General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Swedish riots rage for fourth night (long-term unemployment and poverty) [View all]Quantess
(27,630 posts)I really do get the sense that Sweden aspires to be like the USA in terms of material wealth. The commercialism, the spending habits, the waste that goes with it, are similar to what I have seen in the US. I absolutely, no doubt, sense that the direction Sweden is going, in any case.
But instead of restricting immigration, as all of Sweden's neighbors have already done (Finland, Denmark, and to a lesser degree, Norway), there is no sign of any of the major Swedish political parties putting any brakes on inviting in masses of asylum seekers and refugees and other immigrants. Sverige Democrats (SD) are right wing, too right wing for most swedes. They support cracking down on abortion, and are against gay rights. But their rise in popularity seems to be based on their anti-immigration stance.
The employment rate is still pretty good in Sweden --but not if you are a middle eastern immigrant who can't speak very good swedish or english. Asylum seekers on average spend several years being unemployed and living on welfare before finally finding a job. The jobs in Sweden all pay decent, however.
But swedish is slightly more difficult than english to learn, and there is no pressure to learn swedish when your neighborhood is predominantly farsi or arabic or turkish speaking. There is also the prejudice that comes with middle eastern sounding names on job applications, before they even get a chance to show that they speak swedish like a native born swede.
I wonder what is coming next? Probably, the leaders will declare that "something must be done about all these unemployed welfare-sucking-drains on society, so we need to get people to work!"
The plan will be carried out by cutting welfare even more, lowering the minimum wage, and inviting in thousands more refugees to fight over the scraps.