity. According to the CIA, Swedes earn $25,400 per capita, while the U.S. earns $37,600 per capita. That is two thirds, not one third. A studio apartment for a university student in Sweden costs about $300 per month. How much does housing cost around your nearest university?

So, after being factually wrong on two counts, you tell me that I "go off the rhetorical deep end" -- is that for suggesting that socialism and capitalism are not mutually exclusive, or suggesting that progressivism contributes to longivity, I wonder?

Look, if you think it's absurd that socialism and capitalism are mutually exclusive, why do you think that Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Denmark keep their bottom tax bracket at 0%? It's because they want to maximize the spending power of the poor because there are more of them than the rich. That, in turn, is because 2/3rds of modern economies are driven by consumers. They are capitalist, with a saftey net, it's just that their net is better designed than ours.

You were, however, absolutly right about governors being elected in March rather than November. I'm not interested in keeping score or arguing about who is leading in next November's race -- tortise and hare, hubris, pride before fall, complacency, etc. -- I don't whether I'm on the popular side, I want to be on the correct side, and I want the correct side to win.

In every field, Swedes earn less than Americans

Again, if you consider the lower cost of living in Sweden, this is not true in terms of purchasing power, where Sweden is on par with the U.S. (Note from that link that big-city university student rents are about 250 euros.)

Anyway, as your citation says:

The Swedish economy is currently developing satisfactorily. Growth is high. The number of jobs is climbing and unemployment is falling, while inflation is low. Both public finances and the current account are in surplus.

Your interpretation of "stagnant" growth is not based in fact.

As for unemployment, your citation reads, "In November 2000, registered unemployment was 170,000 people, or 3.9 percent of the labor force." Do you make up statistics just for the fun of it?

Another thing to keep in mind is that Sweden puts about 90% of their unemployed into retraining programs with a stipend similar to U.S. unemployment insurance. That is why they recover so quickly.

Not quite the `workers paradise' you wish us to believe in, eh?

I never said that Sweden was perfect or a paradise, just quantitivly and qualitativly beter economically than the U.S. I prefer the weather in where I live.

these numbers have held steady in Sweden for decades

Which numbers, the ones you made up? Swedes agree that conditions were better before they joined the EU's regressive VAT tax scheme. The Swedes I know consider the 70s to be Sweden's economic golden age.

growth ... something which only capitalism has to offer

That's just absurd. Firstly, capitalism and socialism are not mutually exclusive. There are no pure capitalist economies devoid of all socialism anywhere anymore, and those that did exist were usually done in by disease or crime, both symptoms of poverty.

If you want to actually look at the outcomes, you have to ask yourself, do you want to stick with a regressive system, like in the U.S., where the middle class is shrinking? How can that not lead to riots other than by the imposition of facism? Or, do you want to join the progressive economies and get, among other things, an extra 3.5 years of life expectancy?

The very rich, who profit from regressitivity and sponsor it's lobbying through, e.g., DCI's astroturf "Tech Central Station," and foundations and radio comentary and other traditional methods of propaganda, are winning. Do you want to aid them on their greedy path to riots, or do you want a superior quality of life?

Let's look at the Swedish government's own numbers, shall we:

• In every field, Swedes earn less than Americans
• Sweden's economy is stagnant, seeing at best 2% growth (compared to over 7% growth last quarter in the US)
• total unemployment in Sweden was 7.9% in 2000, and 8.9% in 1999 -- and you have just been telling us that US rate of 5.9% is `unbearably high'

Not quite the `workers paradise' you wish us to believe in, eh?

More interestingly, these numbers have held steady in Sweden for decades, since exactly the feature you praise there (high tax rates which drain investment capital from the economy) prevent the type of growth which benefits Americans at all levels of society. In contrast, in 1990, the bottom twenty percent of American society had, earned, and spent as much (adjusted for inflation) as the middle twenty percent had in 1950.

That's the promise of growth -- and its something which only capitalism has to offer.

Let's look at the Swedish government's own numbers, shall we:

• In every field, Swedes earn less than Americans
• Sweden's economy is stagnant, seeing at best 2% growth (compared to over 7% growth last quarter in the US)
• total unemployment in Sweden was 7.9% in 2000, and 8.9% in 1999 -- and you have just been telling us that US rate of 5.9% is `unbearably high'

Not quite the `workers paradise' you wish us to believe in, eh?

More interestingly, these numbers have held steady in Sweden for decades, since exactly the feature you praise there (high tax rates which drain investment capital from the economy) prevent the type of growth which benefits Americans at all levels of society. In contrast, in 1990, the bottom twenty percent of American society had, earned, and spent as much (adjusted for inflation) as the middle twenty percent had in 1950.

That's the promise of growth -- and its something which only capitalism has to offer.

Let's look at the Swedish government's own numbers, shall we:

• In every field, Swedes earn less than Americans
• Sweden's economy is stagnant, seeing at best 2% growth (compared to over 7% growth last quarter in the US)
• total unemployment in Sweden was 7.9% in 2000, and 8.9% in 1999 -- and you have just been telling us that US rate of 5.9% is `unbearably high'

Not quite the `workers paradise' you wish us to believe in, eh?

More interestingly, these numbers have held steady in Sweden for decades, since exactly the feature you praise there (high tax rates which drain investment capital from the economy) prevent the type of growth which benefits Americans at all levels of society. In contrast, in 1990, the bottom twenty percent of American society had, earned, and spent as much (adjusted for inflation) as the middle twenty percent had in 1950.

That's the promise of growth -- and its something which only capitalism has to offer.

While this is a very good offer, it doesn't seem that extraordinary. Bredbandsbolaget in Sweden has offered 10 MBit/s ethernet for a long time with a present price of around $36 per month. That's more expensive than the offer this story mentions, but not all that much. I'm one of their many happy customers. (No, I'm not getting paid to say this.)