Denmark reconsiders its lavish welfare system

And yes, the adjective is “lavish.”

No less than the Sunday (April 21) edition of the New York Times published a story of how, in Copenhagen, “life on welfare was not so hard.”

Like many European countries with high taxes and a wide social safety net, Denmark is grappling with what the late Margaret Thatcher called running “out of other people’s money.”

What helped concentrate the country’s collective focus came when a liberal member of the government challenged a critical colleague to see what it’s like to live on the dole. The challenge was taken up and, rather than living hand to mouth, the 36-year-old single mother under the pseudonym “Carina” was getting the equivalent of $2,700 a month — more than most full-time workers – and she had been on welfare since she was 16.

Now, with an aging population, the melancholy Danes are rethinking things:

Parents in all income brackets, for instance, get quarterly checks from the government to help defray child-care costs. The elderly get free maid service if they need it, even if they are wealthy.       

But few experts here believe that Denmark can long afford the current perks. So Denmark is retooling itself, tinkering with corporate tax rates, considering new public sector investments and, for the long term, trying to wean more people — the young and the old — off government benefits.       

“In the past, people never asked for help unless they needed it,” said Karen Haekkerup, the minister of social affairs and integration, who has been outspoken on the subject. “My grandmother was offered a pension and she was offended. She did not need it.       

“But now people do not have that mentality. They think of these benefits as their rights. The rights have just expanded and expanded. And it has brought us a good quality of life. But now we need to go back to the rights and the duties. We all have to contribute.”

Click here to read the whole story, which is accompanied by a picture of a man lounging in recliner on the streets with the cutline: Robert Nielsen, 45, said proudly last year that he had basically been on welfare since 2001.