In contrast to Denmark the USA society is made from vast diversity; diversity in class, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, geography and diversity in ideas. Despite of the clear differences between USA and Denmark societies what they have in common, or what all societies have in common, is that we are all humans. For this reason, we all have the same basic needs, like subsistence, protection, love, education, identity, full development of our personality, freedom, health and even leisure; witch should be protected over any other aspect in life. It is true that the economic system of Denmark, sound too good to be true, it is also true that this goodness has a price to be paid and this price is higher taxes. The money paid in taxes is returned to taxpayers as basic services which provided the entire society the fulfillment of their basic …show more content…
Why in America, we are so afraid of higher taxes? Due to that in America we have been conditioned to believe that paying higher taxes is simply horrendous, that poor people will not be able to pay it and rich people, “the job creators” will not be able to generate jobs any longer; chaos will empower our society and the great monster of socialism will destroy us. Higher taxes can lead to the end of the world. Sure it can be the end of a world as we know it and the born of a world more like the Denmark world. As the Denmark ambassador mentioned, while it is difficult to become very rich in Denmark no one is allowed to be poor, and that's where the problem lies; no ones who are billionaire in Unites States wants to “share” their fortune by paying higher taxes, particularly because making money is not going to be as easy for them like it’s now, in addition the billionaires do not suffer the consequences of social issues as a result, they
Many Americans can link their heritage to German origins. However, the German’s values, norms and beliefs have shifted when combined with American culture. Within Germany’s culture, there are common themes of organization, compartmentalization, and formality. The interaction between these themes of values, norms and beliefs influences the German culture, structured society, and worldview. While there are similarities between German and American culture, these two countries have difference views on human psychie.
To some, "capitalistic democracy" conjures up the picture of a utopia where the free market is accompanied by individual liberty and social justice. To others, however, the term is more like a paradox—despite tremendous economic power, the advanced industrial nations are not immune from the evils of socio-political inequality as well as economical disparity. Amongst the capitalist democracies of the world, it is an established and well-known fact that when compared with the advanced industrial countries in Europe, the United States has the worst condition of economical-political inequality and social injustice. Its government is the least progressive, and its social inequalities the most deplorable. To explain the condition in the U.S. today, both the universality of capitalistic democracies and the peculiarities the American system employs—as well as this system's political and historical development—must be examined and explored.
Social Norms in America They hold us together as a culture, while separating us as unique individuals at the same time. Folkways, which are based more on custom and etiquette, are the most broken of all norms. This can be explained because in the worst case scenario our only reprimand may be someone staring or talking about us. Mores, while a little more serious than folkways, still don’t have a very serious punishment, just maybe a little more than weird looks, double takes and bad mouthing.
Though Americans do still control their money if they are smart enough to use it, there are several catches. Karl Marx did get one thing right when discussing capitalism, or bourgeois. “By freedom is meant, under the present bourgeois conditions of production, free trade, free selling and buying. But if selling and buying disappears, free selling and buying disappears also” (Marx). Which is very true. The American capital system relies on supply and demand. Our nation needs buyers and sellers in order to stay a float. When concerning society, the American government requires its citizens to pay yearly taxes in order to keep the society running somewhat smoothly. Taxes, though unpleasant, are not the end of the world, they keep the government on its feet and help provide for the nation. Many believe that taxes getting raised make our nation more communist which is not necessarily true. In a communist country, people are allowed to be lazy and irresponsible without struggle, in a capitalist country, you must work hard for what you earn. One of the most famous capitalist financial experts in America, is a man named Dave Ramsey. He has become an expert in his field and helped many come to financial piece within a capitalist system. “If you don’t own the goal and it doesn’t come from your dream, then you won’t have the toughness to persevere when the going
When comparing myself to the standards of the rest of America I consider myself normal. As an American teen in today's society I believe normal is undefined because there are too many different cultures and beliefs. Since people have become more segregated by race, religion and beliefs, normality can only be based on their own cultures standards depending on what the individual has been accustomed to. In the new millennium, it would not be unheard of for a family to be raised by a grandparent, or even two homosexual parents. I would not call that "normal" or "regular" behavior, but because it is accepted more now than before you know that the definition of weird or exotic has changed. I define normal as what the majority of the American population does. Maybe this is a poor choice of definition, seeing as how we try to stray away from doing what others do or say. I feel that independence is one thing, but if you are not doing what the "in-crowd" is doing then face it, you are an outcast. No one should feel this way, but it is a fact that some do. Since when did not being normal become terrible? In Borders as Barriers: Otherness and Difference by Randall Bass, they present "national geographic nudity". When I read this article, I thought that they were trying to say that it is okay for the natives to be nude because that is what they were accustomed to. On the other hand, people in America just think it is weird because we wear clothes. I somewhat agree with that idea. My only objection is why would it be a shock to see an American in that setting nude also? Bass also talked about exotic by our meaning could be related to "foreign" or "unusual". Even though those words may seem harsh to describe someone, it ...
