Ok, what you need are realistic possibilities. I live in Norway and just had a daughter. I get 2 weeks off from work, paid, from arrival of the baby. My wife is now on mother’s leave from her job, paid, for about a year, (there’s math, but nvm), then I get paid parent leave for about 3-5 months when she is done. Kindergarten here costs about 200$ (US) per month, recently lowered from around 300$. All children have a right to kindergarten from they’re a year old (simplified).
My dad just spent a month in hospital in Sweden. The total cost was 400$.
Universities here cost about 100$ per semester + living costs, which the state owned student loan bank offers at decent interests to cover, and if you pass your exams, 40% of the loan is turned into a grant.
I could go on. Main reason on my opinion is the Nordic model of labor organization, where the state, businesses and workers try to make compromise so that businesses go well, workers are well paid and the state mediates when necessary. There are issues of contention, it’s not paradise, but it works quite well for quite a lot of people. Bernie has talked about the Nordic model for years. It’s real, it works quite acceptably, and it can be yours.
First step, strong unions and politicians that support them.
Ok, what you need are realistic possibilities. I live in Norway and just had a daughter. I get 2 weeks off from work, paid, from arrival of the baby. My wife is now on mother’s leave from her job, paid, for about a year, (there’s math, but nvm), then I get paid parent leave for about 3-5 months when she is done. Kindergarten here costs about 200$ (US) per month, recently lowered from around 300$. All children have a right to kindergarten from they’re a year old (simplified).
My dad just spent a month in hospital in Sweden. The total cost was 400$.
Universities here cost about 100$ per semester + living costs, which the state owned student loan bank offers at decent interests to cover, and if you pass your exams, 40% of the loan is turned into a grant.
I could go on. Main reason on my opinion is the Nordic model of labor organization, where the state, businesses and workers try to make compromise so that businesses go well, workers are well paid and the state mediates when necessary. There are issues of contention, it’s not paradise, but it works quite well for quite a lot of people. Bernie has talked about the Nordic model for years. It’s real, it works quite acceptably, and it can be yours.
First step, strong unions and politicians that support them.