Shouldn't the US and many more countries follow Sweden's lead? Read on...


As of 2004 you can pay your Swedish taxes by sending an SMS message from your cell phone.

The government sends you a completely filled out tax form and if it looks good you just go online and click okay to pay your taxes.

Taxes are generally between 50 and 70% of your income. (Of course your employer already pays the full amount of your salary to the government in taxes before you even get anything.)

Companies must lay off employees in first-in-last-out order when they are downsizing.

You can take sick leave during your vacation if you are ill.

Parents get a total of 13 months of paid maternity leave and the father is required to take at least 1 month of it. (There has been a discussion about changing this to 15 months and requiring the father and mother to each take 5 and then split the last 5 as they feel appropriate.)

Parental leave can be used to take off time for parenting classes before your child is born.

Parents can save up their maternity leave for more than 5 years (i.e., use it for doctor's appointments, school visit days, etc.).

Daycare cost is based on your family income with a government imposed maximum. (Currently about 1/10th as much as in the U.S.!)

If you have a new child, your other children get a month of free daycare so you can concentrate on the new one.

All employees (including graduate students) get 5 weeks of paid vacation a year.

All employers (as of 2004) are required to provide free massage.

The transportation department of the Swedish government works actively to reduce the number of traffic deaths each year to zero. (Mainly by reducing the speed limits.)

Any product you purchase is guaranteed for 1 year, and the retailer must exchange it if it fails in that time. (This includes things like clothes and shoes.)

All non-military property that is not fenced in, or is not a farm or someone's personal garden is open to anyone for hiking through or camping for one night.

Swedish university students are required to pay a membership fee in the student union, but no tuition.

American textbooks are cheaper in Sweden than in the U.S..

In Sweden IKEA is a cheap store, not a trendy store. (And they are only open until 8pm on special days.)

Recycling is taken so seriously that one company (FTI) is trying to put up video cameras to make sure people sort their recyclables correctly. (June 2006)

Privacy is taken so seriously that putting up video cameras in laundry rooms to catch vandals is illegal.

Drawn by its liberal asylum rules and generous social benefits, 18,559 Iraqis sought refuge here in 2007 alone – far more than in any other Western country.