It began as a stunt intended to prove that hardship and poverty still
existed in this small, wealthy country, but it backfired badly
writes
Suzanne Daley in a New York Times article which states outright that the "Danish model of government is close to a religion here".
Visit a
single mother of two on welfare, a liberal member of Parliament goaded a
skeptical political opponent, see for yourself how hard it is.
It turned out, however, that life on welfare was not so hard. The
36-year-old single mother, given the pseudonym “Carina” in the news
media, had more money to spend than many of the country’s full-time
workers. All told, she was getting about $2,700 a month, and she had
been on welfare since she was 16.
… Denmark has among the highest marginal income-tax rates in the world,
with the top bracket of 56.5 percent kicking in on incomes of more than
about $80,000. But in exchange, the Danes get a cradle-to-grave safety
net that includes free health care, a free university education and
hefty payouts to even the richest citizens.
Parents in all income brackets, for instance, get quarterly checks from
the government to help defray child-care costs. The elderly get free
maid service if they need it, even if they are wealthy.
… “In the past, people never asked for help unless they needed it,” said
Karen Haekkerup, the minister of social affairs and integration, who has
been outspoken on the subject. “My grandmother was offered a pension
and she was offended. She did not need it.
“But now people do not have that mentality. They think of these benefits
as their rights. The rights have just expanded and expanded. And it has
brought us a good quality of life. But now we need to go back to the
rights and the duties. We all have to contribute.”
… Joachim B. Olsen, the skeptical politician from the Liberal Alliance
party who visited Carina 16 months ago in her pleasant Copenhagen
apartment, is particularly alarmed. He says Sweden, which is already
considered generous, has far fewer citizens living on government
benefits. If Denmark followed Sweden’s example, it would have about
250,000 fewer people living on benefits of various sorts.
“The welfare state here has spiraled out of control,” Mr. Olsen said.
“It has done a lot of good, but we have been unwilling to talk about the
negative side. For a very long time it has been taboo to talk about the
Carinas.”
… It remains possible that the cost-cutting push will hurt the left-wing
coalition that leads the government. By and large, though, the changes
have passed easily in Parliament and been happily endorsed by
conservatives like Mr. Olsen, who does his best to keep his meeting with
Carina in the headlines.
Carina was not the only welfare recipient to fuel the sense that
Denmark’s system has somehow gotten out of kilter. Robert Nielsen, 45,
made headlines last September when he was interviewed on television,
admitting that he had basically been on welfare since 2001.
Mr. Nielsen said he was able-bodied but had no intention of taking a
demeaning job, like working at a fast-food restaurant. He made do quite
well on welfare, he said. He even owns his own co-op apartment.
Unlike Carina, who will no longer give interviews, Mr. Nielsen, called
“Lazy Robert” by the news media, seems to be enjoying the attention. He
says that he is greeted warmly on the street all the time. “Luckily, I
am born and live in Denmark, where the government is willing to support
my life,” he said.
