Discovery Discussion Debate

Economic Inequality
While many countries find it hard to narrow the economic gap, Sweden seems to buck the trend. How do they do it? Is it a model for others, or a special situation? Discover the idea. Discuss and form your opinions. Challenge your opinions through debate. Dr. Paul R. Friesen

Discovery Discussion Debate

Title:

Sweden
The new model

A bit more unequal, a lot more efficient

Discover Ideas
(Outline)

Discuss the Story

(3 Question Levels)
Create Opinions

Economic Inequality-Sweden

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Discovery Discussion Debate Before you start

Look through the idea, front to back. The ideas in red are just ideas. Students should add to these. There is an outline page for Discovery. There are graphic organizer pages for the Discussion and Debate sections. The reason for the worksheets, at the end of the book, is to help you work systematically through the material. Worksheets are helpers and can be a distraction from the rhythm and sequence in your teaching. By putting them at the end they become support pages versus places to stop, giving a smoother presentation.

Discovery
In the beginning of each story you will have a few questions to discover what you know, or think you know about a story. The Title of the article/ story will be given and you will be asked to discover the story by asking good questions. In the second part of discovery you will be asked to find words which you do not know. Some of these may be highlighted already in bold. Definitions will follow to help you discover what the writer is talking about. Discovery will help you form a plan for the discussion and debate.

Discussion
Discussion is not a debate, though it can quickly become one if there are strong opposing ideas in the group. Discussion can be a part of the discovery before you read the story. It may also come after to discuss the ideas of the story. Sometimes a persons views may change after reading the article, which is a good way to start a discussion. Discussion is interaction without a lot of structure. Be careful not to confuse discussion with argument. Debate is about argument. Discussion is about sharing your views and interacting with others who want to expand or give a differing viewpoint.

Debate
Debate is a structured idea. It means that only one person speaks in turn, and with a specific point to address. It also has a time limit, so the speaker must be precise in their argument. In a debate the key is to listen and be prepared to oppose the other teams ideas. It takes research, a lot of work, and patience. In the following story we want to begin with discovery ideas. What can you know from a title, if you dont know about the topic?

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Discovery Discussion Debate

In discovery you will form ideas to create basics ideas for an outline. In discussion you will ask questions to help you build an outline for your viewpoint. In debate you will separate the outline into two sections, for and against. At each stage you will be able to use what you have learned before, to expand on your ideas and understand both sides of the issue.

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Discovery Discussion Debate

Discovery
Title: Sweden /The new model
A bit more unequal, a lot more efficient

What can you know from the title? . . . . . ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________

What do I know about this topic? . __________________________________________ . __________________________________________ . __________________________________________ . __________________________________________ What would make me depressed? . __________________________________________ . __________________________________________ . __________________________________________ . __________________________________________ What do you think is a good model to close the economic gap? ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________

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Discovery Discussion Debate

. Now read the story. . Create an outline of the story / paragraphs. . There is a list of words on the side for you to find. . After you have found the words, look in the definitions, which follow the story. . Discover the words you dont know.

