[kwhitefoot]

I've paid all my life into the tax system and never taken unemployment or other benefits except during the long vacation when at university more than forty years ago.

I am pleased that this money supports others who are less lucky than I was.

[txsoftwaredev]

Wouldn't you rather have kept that money instead of paying for others not to work? I know I'd rather have more in my paycheck if I had the option.

[kwhitefoot]

No because then I would be living in a society where I would be surrounded by poor and unhealthy people.

I enjoy living in a society where most people are adequately paid without having to work excessive hours, where medical care is easy, simple, and cheap to access, where losing one's job does not turn one into a second class citizen.

Excessive hours, more than 50 hours a week for more than a few weeks, are in fact illegal.

I enjoy it when the person selling me smiles simply because they are happy instead of because it is a requirement of the job.

In case you are wondering the society in question is Norway. No it's not paradise, just a bit closer than some places and that is to a significant extent because of a greater degree of solidarity.