Typical Danish Weekend

RPOTD:



The fact that this saying is used by physicians everywhere for some reason makes me feel better about the future of the world.

Another thing that makes me feel optimistic: Denmark. Sometimes all the right-wing opinions out there somehow wiggle their way under my skin and make me start to question some of my core political beliefs: is nationalized healthcare really the way to go? are higher taxes for the wealthy just a punishment for doing well? is a welfare state just an invitation for people to be lazy? is Obama really orchestrating a systematic dismantling of America we as we know it just for his own political gain? Okay, so I never actually entertain that last one, but the Right is just yelling so loudly sometimes that I find myself wavering. But 4 days in Denmark was enough to confirm my belief that moving towards socialism is a good thing. This isn't meant to be a blog about socialism, or the welfare state, but it is going to talk about the awesomeness of Denmark, with hints about what enables it to be so awesome (spoiler alert: the answer is usually "taxes").

So first some background: why did we go to Denmark? it's not because we love pickled herring or pork, that's for sure (although I do love pickled herring). I studied abroad in Denmark in spring 2003 (if you can call that weather "spring"), and in addition to getting to love Copenhagen, I also lived with a really great host family and we wanted to visit them. Also, since I was there my host sister had a baby, and I wanted to meet her Danish toddler (verdict: just as cute as most toddlers, but speaking Danish!).

The very short version of our weekend was that we spent Friday in Copenhagen and stayed with Catrine (one of my host sisters) and her boyfriend Christian that night. The next morning my host parents, Ghita and Henrik, brought breakfast over and we all had a nice breakfast together (Oh, how I miss Danish breakfast! Dark bread, rolls, several kinds of cheese, jam, chocolate, butter, occasionally soft boiled eggs, and tea.). We spent the rest of the weekend staying with them in the small town of Jyllinge, on the eastern shore of Roskilde fjord, exploring the surrounding area, and visiting with Camilla, Kasper and the above-mentioned Danish baby. On Monday I went to work with Ghita for the morning, who is a nurse in a primary care clinic (but more on that later), then we spend the afternoon back in Copenhagen before flying home. It was a great weekend!

Okay, now on to the meat of the post, which is my impressions of Denmark. First, it was really interesting for me to be back in Denmark as an adult. When I was there before I had never lived on my own, didn't really think about politics at all (I think most of us were trying not to in spring 2003), hadn't traveled much, and probably didn't fully embrace the experience because I was thinking of a boyfriend back home. Also, it was always cold and windy, so I literally spent the first 3 months with my head down. This time I was much more aware of some of the things that make Danish people think they live in the best country in the world (*especially* better then Sweden), and I started to think about why those things are the way there are.

1. Bikes. It is impossible to talk about Copenhagen without talking about bikes. They are simply everywhere, and ridden by everyone. There are a few factors that make this possible/encouraged. One is that it is flat. Really, really, flat. So you can easily bike across the city without breaking a sweat (okay, so it's a small city, but still). Also, cars are expensive - really, really expensive. Or more accurately, the car is the normal price, but you pay around %200 in taxes. Many jobs will provide you with a company car, but for everyone else cars are just too expensive (though starting soon you will be able to buy an electric car and avoid the taxes, as an incentive to buy an electric care, which may be "powered" by wind). But importantly, the city doesn't just hang people out to dry: biking is a very viable option in cities because there are bike lanes along all the major streets. And when I say bike lanes, I don't just mean a magical line of paint that is somehow supposed to defend bikers from massive SUVs and MBTA buses. I mean an elevated, smooth lane on the side of the road. Like a sidewalk for bikes. And of course, there is a separate sidewalk for pedestrians. Copenhagen also boasts a good bus system, a train system, and most recently a sleek, fast metro system that is currently being expanded. All of this means that there is a minimal number of cars in the city, which makes it much more pleasant to walk around.

2. Family support. My host sister Camilla is getting her master's degree in urban planning/landscape architecture, rebuilding her new fixer-upper house, painting beautiful paintings, making homemade jam, and raising the adorable danish child along with her partner Kasper. And she seems to be doing it with ease. How is this possible? Mostly it's her own dedication and focus, but it's made easier by the country she lives in. For one thing, when both she and Kasper were in school, childcare was free. Free! At whichever local daycare they wanted! There is an income level under which childcare is free, and unsurprisingly the income of two students is below that level. Which is not to say that they don't have income: in Denmark college tuition is paid for by the government, plus students get a stipend to pay for their living expenses. Many students also work a few hours a week so they can have some spending money, but isn't that amazing! No student loans! No $150,000 of debt if you want to be a doctor! Another factor that makes it easier for women to have children during school is that their concept of the usual path of education is much more fluid. Many people take a gap year to travel or volunteer between high school and college, or maybe go to one year of another kind of school. It's much more acceptable to take time off while you take classes, or just delay the progress of classes. So Camilla thinks it was wonderful to have a child during school, because she could just take time off from classes then restart when she wanted.

