an unemployed person for the first two hundred days of their unemployment and 70% for one hundred days following that term. The government also works with individuals to help them find employment while maintaining monetary support after that period has ended (27). All of these benefits are funded through heavy tax burdens. Sweden has the highest individual tax rate in the world at 47% (28). However, the corporate tax rate is much lower, at only 22% (29). The lower tax burden on corporations is meant to stimulate the economy and attract business to Sweden, another compromise made by the SAP. The welfare system is wide reaching and actively impacts the daily lives of all Swedish people. It is through large involvement and high tax rates that the Swedish government is able to best support and serve the people. Classical liberalism directly opposes the implementation of welfare reforms, but social democrats in Sweden have successfully implemented a government system based on welfare that is widely supported by the people. By working within a capitalist classically liberal system and compromising with moderates, the Social Democratic Workers Part of Sweden, has successfully executed its vision of creating a folkhem. In an increasingly modern world, the ways that the wealth is distributed have changed to fit with the current needs of the Swedish people. Anderson says, “The many people born in the 1940s are entering their eighties and should receive the secure care they deserve. For this reason, the general central government funding will be increased further” (23). Universal pensions were among the first social reforms adopted in Sweden under the leadership of the early Social Democrats, and their importance in the lives of the people and politics has remained. Even in an increasingly conservative Sweden, the Social Democrats are still able to enact reforms and grow the welfare system. In practice, all of the theories and policies come together to form the modern Swedish welfare state. The government provides a multitude of services for Swedish citizens, including healthcare, pensions, housing in certain circumstances, and generous unemployment benefits. Healthcare is provided through privately and publicly operated care centers that are financed almost entirely by municipalities rather than the central government (24). Nearly all of the hospitals in Sweden and a majority of the primary care clinics are owned by the government, making it one of the largest publicly owned industries (25). The pension system and the housing benefit are both a part of Swedish policy initiatives to guarantee a standard of living to all citizens. The ODEC assesses, “For a single person, the full guaranteed benefit in 2018 was SEK 96,912 for a single pensioner born after 1938 or 21% of gross average earnings … [and a] housing benefit that covers housing costs up to a maximum of SEK 5,560 per month for a single pensioner” (26). The minimum standard of living is also supported by unemployment benefits. The government provides 80% of the previous salary of PAGE 19 VOL. 1, NO. 1 ZEITGEIST
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