In the short story “The Danish Way of Life”, author Jamie Gullen, who is a native of New York City spent several months in Copenhagen. She went expecting Copenhagen to be similar culturally to the United States only to find she had a lot to learn about herself and about this new country. In another short story called “Where Are You From?” the author Patricia Park, also a native of New York City, but the daughter of Korean immigrants, also traveled to another country, Korea. She went expecting to find Korea to be the way her parents had described it. The “motherland” as she explained, was a family myth. Although both of these authors grew up in the same city, of the same country, they had two different experiences when
Denmark is a small high-income country with a high population density, is governed by a constitutional monarchy, has a central parliament and is administratively divided into regions, municipalities and has 2 dependencies (Greenland and the Faroe Islands) (Kravitz & Treasure, 2009). It has a national health service (funded by general taxation) and a decentralized healthcare system in which the individual regions run most services and the municipalities are responsible for some public health services (Kravitz & Treasure, 2009). However, a process of (re) centralization (under the structural reform of 2007) has been taking place, which has lowered the number of regions from 14 to 5 and the municipalities from 275 to 98 (Olejaz, Nielsen, Rudkjøbing, Okkels, Krasnik & Hernández-Quevedo, 2012; Schäfer et al., 2010). The hospital structure is also undergoing reform, moving towards fewer, bigger and more specialized hospitals (Olejaz, Nielsen, Rudkjøbing, Okkels, Krasnik & Hernández-Quevedo, 2012). Greenland and the Faroe Islands are independent in health matters but follow the Danish Legislation (Kravitz & Treasure, 2009). The National Board of Health (NBH) (based in Copenhagen) is responsible for the legislation concerning dentistry in Denmark (Kravitz & Treasure, 2009; Schäfer et al., 2010).
America is in a Great Recession, and the American Dream seems to be dying (if not already dead) to many Americans. I don’t think that the American Dream is dead; it just needs rehabilitation due to the injuries it sustained from the hands of an unregulated government. Though we are in a Great Recession, every American can progress their lives for the betterment of themselves and future generations. According to Brandon King (2011) in The American Dream: Dead, Alive, or on Hold?: “…the most worrisome problem is inequality: that wealth is concentrated into the hands of a rich minority.” Because of this, many Americans and politicians are arguing about either “raising the taxes on the rich” or “supporting the richest sectors in America” (Thomas, 2011) to stimulate the economy. In the articles I have read in They Say, I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing, both Cal Thomas and Brandon King seem to believe that the government should not tax the rich minority more than the poor majority. I disagree with both Cal and Brandon and believe that the rich should be taxed more than the poor. However, the income from the taxes should be put to use for the betterment of the poor majority of America.
Inequality exist and is high in America because the amount of income and wealth that is distributed through power. In America the income distribution is very inequality and the value of a person wealth is based on their income with their debts subtracted. “As of 2007, the top 1% of households (the upper class) owned 34.6% of all privately held wealth, and the 19% (the managerial, professional, and small business stratum) had 50.5%, which means that just 20% of the people owned a remarkable 85%, leaving only 15% of the wealth for the bottom 80% (wage and salary workers)” (Domhoff, 2011). In contrary the poor do not get ahead and the rich get more. Americans are judged and placed in class categories through their home ownership which translates to wealth. Americans social class is often associated with their assets and wealth. “People seek to own property, to have high incomes, to have interesting and safe jobs, to enjoy the finest in travel and leisure, and to live long and healthy lives” (Domhoff, 2011). Power indicates how these “values” are not distributed equally in American society. Huge gains for the rich include cuts in capital gains and dividends and when tax rates decrease for the tiny percent of Americans income is redistributed. Taxes directly affect the wealth and income of Americans every year.
