There's no forcing anyone into a union over here. But the perks of being part of a union far outweigh the negatives (of which I have found none from being part of them for my entire adult life). The union over here is a democratic club, ran by its members for its members. With the purpose to help and support come matters of pay, employment terms, equality in the workplace, organisation of said work, education and advancement in the workplace, work environment and workplace safety.
Roughly 70% of the working population in Sweden are part of a union. Because over here, this system works and has a proven track record.
That sounds more like an issue with your socio economical and work systems than just the unions to be fair. As well as your taxation system. Granted you cannot force a company to keep its business in place X rather than place Y, and a lot of the global companies will place production where production costs are the cheapest. But again, I think we are coming from different socio economical and political systems because those fees and taxation levels aren't the same here. We've had unions in Sweden since around 1900 and gone through 3 depressions without suffering from companies moving all their production overseas or them hurting our business/industry/employment rates. Hell, the one time our unemployment percentage has been in double digits was when we had a government who wanted to diminish the power of the unions.
Plus, companies move production jobs out of America not because of the union regulations, but because it is quite frankly cheaper to produce say a car in Asia than it is in the states and they don't have to pay their staff as much. Heavy taxation and regulation are without a doubt factors. But quality of life and expectations of pay are just as big factors in companies outsourcing.
That might be true, but again. That is more a flaw in your country's taxation and economical system. Any functioning central bank has the ability to regulate and control these rates so as to not negatively impact your economy or our industries.
I'm not afraid of paying taxes, because I do know exactly what it is going into. Those records are open to the public to view.
For every 12,08USD I pay in taxes, it is distributed roughly like this:
5,26USD goes into retirement, healthcare checks (if you miss work because of illness), child care stipends, study stipends, parental leave pay & unemployment stipends.
1,73USD goes into pre school, elementary & grammar school, high school, higher education and other educational institutions (special ed for example).
1,56USD goes into public healthcare, medicine and dental care and such.
1,44USD goes into rents on Interest rates on government debt and the cost of some ministries and agencies & assistance to other countries.
0,99USD goes into building and maintaining public infrastructure. Roads and railways, subway systems and busses.
0,39USD goes into military and defense.
0,31USD goes into police, fire departments and the legal system.
0,24 goes into libraries, museums and sporting venues/locales.
0,13 goes into planning of new residential areas, water and street lights.
0,05 goes into waste management, environmental protection and sanitation in case of a environmental catastrophe.
That's with the current transfer rate between the SEK and the USD.
As for the free market thing. I personally think the ideal solution is the one implemented here in Scandinavia, where state and market operate in symbiosis to benefit one another. The free market is great but it isn't going to give me roads to drive on, good healthcare or good education.
And I'm not sure how it works in America, but over here the state doesn't just hand anything out. You want part of the public welfare, you deliver to the public welfare. For example I didn't pay zilch in tuition to my university. But I am paying back to the state for my student loans so that that money can go back into the educational system, ensuring that the schools are funded and the education is of quality. I pay taxes so that my country functions and so that it can take care of me should I hit rock bottom.
And if you are unemployed you get an unemployment stipend, but you have to earn it. You have to hunt for jobs and/or enter a work training program, which will give you the tools needed to get a job (before I got my current job I was about to join one of these programs to become a chef) and if you don't fulfill these demands or don't show up for job training, they cut your funding. And it isn't a lot of money, just enough to get by, pay your rent and essentials.
Tax money here is meant to give everyone the same opportunity to succeed. It then comes down to the individual to go out on the work market and societal market and make the most out of it. The tax money is the old man in the cave at the beginning of Zelda. It is still a dog eat dog world, only here every dog has a full head of teeth.
I am confident in the system we have set up over here. Because it has a historical track record of handling big financial crisis's without negatively impacting our way of life, our employment rates or our society as a whole too much. Not to mention the international praise it has achieved.
There are similarities between our countries indeed (we are both market economies, we are both democracies). But there are also substantial differences in how our countries function politically, economically and sociologically. Which will lead to different outcomes.
We could probably debate this for hours, weeks and years. But I'm going to leave this be with this statement and just agree to disagree. We come from wastly different worlds on this particular issue.
it is very true that we could go on for hours about these topics and ultimately agree to disagree; thus, it is best to do it now. Although I completely disagree on certain things you stated, I will refrain from commenting on those topics.
