In the rich part of the world, people are worried that the welfare state should not be able to provide them with adequate security. They are happy to pay a little more tax for better healthcare. They do not feel that the politicians have taken into account ordinary people’s needs in the welfare system designed. And they think that the rich should be taxed more heavily.
a major new study of the economic cooperation organization, the OECD, done in 21 countries. Sweden is not included but well Finland, Denmark and Norway.
“this is a wake-up call for politicians,” says OECD secretary-general Angel Gurria in a comment.
– the OECD countries have some of the world’s most advanced social safety net. They spend on average more than one fifth of GDP on welfare, And yet feel not the citizens that they can rely on the state when they need help, ” says Gurria.
between 18 and 70 years of age, think more than half they get a little welfare in relation to the tax they paid. At the same time, like two-thirds that others get more than they deserve. Almost three out of four want their governments to do more to provide social and economic security.
The biggest concern among those interviewed about not being able to cope financially if you were to get sick. It is particularly pronounced among the elderly. The middle-aged, and younger people worry more over housing costs and everyday expenditure and revenue should go together. The as lose a job, are at risk in many countries that end up in dire straits.
”We may never get a mortgage loan, and we have a place not in the queue for social housing. We have no security,” says an interviewee 51-year-old irishman in the survey.
”If I lose the job I lose everything except my car. I have no savings because of a divorce, no undanlagt for retirement and a whopping kreditkortsskuld,” says a 44-year-old american.
will also get high salary is much greater than to those that had an easier upbringing to get it. Yet it is the most affluent among the respondents who worried the most that their children will get it worse than they themselves.
A common belief is the rich get away too cheap. Two-thirds of the respondents believe that those who have most should pay a higher tax than in the day to help the poor. In particular in Germany and Greece, the proportion is three quarters.
Nearly four out of ten can imagine that, for the own part to pay an additional 2 percent of their income in tax if they were better pension, or healthcare.
the Proportion who are prepared to pay more tax for better education is, however, not higher than 25 per cent, and for better childcare services is only 15 percent that want to let the tax higher.
. In practice, they represent the 36 members a wide välfärdsspektrum, where the richest country has up to five times higher GDP per person than the poorest.
the Opinions also differ some between the countries examined. Not surprisingly, people in the countries that have the most developed systems are also the most satisfied.
In Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands, is getting dissatisfied with access to public service. The norwegians are both most satisfied and most generously provided with well-being. Most dissatisfied are the greeks, while the finns and americans ports in the middle layer.
Andreas Bergh is not surprised at the results:
” this is nothing new for those who followed the research. People are quite happy to pay tax in most countries where it is highest, because they get what they expect, while the level of dissatisfaction is high in a country such as Greece.
– A single study of this kind, nor do they say not so much.
” In that case there is the additional one, for it is what the economists said in 20-25 years time: dissatisfaction arises in the encounter between the expectations and what you actually get. In political discourse it is called often that citizens get the best and that it should be free or heavily subsidised.
When the extravagant promises of this kind are not met, it may not be so surprising if the voters become frustrated, according to Andreas Bergh.
– It is important to understand that it has with the experience and expectations to do, and the policy affects both.
people in the united states, which has less publicly funded welfare, and thus lower taxes than Western europe, are relatively satisfied, it may appear contradictory, but it is because you do not have the expectation that the state will fix everything, ” explains Bergh.
”as you ask, you get answers.”
” You ask a lot of threats, and it provides what scientists would call a priming effect. The interviewees start to think about all the ways that it would be able to go to the forest, ” says Andreas Bergh.