Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
All or nearly all taxpayers believe taxes are too high. When proposals are made to in-
crease social-welfare programs, questions spew forth: Aren't we paying too much in taxes
right now? Can we afford more generous benefits? For Europeans, answers are made even
more difficult by related issues. First, in most of Europe (as in North America and Aus-
tralia), thanks to the miracles of modern medicine and the success of medical assistance
programs, the population is aging. And an aging population needs increased medical as-
sistance. Second, Europe is faced with rising unemployment as a result of automation and
jobs lost through international competition. In addition, European youth struggle against
government policies that provide lifelong jobs for those already working. This means that
employers are reluctant to hire entry-level workers, out of concern that they may stay on
the payroll for the rest of their lives.
As a consequence, in Europe unemployment benefits command a significant share of
government expenses. How, then, do you weigh the taxpayer's cost of unemployment in-
surance against the possibility that generous unemployment benefits may destroy the in-
centive to look for work? At this point in the debate, a moral minefield looms. Do we risk
harming our society by creating a generation that would rather live on government bene-
fits than work? How do we find a proper balance between incentives and disincentives,
between compassion and indolence?
Each country answers social and economic questions within the context of its own his-
tory. Germans, for example, tend to be mindful of the devastating inflation and massive
unemployment that followed World War I. They see how those social disasters prepared
the way for Hitler and the Nazi Party. Many Swedes and Danes view their generous un-
employment benefits as historic compensation for workers' suffering during the Great De-
pression of the 1930s. And for Swedes, their extensive maternity benefits are justified on
many grounds, not least that of contributing to the full equality of women. Travelers will-
ing to explore social-welfare issues get more than information. They also receive keys that
unlock the door to a traveler's treasure: serious discussion about a country and its culture.
ECONOMICS MATTER
(…We) look forward to a world founded on four essential freedoms…. The third is
freedom from want.
— Franklin Roosevelt,
Address to Congress
, 1941
Money sets the world in motion.
— Publilius Syrus (100 BC)
Economics is never just about money, any more than government is just about who rules.
Politics and economics are two sides of the same coin (hence the term political economy).
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