Swedish employment service lays off own staff in first sign of cuts
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  Swedish employment service lays off own staff in first sign of cuts
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Author Topic: Swedish employment service lays off own staff in first sign of cuts  (Read 587 times)
PSOL
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« on: January 30, 2019, 01:30:05 PM »

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sweden-politics/swedish-employment-service-lays-off-own-staff-in-first-sign-of-cuts-idUSKCN1PO15W
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RIP Sweden’s Social Democrats, soon you’ll go the way of the German Social Democrats and pass into irrelevant junior partners to the economic liberals. Just another example of how you’ve betrayed your own principles, and that it’s that the Swedish working class at large.
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Tintrlvr
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« Reply #1 on: January 30, 2019, 01:55:39 PM »

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sweden-politics/swedish-employment-service-lays-off-own-staff-in-first-sign-of-cuts-idUSKCN1PO15W
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RIP Sweden’s Social Democrats, soon you’ll go the way of the German Social Democrats and pass into irrelevant junior partners to the economic liberals. Just another example of how you’ve betrayed your own principles, and that it’s that the Swedish working class at large.

I guess you'd rather the left just not be in government at all and let the right-wing parties run things? Because that was the alternative here. It's not like Germany where the SPD has at times been able to govern with Linke but chose to go with the CDU instead.
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PSOL
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« Reply #2 on: January 30, 2019, 02:10:06 PM »

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sweden-politics/swedish-employment-service-lays-off-own-staff-in-first-sign-of-cuts-idUSKCN1PO15W
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RIP Sweden’s Social Democrats, soon you’ll go the way of the German Social Democrats and pass into irrelevant junior partners to the economic liberals. Just another example of how you’ve betrayed your own principles, and that it’s that the Swedish working class at large.

I guess you'd rather the left just not be in government at all and let the right-wing parties run things? Because that was the alternative here. It's not like Germany where the SPD has at times been able to govern with Linke but chose to go with the CDU instead.
A Social Democratic administration in the 1990s started the privatization schemes in Sweden, ending up where they are now. The rise of the Right is purely on the shoulders of the Social Democrats economic liberalization policies then.
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DavidB.
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« Reply #3 on: February 01, 2019, 02:35:58 PM »

Hahahahaha, big shoutout to the idiots on the left who made this possible (and a special shoutout to V, who could have blocked all this!).
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Diouf
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« Reply #4 on: February 01, 2019, 02:59:13 PM »

This is due to the M-KD budget for 2019, that was passed with support of SD. It includes cuts to the state employment service of 3.6 billion SEK (0.35 billion euro). Dagens Industri even writes that the new majority's "spring budget amendments" will roll back some of these cuts (around a third of it).

But yes, the agreement between the new majority does stipulate a wider change to the employment service. The state will still be in charge of control (does the employee make enough applications, participate in courses etc) as well as statistics of the unemployed, while the offering of courses to improve employability will be handled by a private actor. I know all privatization is inherently evil, but is this really a major blow to leftism? Are employment courses really a core state compentence? In Denmark, there are several private companies that make these courses, and are certainly not seen as less good, rather the opposite. The real leftist battle in this area should surely be to remove all these rules that is based on the premise that people does not want to work, and should be forced through all kinds of courses and application requirements in order to get their benefits.
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Antonio the Sixth
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« Reply #5 on: February 01, 2019, 04:09:41 PM »

I guess you'd rather the left just not be in government at all and let the right-wing parties run things?

Uh, yes, I'd rather have a right-wing government enacting right-wing policies than a """"left-wing"""" government enacting the exact same policies. At least right-wingers are honest about their goals.
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The Lord Marbury
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« Reply #6 on: February 01, 2019, 04:30:57 PM »

Hahahahaha, big shoutout to the idiots on the left who made this possible (and a special shoutout to V, who could have blocked all this!).

No they couldn't have, as Diouf said these specific cuts are due to the budget voted through in December by the Moderates, Christian Democrats and Sweden Democrats. It was those three parties that unequivocally voted for a budget which said that the public employment service should be shut down before the end of 2019, don't try to shift away the blame from those who are actually responsible. Please reserve your laughter for far-right parties who pretend to be better defenders of the working class and unemployed than the left while at the same voting for one of the most rightwing budgets the country has seen in decades.

However the January Agreement between S, MP, C and L definitely cemented the aforementioned cuts as it gave very few indications that the employment service would see any softening of the cuts in the spring budget adjustment coming up around May. Rather it pointed towards a continuation in the same direction, with employment service remaining in place in some capacity after reforms are completed in 2021.

