A couple of days ago i read an article in the Today paper about how the Danish government is compensating breast cancer victims who worked the graveyard shift. Apparently the International Agency for Research on Cancer placed shift work as a "possible human carcinogen" in 2007. Shockingly the article goes on to state that most studies have consistently found that shift-workers have a higher risk of developing breast cancer than woman who work regular daytime hours - on average, around 48% higher risk!
The research is so compelling that the Danish government has compensated women who have developed breast cancer after years of working night shifts. So far about 40 women have received payouts.
The welfare state is certainly a new concept for Singaporeans, who have to work hard on their own for forced savings to be directed into their individual CPF accounts. Simply put, you have to take care of your oneself - no government or upcoming younger generation is going to be taxed for your medical coverage and etc.
From the BSM in 2008, i thought what a wonderful system where everyone is being taken care of equally and fairly, albeit high and disproportionate tax payments. Don't get me wrong, i am not some full-fledged socialist with extreme fundamentals that everyone and anyone should be taken care of. However, i was certainly surprised to hear the other day, a Swedish guest speaker to our university talking disdainfully about socialism that has "consumed" his country. He truly believes that the socialist system has promoted lazy people to take advantage of the hardworking ones and quite rightly so; i would not argue with him on such sad aspects of human nature. What was truly shocking though, was that as he was speaking about his experiences it seemed clear that he was a beneficiary of such a "wonderful" system and even worse categorised himself as not being one of the smarter / hardworking ones to have contributed to the development of his community or the larger society he lived in.
I can't help to think after my experiences in Scandinavia and after listening to many Scandinavians speak about the current political system, that the growing tide of foreigners (excluding tourists and those looking to work legally) flocking to Northern Europe to benefit from the open borders and welfare system has left the new generation jaded. Unfortunately, i cannot comment more on a mere observation but it still would be interesting on the second trip there to study the socio-political system in greater detail and to draw comparisons with that of Singapore.
The Welfare State - this will surely be one of the "culture shocks" the BSM 2009 students will be experiencing.
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