I don’t have very strong political opinions or views, and I never really have had them. I do generally view myself as a republican, however that is really up for debate on the day to day. After going to multiple different countries and seeing how different political systems work for them, I am as flexible in my political views as ever. I don’t know exactly what I believe, other than, there may not be just one right way to do things, as it seems many believe.
Our two party system generally gets a lot of flack, only offering the American people two contrasted political options. I’m not saying that our party system needs to be disbanded, but I do think it might be worth looking into other options than just what we have. Seeing all the options different countries have on government has really opened my eyes to the fact that a lot of different things will work in regards to political systems. And while yes, each country is different and it is hard to know if what they’re doing would work for the US, I think it just goes to show that there are many options available and we shouldn’t immediately discredit anyone’s opinion.
Take Denmark for example. By definition Denmark is a constitutional monarchy (stay with me, I am not advocating we get a king by any means). I think what is interesting is their fiscal policy, it’s basically Bernie Sanders' dream. When I was touring Denmark, our guide made sure to tell us about their tax system. At its lowest end, citizens lay 44 percent of their income, at it’s highest, taxes are slightly over 60 percent. Now, when I heard this, my insides cringed. How could you ever be OK with paying that much of your wages? But it seems most Danes are. What do these taxes pay for? Well, college is paid for, including graduate school and medical school. So is health care. Women have up to one year of paid maternity leave, and fathers have up to two weeks. And unemployment will pay up to 90 percent of your salary, for up to two years, as you look for a job.
Once again, I’m not saying this would necessarily work for America, but at the same time, maybe it would. You would think a nation that pays that high of taxes would be rather unhappy, yet Denmark is often regarded as the happiest country in the world. What’s also interesting is, in the last election, 89 percent of the population voted. Because of how much they pay, it seems people are more interested in their government system.
What I learned through Denmark is that there really isn’t one right way to do things politically. While I generally support low taxes, it seems like their system works pretty well. I don’t know if the system would work for the US, we are a larger country with a wider diversity of people, but I no longer discredit these ideas as it shows they do work somewhere.
