Hi Franglais.But surely thats the Point.It doesn’t really matter what you pay in ‘‘social costs’’,as whats in your pocket is the Money you can spend.The Swedish system is quite good,You pay a lot of taxes but you[and your employer]lots into the '‘social’'system to cover all these so called ‘‘safety net’’ costs which the state use.Most wages are structered by the state\employers\unions so the working man doesn’t have to fight for better wages.I’m not sure about ‘‘lower take home pay’’.Having been born in the UK,lived in Holland and Canada and now here it see quite a good ratio between wages and standards.Also something which most people forget is the ‘‘quality of life’’