However, I will briefly comment on some things, then I won't say any more despite if you reply: I promise lol
"Plus, companies move production jobs out of America not because of the union regulations, but because it is quite frankly cheaper to produce say a car in Asia than it is in the states and they don't have to pay their staff as much. Heavy taxation and regulation are without a doubt factors. But quality of life and expectations of pay are just as big factors in companies outsourcing."
When you said this, you proved my point with unions. It's cheaper to make a car elsewhere because of the crazy regulations and pay, etc., with unions. Expectations of pay are mandated by unions which then results in why they were moved overseas.
"
Roughly 70% of the working population in Sweden are part of a union. Because over here, this system works and has a proven track record.
That sounds more like an issue with your socio economical and work systems than just the unions to be fair. As well as your taxation system. Granted you cannot force a company to keep its business in place X rather than place Y, and a lot of the global companies will place production where production costs are the cheapest. But again, I think we are coming from different socio economical and political systems because those fees and taxation levels aren't the same here. We've had unions in Sweden since around 1900 and gone through 3 depressions without suffering from companies moving all their production overseas or them hurting our business/industry/employment rates. Hell, the one time our unemployment percentage has been in double digits was when we had a government who wanted to diminish the power of the unions."
Well, although it's true that yes 70% of people are in a union in Sweden, that doesn't mean it's the best way to move towards in the future. As far as having a proven track record, well it's working, for now, and may continue to work. But there's several factors as to why it has worked and probably not worth diving into. Plus, when you begin to give too much power to unions, government, etc., you will find yourself wishing you didn't do that in first place: free market is better long term and that has a proven track record as well; given, of course, that you don't take it too far. But, that's with anything. I'm more for an individual working hard and getting everything thing he's earned out of it...which is capitalism....not "extreme" capitalism...but, capitalism in the sense that there's little to no government involvement needed. I'm not for a system that supports everyone getting similar treatment no matter how hard you work. Makes no sense.
"That might be true, but again. That is more a flaw in your country's taxation and economical system. Any functioning central bank has the ability to regulate and control these rates so as to not negatively impact your economy or our industries.
I'm not afraid of paying taxes, because I do know exactly what it is going into. Those records are open to the public to view.
For every 12,08USD I pay in taxes, it is distributed roughly like this:
5,26USD goes into retirement, healthcare checks (if you miss work because of illness), child care stipends, study stipends, parental leave pay & unemployment stipends.
1,73USD goes into pre school, elementary & grammar school, high school, higher education and other educational institutions (special ed for example).
1,56USD goes into public healthcare, medicine and dental care and such.
1,44USD goes into rents on Interest rates on government debt and the cost of some ministries and agencies & assistance to other countries.
0,99USD goes into building and maintaining public infrastructure. Roads and railways, subway systems and busses.
0,39USD goes into military and defense.
0,31USD goes into police, fire departments and the legal system.
0,24 goes into libraries, museums and sporting venues/locales.
0,13 goes into planning of new residential areas, water and street lights.
0,05 goes into waste management, environmental protection and sanitation in case of a environmental catastrophe.
That's with the current transfer rate between the SEK and the USD."
In all countries, there are several things open for "public view." These include, often, false statistics and numbers that you really have no way of knowing. But, some of those numbers may be 100% accurate. And even if they are truly accurate and that makes you happy, then that's fine.
"As for the free market thing. I personally think the ideal solution is the one implemented here in Scandinavia, where state and market operate in symbiosis to benefit one another. The free market is great but it isn't going to give me roads to drive on, good healthcare or good education."
I'm not completely opposed to that market. However, Capitalism (free market), as long as it's not the extreme case, will easily supply roads, healthcare, and good education. I'm for taxing, but not implementing systems that will eventually lead to more taxation for everything and anything you can possibly think of. Again, I'm for "work hard and you get what you put into it" kind of thinking.
"Tax money here is meant to give everyone the same opportunity to succeed. It then comes down to the individual to go out on the work market and societal market and make the most out of it. The tax money is the old man in the cave at the beginning of Zelda. It is still a dog eat dog world, only here every dog has a full head of teeth."
Free Market does the same thing for everyone, without the crazy high taxes, and I like your reference to Zelda. lol
Again, I don't know all of Sweden's policies, etc. enough to really dive into a ton of detail. But, as of now, I know it's working for you and that's good. Does this mean it's the best route and everyone can and should do this? No, I don't think so as I feel there's a better medium and several factors to take into account with other countries: population size being one of them.
