Four months. It's easy for me to keep track of how long we've been here because people ask me about it so frequently. I'm acutely aware that the 8th of each month is a sort of anniversary, another point at which I can look back and assess my adjustment and how my feelings about living here have changed.
I often have to remind myself that I live here. I live in Sweden. And this isn't study abroad, this isn't an extended visit. I have to consider this my home for the time being. If I look ahead too far and imagine myself two years from now, still in Sweden, it's easily overwhelming. It's not that I don't like it here, but living away from home for so long can be daunting.
But I find myself adjusting more and more. My Swedish is improving quickly, and that makes it easy to communicate and figure stuff out. Since Dan and I have found an apartment, I'm looking forward to a place we can make a home. I have a routine, friends, even some work. Things are looking up.
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For this month's cultural notes, I want to talk a little bit about taxes: what you pay, what you get, and my assessment of it. Because I haven't been here that long, I don't know even close to everything and I will probably get some details wrong. But here's what I've gathered:
When you work a typical job here (not babysitting and not a post-doc), a large portion of your money is taken straight from your paycheck. It's different based on your income, but with a decent income they'll take 50% percent, a slightly lower one 40%. In other words, the government takes a ton of your money.
But what you get back is significant. Medical expenses are almost completely paid. Daycare and schooling is paid for from "dagis" for the youngest to college for the oldest. Masters and PhD's are paid for as well. There is no such thing as private schools or college that I've ever heard of, so it's not like you can opt to pay for more. Your retirement is guaranteed, without the fear of the government being unable to pay it back (Sweden has NO debt, NO deficit. They're secure.). If you become unemployed, you are well supported. If you want to start a business, you are well supported. Parents get monthly stipends for their children, as well as a wicked amount of parental leave: 480 paid days per child split between the parents as they wish. Interestingly, the leave can be taken until the kid is 7, so I've heard that some moms take Fridays off for a while, for example.
In my assessment, I'd rather have the money taken straight away and not have to worry about all the things you'd have to worry about in the US. In the States you can keep a lot of your money, but then what if you get cancer? What if you become disabled? What if your kid wants to go to Yale? Will you be safe in retirement? And what if the economy crashes and you lose your job? These worries aren't as significant here.
But to me, the big difference between the United States and Sweden is trust in government. Clearly, Swedes almost blindly trust their government to take their money and do what's best with it. (It seems to be working fine.) This kind of system can't even be IMAGINED in the US because the people (justifiably) don't trust their government to do the right thing. A high-tax high-return system just would not work in the US. In my opinion, it never will.
I want to very briefly touch on two other huge differences that allow this to work in Sweden: 1st, Sweden, up until recently, was a fairly homogeneous society without a significant wealth gap. This makes it easier to have the government take money and maintain the status quo of everyone getting the same generous benefits. Secondly, Sweden believes deeply in parity and equity. It's not cool to be better than your classmate, and it's not cool to be flashy. You don't want to stand out, you want to fit in and be like everyone else. (For example, it's not smart to brag on personal letters here because thinking you're the best is unattractive.) This also allows for people to be more confident that having a government that aims to equalize wealth (and takes a bit more from the rich) is the right thing to do.
With the United States history of slavery and multiple waves of immigration, in addition to a growing wealth gap, I don't think that a tax system of Sweden's strength would go over well with voters - especially the rich ones who can afford to pay for health insurance and college, and don't want to give that up to even out the wealth gap.
Sweden's lookin' pretty good to me from where I stand, with the United States' budgetary and economic issues.
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