https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disposable_household_and_per_c...
These numbers are after taxes and transfers, so they encode all of the welfare programs in the respective countries.
Here's one study, reviewed jointly by Dr. Henrique Schneider, professor of economics at Nordakademie University in Germany and the chief economist of the Swiss Federation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: https://fee.org/articles/the-poorest-20-of-americans-are-ric...
In the US, we have welfare programs that target the poor (yes, some slip through the cracks unfortunately). Once you account for all taxes, transfers, and non-welfare benefits, the poorest 20% are on average richer than most European nations. This is measured by looking at annual per capita consumption among the bottom 20%.
So allow me to be quite skeptic about the quality and validity of his "research"
4-6 weeks of mandated paid vacation
Substantial paid parental leave
Option to opt in for half-time working and the companies are mandated to comply
Universal healthcare not related to your job situation nor to the whims of the coverage of your health policy
Option to join an union with no repercussion
Any other question?
The US spends close to 80% of its Federal budget on social programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, EITC, SNAP/EBT. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_federal_budget#/...
And that's not even including State-level welfare. Each State has its own unemployment insurance, welfare programs, and subsidized state university. In Georgia (where my alma mater is), university is essentially free if you can maintain a GPA > 3.5.
On top of all that, the government is currently debating another big round of welfare and stimulus. A Republican has proposed a massive overhaul of welfare to provide up to $15,000 a year in cash for parents: https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/22264520/mitt-romney-chec...
Why do I always see that the GA Tech OMSCS is ~$10,000? This is a serious question. If it's essentially free with a good GPA I might actually enroll.
Is free college part of the "safety net" given that the majority of people in Scandinavian countries don't go to college? How is this relevant to a discussion of minimum wage workers?
> 4-6 weeks of mandated paid vacation > Substantial paid parental leave
Paid vacation and parental leave are good examples of social benefits that exist in Scandinavia but not in the U.S.
> Option to opt in for half-time working and the companies are mandated to comply
Is working half hours a problem minimum wage workers actually face? This sounds more like a benefit for more skilled workers, who
> Universal healthcare not related to your job situation nor to the whims of the coverage of your health policy
For minimum wage workers, the same exists in the U.S. A full-time minimum wage job where I live in Maryland pays $21,000. Through the Affordable Care Act, someone my age (36) at that income level can buy a "Gold" plan with low deductibles for $75/month. That works out to about 4.2% of income, basically the same as the higher income taxes you'd pay in Sweden on that same income. Except in Maryland your sales tax is 6% rather than the 25% VAT in Sweden.
> Option to join an union with no repercussion
Same thing in the U.S.
Half of the people have tertiary education. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_tertiary_...
> How is this relevant to a discussion of minimum wage workers?
Gee, I dont know, maybe becuase college students with no degrees has a higher probability of a minimum wage. But he can study and work, not to choose between both or a life-enslaving credit.
> Is working half hours a problem minimum wage workers actually face?
Minimum-wage earners are people too, not mindless drones. You have there colleges students, second-income parents, people trying to create their own business, people working in the arts, volunteers.
> For minimum wage workers, the same exists in the U.S.
In a gold plan you still have to co-pay 20% of your costs, so good luck with an unforseen 30k medical bill.
https://www.healthcare.gov/choose-a-plan/plans-categories/
> Option to join an union with no repercussion
>Same thing in the U.S.
LOL, you must live a very sheltered life.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/28/business/coronavirus-unio...
https://news.yahoo.com/nearly-20-of-workers-illegally-fired-...
Here is the latest data in one chart: https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/figures/images/figure-cac-3.... In the U.S. 47% of people have a post-secondary degree. It's 43% in Sweden and 38% in Denmark. I'd imagine vanishingly small numbers of low-wage workers have college debt, or would qualify to get into college.
> Gee, I don't know, maybe becuase college students with no degrees has a higher probability of a minimum wage. But he can study and work, not to choose between both or a life-enslaving credit.
The vast majority of workers earning minimum wage aren't qualified to go to college. If they are, they can get government-guaranteed student loans, which are repaid based on income levels after college.
And it's not like college is actually free in Scandinavia. You still have the opportunity cost and cost of living. Student debt levels in Sweden are actually similar to those in the United States, $20,000-25,000: https://qz.com/85017/college-in-sweden-is-free-but-students-...
Student debt in the U.S. is also not "life enslaving." To go back to my example of someone making minimum wage in Maryland. If that person somehow has a college degree and the average $25,000 of debt, they'll pay only $24/month on their student loans: https://studentloanhero.com/calculators/pay-as-you-earn-calc.... This is for federal student loans, but more than 90% of all student debt is federal loans.
> Minimum-wage earners are people too, not mindless drones. You have there colleges students, second-income parents, people trying to create their own business, people working in the arts, volunteers.
I mean do minimum wage workers actually have trouble getting their employers to give them half-hours, such that they need a law that forces their employer to accept that? In the U.S., it's so easy to hire and fire workers that employers are very flexible about low-skill, hourly workers only wanting to work say 20 hours a week. They just hire more workers.
> In a gold plan you still have to co-pay 20% of your costs, so good luck with an unforseen 30k medical bill. https://www.healthcare.gov/choose-a-plan/plans-categories/
Yes, but the co-insurance is subject to Cost Sharing Reduction: https://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/cost-sharing-reduction. If you actually get sick on the Gold plan that I was looking at, your maximum out-of-pocket costs is $6,500. Which is a significant amount, no doubt, but most people making minimum wage are young and will not get sick.
> https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/28/business/coronavirus-unio... > https://news.yahoo.com/nearly-20-of-workers-illegally-fired-...
Firing workers for trying to unionize is illegal under U.S. law. I'm sure employers in Scandinavian countries never violate labor laws?
You guys are missing the point; social mobility for all. Also, if so called low-skilled jobs still provides a comfortable living in Scandinavia, it will obviously skew those numbers.
> And it's not like college is actually free in Scandinavia. You still have the opportunity cost and cost of living.
Yes, you can choose to remote or on-site education. There's also a cultural thing where young adults are encouraged to move out from their parents sooner rather than later.
The loan is taken from a government agency, that means non-profit. The current interests rate for student debt in Sweden is 0.05%. This is surely a major difference from the US?
> but most people making minimum wage are young and will not get sick
This seem very optimistic, bordering cynical. I wonder how long the Uber waiting times would be if there's only healthy young people driving (and some even like to assume that it's only part timers at that).
Interest rates in the US are higher, but unlike Sweden your repayment is based on income. If you make less money, your monthly payment will be much less, and the debt will be forgiven after 20 years.