Re:Europe's Waiting Room
by adventured on Sunday August 02, 2015 @03:18PM
(#9991998)
The attitude issue is based on fear. I think people in the first world prefer to be generous, and that fear of losing what they have is what causes the friction. Whether we're talking about jobs, pensions, welfare benefits, etc.
In many European countries (it's in no way exclusively an European concern mind you) a fear of losing cultural identity is also an extremely common issue. It plays into the fear of change.
Modern welfare states are extraordinarily expensive, and require careful fiscal management. You can have a mostly well functioning one like Germany or Sweden, or you can have a disaster like numerous other examples. The fear (emphasis that that isn't to say it's the reality of the situation necessarily) is ending up in the disaster category, that the system will get overwhelmed and cuts will be required, lowering the standard of living for everyone.
In many European countries (it's in no way exclusively an European concern mind you) a fear of losing cultural identity is also an extremely common issue. It plays into the fear of change.
Modern welfare states are extraordinarily expensive, and require careful fiscal management. You can have a mostly well functioning one like Germany or Sweden, or you can have a disaster like numerous other examples. The fear (emphasis that that isn't to say it's the reality of the situation necessarily) is ending up in the disaster category, that the system will get overwhelmed and cuts will be required, lowering the standard of living for everyone.