November 2, 2004. With the presence of representatives from Sweden’s Moderata Samlingspartiet (the conservative party) here in Austin proselytizing for Bush, I have decided to extend my policy of not voting for anyone who might have supported Bush to the Swedish elections. Therefore, I pledge that I will vote in the next Swedish elections, and – here is a surprise for Jonas – I will not vote for Moderaterna (especially after having had Messrs Hedberg and Nyman here polluting the air in Austin with their right-wing breath. I have been exploring the various Swedish political parties and ran across a very interesting item on Miljöpartiet’s web site – Friår.
Friår – roughly, sabbatical year – is a concept in which an employed person can apply for a sabbatical for 3 to 12 months. During that sabbatical, the employee is paid 85% of what he or she would receive as unemployment compensation paid from unemployment insurance. In the meantime someone from the unemployment rolls is given the job of as a substitute – I suppose at a wage commensurate with that person’s skill level and experience. Everyone wins! The unemployment insurance pays 15% less. The unemployed person gets a chance at a job where he or she may gain skills and have an inroad to the job market. And the employed person has an opportunity for a sabbatical which can be used to relax, learn a new skill, start a business, or whatever. Something for the Texas Work Force Commission to consider? … forget about it, it makes too much good sense.
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