But IIRC the way the tax money is spent is very different in the US vs in Scandinavia (and I’d guess the UK is somewhere in between): in the former it’s mostly spent on means-tested transfer payments and in the latter is most spent on in-kind services, such as healthcare and education, that anyone can (in principle) avail of.
the latter is most spent on in-kind services, such as healthcare and education, that anyone can (in principle) avail of.
This fits the UK, which is if anything more in this direction than most European countries. Of note, the ‘UK Tories’ referred to in the census largely accept this.
Agreed. I actually looked up tax & spending for UK vs. Scandinavian countries, and they aren’t that different. It may not be a good distinction.
But IIRC the way the tax money is spent is very different in the US vs in Scandinavia (and I’d guess the UK is somewhere in between): in the former it’s mostly spent on means-tested transfer payments and in the latter is most spent on in-kind services, such as healthcare and education, that anyone can (in principle) avail of.
This fits the UK, which is if anything more in this direction than most European countries. Of note, the ‘UK Tories’ referred to in the census largely accept this.