Income inequality has affected American citizens ever since the American Dream came to existence. The American Dream is centered around the concept of working hard and earning enough money to support a family, own a home, send children to college, and invest for retirement. Economic gains in income are one of the only possible ways to achieve enough wealth to fulfill the dream. Unfortunately, many people cannot achieve this dream due to low income. Income inequality refers to the uneven distribution of income and wealth between the social classes of American citizens. The United States has often experienced a rise in inequality as the rich become richer and the poor become poorer, increasing the unstable gap between the two classes. The income gap in America has been increasing steadily since the late 1970’s, and has now reached historic highs not seen since the 1920’s (Desilver). UC Berkeley economics professor, Emmanuel Saez conducted extensive research on past and present income inequality statistics and published them in his report “Striking it Richer.” Saez claims that changes in technology, tax policies, labor unions, corporate benefits, and social norms have caused income inequality. He stands to advocate a change in American economic policies that will help close this inequality gap and considers institutional and tax reforms that should be developed to counter it. Although Saez’s provides legitimate causes of income inequality, I highly disagree with the thought of making changes to end income inequality. In any diverse economic environment, income inequality will exist due to the rise of some economically successful people and the further development of factors that push people into poverty. I believe income inequality e...
Taxes in the United States include payroll taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, and a multitude of others. These taxes may be imposed on individuals, business entities, estates, trusts, or other forms of organizations. In general, there is a lot of inquiry on the current tax system. With endless loopholes, a regressed economy, and corruption there has been widespread anger on the current structure of taxation. Consequently, the wealthy have managed to become even richer despite the economic crisis. Furthermore, many taxpayers in the upper class have found loopholes to avoid substantial taxation or otherwise known as tax evasion. (Stewart 2013) Tax evasion has only grown over the years and with the national debt has become a major issue. What is more, is the intense complexity of the entire taxation process. Addressing all the issues and problems regarding the taxation structure is a meticulous and arduous process. With this in mind, politicians from both parties have tried to address individual issues within the taxation paradigm. Being that the United States has the highest corporate tax in the globe, politicians have tried to change policy regarding taxation on businesses. (Sullivan 2013) How...
Everyone is France that is classified as “middle-class” pays the same tax, no matter what if their income is on the lower or higher end, promoting social equality within a certain tax bracket. However, the part of their system that is undemocratic is that the rich pay a much higher percent of their income, and people that have very low income do not pay income tax. The United States’ system is similar on the latter, but they have more broken down tax brackets that have the lower part of “middle class” citizens pay a lower percentage than the higher
To begin, I personally think that it would be more convenient for us to have a smaller government with less taxes and fewer programs with the support for big business that creates jobs. Taxes affect all kinds of financial transactions, such as income, capital gains, inheritance, sales of goods and services and imports to the lower class. With a smaller government, we are better-off. We have less worries in the world. Over the years America taxes has gradually been increasing. America is constantly wasting money on thing that are not needed. For example, we waste over 40 billions of dollars on cigarette knowing that it has the ability to take away someone’s life. Because the
Such as the idea that the system is concerned with preserving status differential like workers and housewives which can lead to benefits that vary. A third welfare system is the Social Democrat or Scandinavian type. The Scandinavian type exists in Northern Europe and provides generous benefits to all citizens. A distinguishing feature of the Scandinavian type is the idea of Universalism and the emphasis on social equality. The system’s policies exist throughout one’s life or “cradle to grave.” A forth welfare system is the Southern European type which is similar to the Corporatist Continental type, but has less size and scope. Finally, there is the Communist East European welfare state which follows the Soviet Union’s model for social security (Kaelble 265). Overall, Europe has five unique types of welfare states. Each system has a different idea on how government should operate and how much government should intervene to help its citizens. The differences in the development of welfare states in Europe, particularly during the Cold War period, have led to deep divisions in Europe. Countries hold a different set of values and principles that must be respected in order to form a strong
In ascertaining the differences and similarities between European and Western neighbours in how education serves its purpose, this essay will address various areas that concern the historical, political and social perspectives of primary schooling between both Danish and its English counterparts with reference to key issues such as relevant areas of concern. Thus highlighting matters such as the difference in starting ages; varied approaches to the curriculum and assessments in how both countries address its education, it is therefore significant in evaluating the backgrounds in both the Danish and English primary schools. This essay will emphasise how influential factors in education has developed in light of the twenty-first century, evaluating ideology which has directed both primary schools aims and outcomes that exemplifies the difficult outlook of education and learning viewed by its pupils as well as the teachers. Furthermore, highlighting and providing evidence for the importance of understanding the socio-cultural context and how learning takes place to meet the requirements and reinforce analysis on educational modifications in comparing educational systems and their outcome and effectiveness, this essay endeavours to provide knowledge, in comparing both countries’ primary schooling.