Economic Inequality Sweden

The new model

A bit more unequal, a lot more efficient

Oct 13th 2012 SALTSJBADEN, A CHARMING seaside town on the outskirts of Stockholm, has an iconic place in Swedish economic history. The Saltsjbaden Accord, signed there between unions and employers in 1938, ushered in the consensus system of labour relations that remains a pillar of Swedens economic model. Nowadays the town is famous for a different reason. It is one of Stockholms fanciest suburbs, and the setting for Sunny Side, a popular television comedy that pokes fun at the countrys new rich. In the show, Saltsjbadens yuppy residents fret over how to get their babies into the best nursery. A badly behaved child is threatened with banishment to Fiskstra, a poor enclave a few train stops away, where immigrants from 100 countries cram into dilapidated blocks of flats. The most equal country in the world is becoming less so. Swedens Gini coefficient for disposable income is now 0.24, still a lot lower than the rich-world average of 0.31 but around 25% higher than it was a generation ago. That rise is causing considerable angst in a nation whose self-image is staunchly egalitarian. A leftist group caused a media hubbub earlier this year by organising a class safari bus tour of Saltsjbaden and Fiskstra. Opposition leaders insist that the ruling centre-right party is turning Sweden into America. Anders Borg, the finance minister, vehemently disagrees. Sweden, he argues, has gone from being a stagnant benefit-based society to a vibrant modern economy with a remarkably small rise in inequality. Its experience, he says, shows that dynamism and egalitarianism do not need to be at odds. The facts bear him out. Thanks to deregulation, budget discipline and an extensive overhaul of the welfare state, Swedens economy has been transformed in the two decades since its banking crisis. The new Swedish model is quite different from the leftist stereotype.
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Discovery Discussion Debate

Capitalism in Sweden is not inherently a lot more egalitarian than in other countries. Before the government steps in, the countrys Gini coefficient for the working-age population is 0.37, close to the OECD average and higher than Switzerlands. Wage disparities are narrower than in Anglo-Saxon countries, thanks to centralised bargaining between unions and employers that sets minimum wages in different sectors. Top CEO pay has not risen nearly as dramatically as in America. But in other ways Sweden has been in the vanguard of many of the social changes that have boosted inequality in other countries, such as the decline of marriage. The main source of egalitarianism in Sweden (and elsewhere in Scandinavia) is redistribution by the state. Under the old welfare model people paid high tax rates and got lots of social services and big transfers in return. The new model, broadly, retains most of the services but has cut the taxes and transfers. Thanks to deregulation, budget discipline, and an extensive overhaul of the welfare state, Swedens economy has been transformed in the two decades since its banking crisis In the early 1990s Sweden introduced a dual income tax system, which combined a flat tax on capital with a higher, progressive income tax. More recent reforms went further. The inheritance tax was eliminated in 2005, the wealth tax in 2007 and taxes on residential property in 2008. Thanks, in part, to these tax changes, capital income has soared, particularly at the top of Swedens income scale. That has not always improved efficiency. For instance, Swedens tax code now favours residential property over more productive investment. More recently, and more sensibly, Sweden has cut taxes on labour, especially for the low-skilled. The Earned Income Tax Credit, which offers strong incentives for lowerskilled people to work, marks the biggest change. Other innovations, such as a credit for hiring household help, are designed to spur demand for low-wage workers. Union membership dues, in contrast, no longer qualify for tax relief. Benefits have been reformed at the same time as taxes. All handouts, from jobless aid to disability benefits, have become less generous, more short-lived and harder to qualify for. All this has brought about palpable changes. Notice boards at Stockholms suburban railway stations are filled with advertisements for cleaners, once an unheard-of luxury. The Iraqis, Somalis and other low-skilled foreigners in Fiskstra, unlike migrants a generation ago, can no longer count on a drip-feed of government support. The combination of lower taxes and fewer benefits is intended to encourage people to work. And getting more of them to take jobs, argues Mr Borg, is the key not only to faster growth but also to keeping inequality low. His ministry reckons that in the long term Swedens reforms will raise the countrys employment rate by 5%. Critics on the left fear that inequality will surge, for at least two reasons. Trade unionists worry that the reforms will reduce union membership, undermining the consensual system of labour relations. Ola Pettersson, chief economist of Swedens Trade Union Confederation, says the government is undercutting the Swedish labour model. That seems an exaggeration. With more than seven out of ten workers still members of unions, Swedens collective bargaining model looks safe for now.
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Discovery Discussion Debate

