Essay Example: Should the U.S. Expand Its Welfare Policies to Be More Like Those of Sweden?

Various arguments exist that the U.S should expand its welfare policies to be more like those of Sweden. America would benefit significantly from restructuring her economy and social systems by taking up those of her Scandinavian sisters. Sweden applies trade liberalizations, therefore practice free trade. Most of the critics claim that the US cannot be like the Nordic countries (Tamkin, 2014). The U.S should lower the total taxation on the production firms. This would affect the gross domestic product (GDP) which would be a limit on the government and an embrace on the market. Sweden taxes its corporate organizations lower than the U.S. the variations in taxation show the need for the U.S to lower its total taxation in the company.

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Sweden pays for the welfare state without influencing production. It lays much emphasis on taxing the poor and the middle class considering that the rich is one of the highest social classes; therefore, the economy is much dependent on them. As a result, Sweden gains a lot of finance originating from the standard rate of the value-added taxes of their total sales. Sweden country has a value for the culture which is supportive of the institutional and economic incentives. However, the U.S should uphold and adopt the immigration policies so that they may not experience the scenario of increased unemployment in Sweden. The increased unemployment has been blamed on the immigrants. Currently, there is a high employment gap existing between the natives and the foreigners in Sweden. The numbers are high, actually twice the average of the European's union. Additionally, the U.S should be strict on immigration policy so that it may experience low racists and attitudes of discriminations which may be shown by the citizens.

Labor markets: Should the U.S. increase the Federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15?

The minimum wage can be described as the lowest possible salary rate that employers can pay their workers. Since the introduction of minimum wage, it has been raised numerously. Raising the federal minimum wage impacts both employers and employees positively and negatively. On the dark side, critics believe that increasing the minimum wage places a burden on employers, especially those working for developing organizations, resulting in a slower growth rate, as well as lowered levels of employment. Only companies are affected in that those with a fixed compensation plan can exhibit slower hiring rates while developing ones can have pressure on responsibility.

On the positive side, the economic situation of the federation is impacted positively. At an individual level, raising the minimum wage would see an increase in the standard of living for impoverished employees (Dick-Goodson, 2017). Additionally, raising the minimum wage has not kept up with inflation, and various employees are impoverished. Due to the situation, most of the workers are paid hence, evading the poverty level. Raising the minimum wage also has little impacts on unemployment. Furthermore, raising the minimum wage would lead to a reduction in gender and race-based income inequality as every worker would be treated right in their workplace when it comes to payment. The competitive situation of companies is also not altered when the federal minimum wage is increased. Regarding the federal government, the expenses made on social programs for the poor could be significantly reduced hence, resulting in lower taxes for the locals. Additionally, the government could also collect more revenue from payroll taxes for social security as more workers could get payrolls upon an increase in their wages. The advantages of raising the federal minimum wage outweigh the limitations.

References

Tamkin, E. (2014, August 29). Will Everyone Shut Up Already About How the Nordic Countries Top Every Global Ranking? Retrieved from https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2014/08/will-everyone-shut-up-already-about-how-the-nordic-countries-top-every-global-ranking.html

Dick-Goodson. (2017, October 18). Reasons To Raise The Minimum Wage, From Both The Right And Left. Retrieved from https://iowastartingline.com/2017/10/18/reasons-raise-minimum-wage-right-left/