The welfare society

Chapter 9 covers the welfare society and how it is funded. It spans pages 30–31 and ties together Chapter 3 (who governs what) with Chapter 8 (where the money comes from).

The basic idea: the welfare society is meant to give all residents basic economic and social security.

What welfare means

The welfare society is about people being able to live a secure life — through access to healthcare, education, and financial support in case of illness or unemployment.

A state can provide its residents with good welfare when there is sufficient income for the budgets of the state, the regions, and the municipalities. A large part of that money comes from taxes. Taxes make it possible to fund many important services collectively: schools, healthcare, roads.

Two things that are often misunderstood:

• Tax is paid not only by working individuals, but also by companies.
• Some welfare services are run by private companies but still funded with tax money. A health center being privately run does not mean it is privately paid for.

The more people who work, and the more goods and services that are bought and sold, the more money the state, regions, and municipalities receive for welfare.

Three kinds of taxes

Tax	What it is
Income tax	Part of wages goes to the state, the region, and the municipality
VAT (mervärdesskatt)	Paid when buying goods and services
Employer contributions	Paid by the employer to the state on top of wages, and go toward things like health insurance and pensions

Who is responsible for what

This is the chapter’s most important structure, and it recurs in test questions. Responsibility is divided across the same three levels as in Chapter 3.

The state funds pensions, health insurance, parental insurance, unemployment insurance, student aid, and child allowance. The state also funds higher education and research at colleges and universities.

The regions — 21 of them — collect tax from their residents and are responsible for healthcare. To provide it, they run and fund hospitals and health centers. Care is mainly provided publicly, but there are also private care providers funded with tax money.

The municipalities decide for themselves how much residents pay in municipal tax and what the money should be used for. The municipality ensures there are schools and education, and is responsible for making sure elderly and sick people get help when they cannot manage daily life on their own.

The three parts of healthcare

The material divides healthcare as follows:

• Primary care — health centers as well as child and maternity healthcare centers
• Hospital care — emergency hospitals, county hospitals, and university hospitals, where surgery and advanced treatment are performed
• Other healthcare — psychiatric care, rehabilitation, and dental care

Municipal welfare in practice

Childcare: preschools and after-school programs.

School: every municipality has compulsory schools for children between 6 and 16 years old. Beyond compulsory school there are upper secondary schools and municipal adult education.

Elder care: older people often need help with practical everyday tasks — cleaning, cooking, laundry, shopping — and with personal hygiene. Under Swedish law, municipalities must offer elderly people support and help. The municipality can help with care and services so that elderly people can continue living in their own homes.

What’s easy to mix up

The most common mix-up in the whole material is region versus municipality:

• The region → healthcare (and public transport, see Chapter 3)
• The municipality → schools, childcare, elder care
• The state → pensions, insurance, benefits, higher education

A memory trick: what you visit when you’re sick is run by the region; what’s in your neighborhood — the preschool, the school, home care — is run by the municipality.