Others suspect a poverty trap in the making, with people stuck with low skills in lowwage jobs. That seems a more serious risk, particularly for Swedens recent migrants who, by and large, are poorly educated and speak little Swedish. Pernilla Landin, a social worker who runs a multi-faith community centre in Fiskstra, already sees dangerous signs of social exclusion. People dont have enough money to buy a train card, she says, so they cant get out to look for work. But the danger is vastly reduced by Swedens all-enveloping public services. Although government spending has shrunk in recent years, the Swedish state is still large (51% of GDP last year), and it spends much more than Anglo-Saxon countries do on everything from early-childhood education to job search and training. According to the OECD, more than 70% of the children of the poorest fifth of Swedes are in state-financed child-care and education schemes, compared with fewer than 30% in America. Swedens government has also experimented more boldly than others with boosting public-service efficiency. Many schools are now independently run, and in health care private management is a growing trend. Public services have not entirely escaped cuts, but they started high and were designed to protect the poor. Once you allow for the progressivity of public services, the OECD reckons, Swedens Gini drops to 0.18. That still leaves it as the worlds most equal place, as well as one of the fastestgrowing and fiscally stable countries in the rich world. It would be naive to think that its model can simply be copied elsewhere. Swedens citizens are strikingly committed to social cohesion, and willing to pay for a large state. A revival of Americas union movement would be likely to lead to growthdestroying rigidities. Equally, it is hard to see Americans accepting the taxes that would go with government spending of more than 50% of GDP. Swedens remake of the welfare state is most relevant in Europe, where in the aftermath of the financial crisis many countries are now struggling with unsustainable public finances, as Sweden did 20 years ago. A place to look for ideas Nonetheless, there are broader lessons. Swedens experience suggests that the welfare state can be trimmed by cutting transfers and maintaining progressive investment in social services, without allowing inequality to surge. And a revamp of the welfare state that encourages employment can boost growth while keeping income gaps to a minimum. The most important conclusion, however, comes from considering Swedens experience alongside the recent record of the United States, emerging Asia and Latin America. All these case studies indicate that the geography of contemporary inequality has as much to do with government policy as with underlying economic forces. But it has not been a simple tale of tax and redistribution, nor is there a simple trade-off between efficiency and inequality. Swedens economy has become much more efficient while still keeping inequality low. Americas system of taxes and transfers is less progressive than it was in the 1970s, yet the state is no smaller. That suggests there is room for reforms that both counter inequality and improve economies efficiency.
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Discovery Discussion Debate Vocabulary Check

Find the colored words. Write a definition you can discover from the story if possible. __________ 1. ______________________________________________________ __________ 2. ______________________________________________________ __________ 3. ______________________________________________________ __________ 4. ______________________________________________________ __________ 5. ______________________________________________________ __________ 6. ______________________________________________________ __________ 7. ______________________________________________________ __________ 8. ______________________________________________________ __________ 9. ______________________________________________________ ___________ 10. ______________________________________________________ __________ 11. ______________________________________________________ __________ 12. ______________________________________________________ __________ 13. ______________________________________________________ __________ 14. ______________________________________________________ __________ 15. ______________________________________________________ __________ 16. ______________________________________________________ __________ 17. ______________________________________________________ __________ 18. ______________________________________________________ __________ 19. ______________________________________________________

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Discovery Discussion Debate Discovery

What do I know about this topic?

List at least four (4) different ideas you have found in this story.

. __________________________________________ . __________________________________________ . __________________________________________ . __________________________________________

Use them when you make your outline.

Discussion
Level I . Is inequality really bad? . Why should Sweden keep the old system when all things were equal? . Is the change in Sweden a good or bad thing? Level II . What are some good ways to keep a society equal? . Which would you choose: higher taxes or fewer Social programs? . What should we do about social exclusion? . Is the Social State a good global model? Explain. Level III . Do you think the economic gap can be addressed through social programs in your country? . What role does democracy play in economic inequality? . What are good solutions to keep Swedens economic equality in balance? You now have everything you need to fill out your outline. Look at your answers, under Discussion, and fill it out to reflect the new ideas. These new ideas will help you form your debate ideas better.

