WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO?

When you live in a country like Sweden, where the total taxation level adds up to more than 50% of GDP, and where the low income group pays a total of 63% of their income in taxes (the lower tax levels for corporations means that the total taxation level isn't higher than it is), you sometimes wonder where all the money go. The public expenses for things like health care, education, courts, the police force and other sensible things just doesn't seem to be high enough to motivate the high taxes. In today's Svenska Dagbladet one might find a little clue.

Apparently, over the past ten years, RKU - Revolutionary Communist Youth - a stalinist organisation has recieved 2 million SEK (approximatly $285 000 US) from something called Ungdomsstyrelsen (The national board for youth - I didn't even new we had a national board for that, but that's a different issue) - a publicly financed board that exists to promote democratic sentiments to the young people living here. The RKU has used this money - provided by me and all the other tax payers in the country - to send their members on study trips to great democratic countries like Vietnam, Cuba, and North Korea. RKU also claims that the Swedish democracy is fake and that the government needs to be replaced though revolution, and that support organisations like Hamas.

When asked if it was a good decision to hand out money to RKU Per Nilsson, the director of the board, said that: "It's a difficult question. The risk for getting a too narrow definition of democracy is just as big as the risk of getting a too wide definition." [My italization]. Someone should perhaps inform Mr Nilsson that a definition of democracy is just a tad over inclusive if it includes North Korea.

It's nice to know that the money I've worked for is well spent by our friendly politicians.

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