Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Swedish Inequality

The Bernie Sanders Scandinavian "socialism" seems to be failing more and more these days. Economic inequality has grown faster in Sweden than any other developed country in recent decades as top earners have cashed in on rising asset prices while immigrants and the unemployed have been left behind, the OECD said.

'Income inequality rose more rapidly than in any other OECD country since the 1990s, the report from the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development said. 'The rise in income inequality needs to be contained.'

 Rising stock market since deregulation in the 1990s and surging house prices have benefited those with financial assets, while favourable capital gains taxes in relation to income taxes have further benefited the wealthy.

The share of the population with incomes below the relative poverty line almost doubled, from 7 percent to 14 percent between 1995 and 2013. More than 30 percent of the foreign-born fell below the poverty line.

Power is contested between competing elites, each wooing the general public, and to the winner the spoils, distributing enough crumbs to maintain an orderly society.

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