Have you ever thought about the concept of a 'Worker's Paradise'?

[Union Yes]

The phrase 'Worker's Paradise' drives fear into the hearts of our corporate overlords. Like exposing a vampire to garlic. Like water to the Wicked Witch of the West. When they hear that phrase, they start melting.

We can all be a thorn in the side of our corporate Serfmasters.

More importantly, we can better our own lives by demanding and voting for politicians that will fight to transform and lift America out of a state of poverty and Serfdom.

WTF is a workers paradise?

Think Sweden. Think Norway.

I'm of Norwegian descent. I'm normally not the pride type. Pride can be dangerous. But dang if I ain't proud of my Norwegian roots because the nation of Norway puts people first. So does Sweden, Finland, Denmark.(Many other Euro nations as well.)

They've created a workers paradise through democratically elected 'Socialist' policies. Not full blown state socialism, but a heavily regulated, pro-safety net, pro-worker democracy.

Sweden and Norway have set the standard of what health care should be for all nations. They offer the highest quality health care of any nation on the planet.

They do so while offering affordable access to that great HC system for all of their citizens. They cap and control the cost of prescription drugs. Yet Sweden is a world leader in pharmaceutical research, development, and discovery of new medicines.

How can a 'socialist' nation be a world leader in pharma R&D and discovery? I'll let the supply-siders take a stab at answering that one.

Sweden and Norway created their 'workers paradise' with..

Pro-worker policies
Pro-labor policies
Living wage standards
Universal Health Care FOR ALL!
Anti-wealth divide policies
A social safety net that is the envy of the world.
Progressive taxation.

There's a reason why Sweden has remained among the most immune to international economic recession.
It's because they spread their wealth out more evenly to the workers who earn it. They pay their workers a much higher wage than US counterparts. Swedish citizens earn more expendable income that keeps their economy afloat.

Sweden isn't standing on the edge of economic collapse. America is.
Sweden isn't ass deep in debt. America is. 13 TRILLION DOLLARS in debt.
Sweden hasn't allowed greed to undo it as a nation. America has.

The bottom 80% of American wage earners is becoming poorer and poorer. Driven by stagnant and falling wages, mass unemployment, our lost manufacturing sector, and the resulting effect of our disgraceful "Free Trade" policies.

Defunding the bottom 80% of Americans has driven our economy off a cliff. It'll never recover until we reverse the trend of our growing wealth divide.

So, how can America transform into a workers paradise?

Single Payer UHC. Affordable access for all. The fundamental right to HC for all citizens regardless of race, religion, gender, straight, LGBT, economic status, pre-existing condition.

Repeal of "Free Trade" and a ban on reimportation. No more US corporations using foreign low paid serf labor to make cheap goods then reimport said goods for sale at Walmart.

Affordable housing. To me, 'for-profit' housing is as bad a policy as for-profit health care. How can a Northeasterner afford a $300,000 home on falling wages or an unemployment check? The housing sector in America stands on the edge of total collapse because few can afford to buy a home anymore. Rising wages could be a band-aide to the problem but we need a new housing policy in America.

Employee Free Choice Act with a strong 'card-check' provision. If we want better wages as a nation, we will have to fight for it.

Living Wage standards. We can take a gigantic leap forward and pull America out of poverty by adopting a Living Wage standard.

Mass transit. Rail, high-speed rail, bus transit. A nationwide investment in mass transit would be a job creating machine. At a time when Americans are screaming for jobs!

Grow our fuel! Brazil has spent the past 30 years putting it's nation to work by growing their fuel. Ethanol made from grass, grown nationwide in Brazil. America could create perhaps millions of jobs by following Brazil's model. 'Drill baby' has turned into a failure for modern day America. We are drilling at this very moment and furthering our dependency to foreign oil each and every day."Drill baby" is an epic failure.

Wind, solar, alternative cleaner and greener energy. We clean up our home, Mother Earth and create millions of jobs in the process. Should be a no brainer for this win-win policy.

At least a 50% reduction in our "defense" budget. At least 80% of our $13 TRILLION national debt is attributed to "defense" spending. This enormous cost savings can be used to pay down our national debt and invest in America. First, we have to unglue the lips of America from the ass of the military/industrial complex.

I can go on and on about what really needs to "CHANGE" to save America from it's own greed.

Instead, I'll close by saying that populist outrage is sky-fucking high. It is reaching a boiling point all across America. The Banksters, The Military/Industrial Complex, Big Oil, Big Pharma, Walmart, The US Chamber of Commerce are the modern day mobsters. The racketeers of society.

The people have had enough.

Wanted: A progressive candidate for office that will reach out to populist anger. That will campaign to repeal "Free Trade". That will push for Single Payer. That will fight the growing wealth divide. Populist support will flock to their campaign's.

Solidarity,
Union Yes

[paulsby]

1. i agree with much, but disagree with

the sweden provides their workers with more disposable income (you said expendable, but it's the same thing as far as i know) line.

i wonder what kind of disposable income a cop in sweden has vs. a cop in the US. i get paid excellently (incredible medical plan btw paid 100% by my employer), and this job provides me with quite a lot of disposable income.

i can also invest some of my surplus income, which i do, and get a very reasonable tax rate on my dividends and cap gains, which only adds to my disposable income.

a cop in my area can EASILY make six figures (iow 100,000+) by working a little overtime, and/or especially if they work a unit that gives a nice pay increase.

i respect sweden, although i vastly prefer our system (but i am pro universal healthcare).

but on the issue of disposable income, i disagree. i would be very surprised if swedes have (comparing career to career) more disposable income than we do.

[Union Yes]

3. Are you a police union member?

Union membership is becoming a rarity in America these days, sadly. If you are a union member then you're somewhat of an exception to the rule. But you're also typically paid much better than your non union American counterpart. On average, American workers are paid far less than their Swedish counterparts.

Union members are somewhat of an exception to that rule. Heck Swedes make more than most American union memebers do. Although police pay between the 2 nation may be an exception.

Hope that somewhat answers your question.:)

[paulsby]

5. i am, and that's a fair point

i am a proud union member and yes, my dept. is unionized.

thanks for the answer. like i said, i doubt that swedes have more disposable income, but that's just based on what the 1 swede i know told me, and some basic knowledge of the economic system of the two countries.

i'm not also sure that "on average, American workers are paid far less than their swedish counterparts"

are you referring to PRE-tax or post-tax income? that's the primary difference. sweden provides far more services, but takes far more out in taxes.

this year, i'll pay very little in taxes. it's going to be SUWEEET. mostly due to factors regarding mortgages, purchasing a house (many of the costs associated are tax deductible), etc.

like i said, sweden offers a very compelling alternative for many people. it's not for me, except for the whole universal healthcare thang, although i would get inferior health care under such a plan, i'm not for it for MY benefit, but for society's

[Demeter]

2. Sweden's Banks are losing their shirts in Central Europe

Not enough regulation, yet. When the multinational corporations are cut off at the knees, then there will be paradise.

[Union Yes]

4. Banking worldwide is on the edge of collapse. No nation seems immune to that. just sayin. nt

[niyad]

6. kick