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Discovery Discussion Debate

In debate you will have a statement not a question. You have to react to the statement with facts, not opinions. Discussions are based a lot on opinions and answer questions. This is where these two ideas, though similar, are different. Debate is about facts and statements. When you make a statement, from a story, you must consider what the core issue is. If you have made a good outline, you will have this already discovered. This story is from economics. The core issue could be; social economic political culture In todays world the topics could range from; social responsibility government control risk taking democracy immigrant exclusion economics

These are all good argument that you would want to research for your argument, or write in your essay. Build the argument starting from Why? Once you have determined the Why? you can find facts to support your idea.

Swedens equality gives a false sense of wellbeing, and cuts the power of true democracy. Social benefits are bad for growing an economy. They should be cut. Social benefits help economic equality, but create a lack of innovation. Before you start choose one of the above statements to focus on. Choose a for or against position. Research to find FACTS for your position.
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Discovery Discussion Debate

List the facts. Write out your argument in a long paragraph format. Include the opposite position in your writing.

You need to write out both sides so you can understand the
other sides argument.

Discovery Outline
Main topic ________________________ Find one (1) key idea in each paragraph. (3-5 words) Paragraph 1 ______________________________ Paragraph 2 ______________________________ Paragraph 3 ______________________________ Paragraph 4 ______________________________ Paragraph 5 ______________________________ Write two things about the main paragraph idea. Paragraph 1 ______________________________ A. ______________________________ B. ______________________________ Paragraph 2 ______________________________ A. ______________________________ B. ______________________________ Paragraph 3 ______________________________ A. ______________________________ B. ______________________________ Paragraph 4 ______________________________ A. ______________________________ B. ______________________________ Paragraph 5 ______________________________ A. ______________________________ B. ______________________________ In the introduction you use the 5 paragraph ideas to communicate the order of your argument/ essay.
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Discovery Discussion Debate

In the conclusion you repeat what you have said about the points of each paragraph.

Graphic Organization ~ Main topic = 5 Paragraph Topics

paragraph 1 ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________

paragraph 5
____________ ____________ ____________ ____________

Main topic

paragraph 2 ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________

paragraph 4 ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________

paragraph 3 ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________

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Discovery Discussion Debate

Discussion Graphic ~ Is this phenomenon a problem / becoming a problem in todays society? Answer ~ I think economic inequality is (a / becoming a) problem because

Problem / Economic Inequality

Social programs give people a false sense of equality.

Immigration fuels economic inequality, so it should be limited.

Social equality fuels exclusionism because of the effect on social programs.

Respond

Respond

Respond

Respond

Respond

Respond

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Discovery Discussion Debate

graphic ~ choose one statement from the above. Write it here _____________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ To make your argument you should understand that they are connected. In the next two charts (1) list your argument facts and ideas, (2) show how your argument connects to both the center point and the other points. list

Facts
For 1 Against

Add more if needed

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Discovery Discussion Debate

graphic ~ choose one statement from the above. list

If this -- then

If this -- then

Write your statement position here. ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ______________________________

If this -- then

If this -- then

If this -- then

Now start the

As a team choose which points they will speak about. Each person will listen for the opposite point and create a new response to what the other person has said. A: point 1 B: responds to the point and give a new point. C: responds to B and give a new point. After all persons have spoken each person can respond to any point given by the opposite team, or add more points from their team which will need responding to from the opposite team.

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Discovery Discussion Debate

Dear Teacher/ Student, After you have finished this please look for more in this series to challenge yourself. This is only part of a curriculum. It starts with Dr. Roys Everything Grammar. Dr. Roys Everything Grammar Volumes I and II will develop the skills of story and essay writing, while at the same time building a foundation in grammar. The repetition of grammar, combined with reason and speaking, culminating in a story or essay will prepare students for this series. Going beyond this book is a book to expand the outlines into essays. Good essays are able to build and defend an argument. Building a structure for debate will springboard off this skill set.

Dr. Paul R. Friesen

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