Welfare in America and Europe

Archive Report

Reappraisal on Two Continents

Americans tend to view the idea of the welfare state with something approaching horror. Western Europeans, on the other hand, typically regard it as a necessity, a civilized, albeit costly, way of redistributing income to eliminate dire poverty. The so-called “cradle-to-grave security” systems in effect in Scandinavia, the Low Countries and Britain have succeeded to a large extent in providing a basic level of subsistence for all. Yet, the taxpayers have paid a high price for these programs.

Concern about the cost of social welfare programs in those countries has provoked a public outcry, particularly in Britain,1 about welfare “chiselers” and has led to demands that something be done to halt the rapid expansion of these programs. While there have been numerous ...

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