Week 2, 9/6-9/10, Post 1

transit advertising, seen near the Domkyrkan at a bus stop

Holiday: Just one of many reasons why more people have a job, New Moderates, Sweden's only Labour Party

This advertisement struck me near the bus because of the interesting photo. I had a feeling it was humorous but not sure, so that is why I translated it. This is in response to the political atmosphere right now in Sweden with elections coming up in just one week. I can take this ad in a couple of different ways, one being that more people have jobs literally because it gives them the benefit of having 4 weeks off and they are praising the work force in a positive way- or that they are being sarcastic by saying that the work force is abused for giving people 4 weeks off each year therefore more people have these jobs simply for the time off and not to be productive. This relates to another issue that I have seen in Sweden of having children. I noticed there are a number of children everywhere with each family and there are a high number of younger women that are with child. A local told me that women and families are more likely to have a number of children because of the great benefits they get such as the paid time off for the husband and the wife as well as the eligibility for public housing. This has me wondering a lot about the way Sweden is populating itself and providing itself with productive work forces enough to stay a stable country. If it weren't for the great benefits, what kind of country would Sweden be? In contrast to America, where you have to work to keep your family afloat and there is much competition for jobs, there will always be a great number of people willing to work compared to the amount of jobs there are. Under the welfare model, work is not completely necessary to survive unless you want to live comfortably, so there has to be another benefit. The high bar that Swedes set for each other in fashion puts another interesting element into the budget of a family. Designer clothes are important- almost necessary to feel normal here. Even shopping at a 'cheap' store such as H&M is comparably more expensive than cheap clothes that are available at American stores like Target or WalMart. Work is what puts a Swede at more of a comfortable living situation than one that simply gets by.