This is a big deal for a lot of reasons. It makes sense to make having children compatible with education, so women who have children on the younger side are not discouraged from continuing their education. And conversely, it makes sense to make it easier for women, should they want to, to have babies when they are younger. It's very clear that there are health problems that arise when women who have children later in life, and it's harder for them to get pregnant in the first place. Now, there are many reasons that people in the US and Western Europe are having children later that are unrelated to education and cost of childcare, but it is certainly a big factor.


3. Unemployment support. This was relevant while we were there, because Henrik's company was in the process of laying off a 3rd of their employees. This was very upsetting to him, because as it's a company of 62 people, he knows all of these people personally. And he had to do some of the laying off, which, while better than getting laid off yourself, still sucks. But this reminded me of a Planet Money piece on Denmark that we heard back in the spring. If you have time you should listen to it, but if not, I'll give you the unemployment-related summary. In Denmark, unemployment benefits are high, and they last for a long time, so 1) people are less concerned about losing or leaving their job, and 2) companies are less concerned about having to lay people off, so they're more likely to take a risk on hiring a bunch of new people as soon as they have the capability. Oh, also, if you lose your job you still have health insurance because the government provides it. So people in Denmark, by the end of their working lives, have usually worked more jobs than your average person in the US, either by choice or not, but they haven't had to stop going to the doctor or work 3 low-paying part time jobs to make up for their lost income. So people may call is Socialism, but freedom to not be afraid to leave your job, for companies to not be afraid to hire people quickly...that sounds like the free market to me.


Okay, that's all the economic-related stuff I wanted to talk about, but before I move on I of course have to address the elephant in the room, which is how all of these nice things - the flashy, expanding metro system, the well-maintained bike lanes, the tuition and childcare support, the health insurance, and unemployment benefits are paid for. Taxes. Massive, massive taxes. The 200% tax on the car is a good example. They also have a 25% VAT, and their progressive income tax system maxes out around 50%. Obviously there are some people in Denmark who are less than thrilled with this system, but as the Planet Money piece suggests, most of them are pretty okay with it. It's just the Danish way of life - you get to keep less of your income, but most of it comes back to you in benefits. And you get the satisfaction of knowing that the economic systems of your country does not result in people living out of their cars or not being able to afford to feed their families when they lose their jobs, or get pregnant while they're still in school.


In addition to all this, there was just a certain *something* I felt on this trip to Denmark that I couldn't put my finger on. Scandinavians have a reputation for being not very friendly (How do you spot an outgoing Swede? He looks at your feet.) But our experience on this trip was the opposite. I was impressed with just how much my two host sisters had grown up to be just as gracious, honest, caring and curious as their parents. And I think if you asked them they would say that they are just a typical Danish family. There was always a plentiful stream of food and tea and snacks, which is just how I remember it from when I was there (but incidentally, they are all in great shape) - even at the primary care clinic they schedule a 30 minute break in the middle of morning so people can get caught up on their work and appointment, and during this time someone brings in a loaf of fresh bread and a block of cheese. Everyone at the clinic was really eager to meet us - Danny sat in the conference room and read, and he says that he probably spent a 3rd of his time talking to the doctors who would pop in to chat with him (mostly one doctor, Hans Christian, who had just been on a trip to the US recently). Also, people were very interested in Danny's dissertation topic, as Denmark has a lot of parallels to England in the current state of religion. They really wanted to discuss the issue, to hear what he was learning. We talked about this a bunch over drinks on Friday night, and I think the term "path dependency" was thrown around, and not by one of us. Did I mention that they all speak really, really good English? Catrine goes to Copenhagen Business School, where all of her classes are in English - she even takes notes in English!

Beyond the friendliness to us, there is just a certain embracing of life that I found very impressive. They live in a cold, dark country, and they've really made it their own. Fashion is focused on thick tights, long wool scarves, multiple layers, and big sweaters. I've never seen so many stylish people riding bikes in bad weather in my life! They even manage to look stylish in outwear, thanks to the prevalence of Helly Hansen jackets. They put a lot of effort into decorating their homes to create a welcoming, relaxing and comfortable atmosphere. One of the first things my family explained to me when I got there was that "Italians all have nice verandas, we all have nice living rooms." They light candles as soon as it gets dark and have them all over the house, something I had forgotten about but was immediately reminded of how nice it is. All of this works together to create the feeling that the Danes describe as "hygge". They insist that there is no appropriate English translation, but the closest thing is "coziness", maybe with a sense of "togetherness". There's also a real sense of national pride, and not a snobby national pride like of other European countries, but a pride in what Denmark has accomplished and created. They're proud of everything from traditional food, to the history of the Vikings (except maybe not the pillaging), of the many kings Christian and Frederick and their contributions to the country, to the ultra-modern danish design and architecture.

I'm not sure how much this general happiness is related to the so-called welfare state (or maybe the general happiness makes them a more gracious population who is willing to support a welfare stats?), or maybe the two are unrelated. And all I can say is, I want to go to there.