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Originally Posted by CliffFletcher
Sweden actually has greater social mobility than Canada (which in turn has more mobility than the U.S. or UK).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global...Mobility_Index
The cost of living (ie 25 per cent VAT) is the price that’s paid to fund more robust public education, health care, and pensions. The notion peddled in North America that we could boost our public services to similar levels just by going after the 1 per cent is a fantasy. |
That mobility isn't felt equally across the board:
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe...me-2022-04-28/
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STOCKHOLM, April 28 (Reuters) - Sweden has failed to integrate the vast numbers of immigrants it has taken in over the past two decades, leading to parallel societies and gang violence, Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said on Thursday, as she launched a series of initiatives to combat organised crime.
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A lot of these European countries have the advantage of relatively stable pre-existing populations that benefit greatly from colonialism, that allowed them to set up international companies that can then bring in cash and share it amongst stable populations with established wealth.
One thing I will say is that Sweden, and just about everywhere else, has a much better atmosphere for starting a small business than Canada does. The cost of capital, land, and labour is so extreme in Canada and we combine that with all sorts of red tape, zoning, and government induced oligopolies.
I do agree that Canada's taxation of the very upper earners and most profitable corporations is laughable. Specifically, the ability to keep profits in corporate solution long-term and only pay a fraction of the taxes on the profits. The purpose of these tax schemes was to allow corporations (particularly those just starting out) to reinvest that money back into the business. Instead, it just become a loophole for the rich, who don't need to use their income to sustain themselves, to hide from taxation. It's counterproductive to its goals, as any business starting out is not doing so on an even playing field.
Back to the Sweden comparisons, Canada's healthcare system is rated higher than Sweden's. As far as our educational system goes, he problem in Canada is lack of direction. Sweden provides more individual funding, but they also don't let students study whatever they want to. They have a strong centralized system that allocates post-secondary spots in proportion to what the economy actually needs. In Canada we have universities filled with liberal arts students and the government funds 90% of the costs. Sweden also doesn't allow students who are struggling to complete high school. They are transferred to a vocational program.