File spoon-archives/marxism-international.archive/marxism-international_1996/96-11-06.190, message 86


Date: Wed, 6 Nov 1996 14:25:14 +0100 (MET)
From: malecki-AT-algonet.se (Robert Malecki)
Subject: M-I: Two articles from my trade union paper. ( Part 1)


The following articles were in the latest number of "Kommunalarbetaren" (the 
Communal worker) my national trade union paper which goes out to all the 
members.712,000 printed issues and the articles are written by Bengt 
Bergsmark. (With his permission over the telephone)

bob Malecki
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------
... An All Richer Sweden

This year in Sweden we produced 3% more products and services then we did in 
1989. 

Plus 50 billion crowns.
Under the same period the incomes of normal worker families sank with 5-7%.

Almost minus a whole monthly income!

The official statistics about the Swedish peoples incomes today only go to 1994.
In the statistics bureau computers their are detailed essentials about 
25,000 persons household enconomies.
-a one could say a "mini Sweden".

With this "mini-Sweden" one can investigate how the cuts,tax hikes and 
changed paychecks under 1995 and 1996 hit the various different household 
economies.

UNIK PRESENTATION

Sven Nelander, a member of LO, (LO is the National trade union umbrella for 
all the unions in Sweden) has invetigated workers households from the 
beginning of the 90ties and forward to this year 1996.

We theirfore can present a unik picture of how poverty in the wake of the 
cuts continues to grow.

The decision from the Netherlands repoprt; about how all the more workers 
households find themselves under the level of poverty.

DISPONABLE INCOMES

Every seventh workers household has recieved a worse ecomomical situation 
then the Kronofogden (the agency which enforces payment of debts by 
confiscation of homes,cars furniture,etc.) can not collect any tax debts. 
These families have already slid down under the existence minium.

Poo, households have always existed before, but the number is growing. 1989 
they were only 1 of 17.

Out of the picture on the side (see below) one can reasd how many more 
households that do not come up to a normal level of living standard. Besides 
the kronofogden existence minium is social welfare's social welfare level.

Picture. Under the norm           Under level for        Under the norm
             for socialwelfare          social wefare         for existence
             +car.                                                     minium
                                                                
             1989...6%                  1989...9%             1989..6%
             1994..30%                 1994...12%            1994..11%
             1996..35%                 1996...15%            1996..14%

The money we have to live on is called disponible income. For a normal 
wageearner
this is a question which largely seen in money and subsitities minus taxes 
and the cost of interest.

When one looks at the economy of a household one looks at, partially the 
disponable income and partially how many adults and children who have to 
live on this money.

In economic terms this is called "disponsible income per consumptions unit".

The poorest tenth of households lost between 1989 and 1994 a fourth of their 
disponsible income!

All groups besides a fifth of the households that have the highest incomes 
went back and lost shopping power.

CONCLUSIONS

Nelanders new investigation on workers husholds cover also the incomes up to 
and including 1996.

Here is some of the figures he has come from too.

Married/living together with three or four children, the household ecomoy 
was weakened with about 7.3%

Living Alone agegroup 18-29 years without children who have moved away from 
home lost 5.0%.

Married/living together without children minus 6.2%.

Workers households with incomes under the social norm.

procent                                                               1989  
1994  1996

Married/living together-with more then 2 children       16     22      41

Living alone without children 18-29                           24    33       34

Living alone with children                                         8      31 
      29

Married/living together with 2 children                       3       4        9

Living alone without children over 29                        3        4        6

Married/living together 1 child                                 2         3  
      4

Married/living together without children                    1         1        2





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