The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development says people in Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands are the most content with their lives. The three ranked first, second and third, respectively, in the OECD's rankings of "life satisfaction," or happiness.
There are myriad reasons, of course, for happiness: health, welfare, prosperity, leisure time, strong family, social connections and so on. But there is another common denominator among this group of happy people: taxes.
Northern Europeans pay some of the highest taxes in the world. Danes pay about two-thirds of their income in taxes. Why be so happy about that? It all comes down to what you get in return.
The Encyclopedia of the Nations notes that Denmark was one of the first countries in the world to establish efficient social services with the introduction of relief for the sick, unemployed and aged.
It says social welfare programs include health insurance, health and hospital services, insurance for occupational injuries, unemployment insurance and employment exchange services. There's also old age and disability pensions, rehabilitation and nursing homes, family welfare subsidies, general public welfare and payments for military accidents. Moreover, maternity benefits are payable up to 52 weeks.
The U.S. ranked 11th on the OECD list. In addition to the top three, we were beat out by Sweden, Belgium, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland and Norway.
Full Story:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-happiest-places-on-earth-are-heavily-taxed
2 comments:
Return on investment is the key. (well, the Netherlands may have other advantages with their "freedoms") It takes a village......
you get paid for having babies in denmark! i'm telling you... it's something to be said about not having to worry about things like healthcare and education.
keep in mind, another thing all those countries have in common are small populations and homogeneity. i think it would be very hard for the US to mirror their policies.
that being said, feel free to visit christian and i when we move there but make sure you bring megan :)
Post a Comment