There have been some speculation that it was a calculated strategy by C and L (mostly C) to walk out of the negotiations with S in December so that an M-KD budget could deliver as many right wing pet projects as possible when SD also voted for it. That way the negotiations could resume with a conservative budget as the starting point, with C and L refusing to reinstate a lot of the stuff that the budget had removed and S being forced to make further concessions. Leaks from the negotiations in December certainly hinted at the reform to the employment service being less far-reaching, with private alternatives competing with government-run job centres rather than all job centres being privatized as the final agreement entailed.
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DavidB.
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« Reply #7 on: February 01, 2019, 04:37:26 PM »

Please reserve your laughter for far-right parties who pretend to be better defenders of the working class and unemployed than the left while at the same voting for one of the most rightwing budgets the country has seen in decades.
I stand corrected, but, as you yourself say, it seems as if all parties have pretty much supported some of the most right-wing budgets ever: M, KD and SD first, the new government and its tacit or open supporters afterwards.

There are two differences between the left's promise and SD's promise, however. First, SD don't pretend to be economically left-wing, the parties on the left do. Second, at least with SD Swedes have a better chance not to become a minority in their own country. I can't think of any better policy to defend the Swedish working-class.
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The Lord Marbury
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« Reply #8 on: February 01, 2019, 06:32:09 PM »
« Edited: February 01, 2019, 06:39:04 PM by The Lord Marbury »

Please reserve your laughter for far-right parties who pretend to be better defenders of the working class and unemployed than the left while at the same voting for one of the most rightwing budgets the country has seen in decades.
I stand corrected, but, as you yourself say, it seems as if all parties have pretty much supported some of the most right-wing budgets ever: M, KD and SD first, the new government and its tacit or open supporters afterwards.

Well no, I wouldn't characterize it as such. After the M-KD-SD budget was passed it was fait accompli, it was the basis on which all future decisions had to be made on. S and MP certainly didn't support it and C and L didn't support some chunks of it either. Roll-backs of decisions made in that budget are already being announced; the air travel tax is staying place, numerous cuts to environmental policy are stopped and the Anti-Segregation Agency will not be abolished. Does this fulfill every single thing that MP and in particular S wants? No, of course not. But together they got less than a third of the votes, of course they need to make compromises with other parties. At least this way they get to increase funds going to education and healthcare at a higher rate than what was pushed for by the right, and those are still two of their core issues. A lot of stuff are also left out of the agreement with C and L, which means that S can pursue other policies in budget negotiations that will appeal to their voters. Don't get me wrong, I still think that this term will be very difficult for the Social Democrats, but at least this way they get to preserve and expand some of their policies rather than see them all fall by the wayside in a Kristersson government propped up by SD.

The choice V made was also the least bad one. Had they voted no to Löfven there would've been a Kristersson government dependant on SD because C and L were simply too scared of a snap election, and that outcome would've been far more hellish to explain to V's voters than abstaining on Löfven. History also shows that when they're in opposition to a rightwing government along with the S they pretty much always get overshadowed by their bigger cousin. I actually suspect that V has a pretty benefitial position to be in at the moment, they are not part of the four party deal between S, C, L and MP but can bring down the government or crush any proposal from it as long as they get the backing of M, KD and SD.

I honestly think that the Moderates are in bigger trouble than V here, because while they obviously want to bring down the government, do they also want to stop a liberalization of rent control that they've been fighting for for 40 years or so as a consequence? Because that's when V will want to bring down the government, not when it attacks some core priority for the Moderates. Ulf Kristersson was talking about how it was an "odd priority" of the government to cut taxes for high earners (a big concession from S to L), but he defended and supported it when Jonas Sjöstedt asked Kristersson if he was willing to join forces with V in parliament to stop the cut. Åkesson had similar difficulties when he attacked the tax cut but was hit back with his own Shadow Finance Minister favouring the same policy less than two years ago. My guess is that Sjöstedt will make it difficult for both Kristersson and Åkesson to attack the government from the left by presenting similar proposals in the Riksdag to stop big tax cuts or privatizations, so that he can hold up their votes as evidence of their hypocrisy.

Meanwhile Kristersson is being squeezed from all sides by SD's ambition to become the biggest party on the right, KD and Ebba Busch Thor's desire of being a stronger opposition than M without the stink that SD carries, and a government that will actually implement a lot of policies that M genuinely likes. I wouldn't be surprised if Ulf Kristersson leaves before the next election, M drops below SD in 2022, or a combination of the two.

There are two differences between the left's promise and SD's promise, however. First, SD don't pretend to be economically left-wing, the parties on the left do.

Yeah you're right, SD doesn't pretend to be economically leftwing. They pretend to be everything to everyone as long as they get to curb immigration and go after muslims in every way they can imagine. Taxes, benefits and economic policy in general are irrelevant to Åkesson & the gang as long as they don't have anything to do with their views on immigration and culture.

Second, at least with SD Swedes have a better chance not to become a minority in their own country. I can't think of any better policy to defend the Swedish working-class.

Huh. So the third of the workforce in my last workplace that were either foreign born or had foreign born parents weren't just regular working class Swedes in elderly care like me? I never knew that being a white native born Swede was prerequisite for being Swedish working class, but I guess you live and you learn. I'd better go tell old Gunnel that that nice guy Nemat who helped fix her walker isn't some Swede who happened to be born in Afghanistan, with a second kid on the way and a nice house he just bought with saved money, but a dastardly villain looking to steal her country.

Out of curiousity, do you recommend that I place a burning cross on my neighbour's lawn? After all they are French Catholics and based on your advice I wouldn't want to give the impression that they are in any way allowed to make us Protestant-born Swedes a minority in our own country. Otherwise, if French Catholics aren't the problem when it comes to people who are "making Swedes a minority in their own country", perhaps you could provide some chart consisting of which nationalities should or shouldn't be allowed to enter the country? I hear phrenology is in vogue again amongst some groups, maybe you could base it on that?
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DavidB.
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« Reply #9 on: February 01, 2019, 07:12:57 PM »
« Edited: February 01, 2019, 07:43:02 PM by DavidB. »

You're the expert on Swedish politics, so if you think all of the other options would be worse from the perspective of a left-winger concerned about economic policy, I'll defer to that. It's of course simply the consequence of the fact that the Alliance and SD have a big majority together.

However, I'm pretty sure an S government with SD outside support (and sure, they would need one more party to abstain) would be able to implement a more left-wing economic policy. I know that sounds crazy in a Swedish context, but immigration and integration policy would still be miles softer than the Danish mainstream endorsed by their SocDems and Liberals. To me, the fact that this is obviously impossible still points at the Swedish left always being willing to concede economic policy as long as the borders remain open.

Yeah you're right, SD doesn't pretend to be economically leftwing. They pretend to be everything to everyone as long as they get to curb immigration and go after muslims in every way they can imagine. Taxes, benefits and economic policy in general are irrelevant to Åkesson & the gang as long as they don't have anything to do with their views on immigration and culture.
Given that mass immigration and its consequences seem to be the first, second, third, fourth etc. problem that Sweden has, I'd be willing to concede a lot on other issues too, one way or the other.

Huh. So the third of the workforce in my last workplace that were either foreign born or had foreign born parents weren't just regular working class Swedes in elderly care like me? I never knew that being a white native born Swede was prerequisite for being Swedish working class, but I guess you live and you learn. I'd better go tell old Gunnel that that nice guy Nemat who helped fix her walker isn't some Swede who happened to be born in Afghanistan, with a second kid on the way and a nice house he just bought with saved money, but a dastardly villain looking to steal her country.

Out of curiousity, do you recommend that I place a burning cross on my neighbour's lawn? After all they are French Catholics and based on your advice I wouldn't want to give the impression that they are in any way allowed to make us Protestant-born Swedes a minority in our own country. Otherwise, if French Catholics aren't the problem when it comes to people who are "making Swedes a minority in their own country", perhaps you could provide some chart consisting of which nationalities should or shouldn't be allowed to enter the country? I hear phrenology is in vogue again amongst some groups, maybe you could base it on that?
The typical left-wing response to anyone arguing for a reasonable immigration policy: "you hate foreigners." Admittedly more rare in the Netherlands these days, as my views are becoming much more common and accepted here than in Sweden. But nobody is saying all or even most immigrants are bad people. Nobody is saying that.

It is really very simple. Immigration has always existed, to a certain extent, but given the sheer amount of people Sweden has taken in over the last thirty years and given disparities between groups' fertility rates, the percentage of ethnic Swedes in Sweden is declining rapidly.

If these immigrants had all been French Catholics, who, as Europeans, are still relatively close to Swedes from a cultural point of view (even if a Dutchman would integrate easier in Sweden than a Frenchman, and a Dane much easier than a Dutchman), they would generally integrate rather quickly and be well-equipped to be on the labour market. They would also be fully assimilated within two or three generations. The same would go for most EU immigrants, including those from Eastern and Southern Europe. So there would not be a real problem.

But they are not. They are mostly African or Middle Eastern, and Swedish policy is aimed at allowing them to maintain their way of life and their value system in Sweden. A value system that is largely incompatible with the Swedish way of life and the social contract that is fundamental to the functioning of the Swedish welfare state.

This, in combination with their high fertility rate, is altering Sweden's character and leads to a decrease in social cohesion. It also leads to higher crime and increased segregation and will undoubtedly make the Swedish welfare state unsustainable in the long run. And what for? Nobody knows.
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