Sweden wants to limit profits in welfare system
Sweden's Social Democratic minority government wants to introduce tighter controls on private businesses in the social welfare sector. A report presented on Tuesday by veteran Social Democratic politician Ilmar Reepalu recommends setting a limit of seven percent on the profits of private care homes, schools and hospitals. The Swedish press is outraged.
Social Democrats facing a dilemma
Upsala Nya Tidning appeals to the government not to put limits on business profits:
“The Social Democrats must now decide whether to go along with the report's findings or, together with the centre-right Alliance, work out an arrangement that doesn't set limits on profits. Or whether to rely on the support of the Left Party and limit the alternatives in the public sector in the long term. [Leader of the Left Party] Jonas Sjöstedt has threatened to end cooperation with the government on the budget if the demands aren't met. … Reepalu has really made an effort and enlisted the help of researchers in a bid to determine the magic limit for profits. But the result is dubious and entails uncertainty. The only alternatives are either no limits at all or a complete ban on profits, and there should be no doubt as to which is the better option.”
Not the way to save schools and care homes
Dagens Nyheter sees the proposal as a half-baked concept:
“Ilmar Reepalu said on Tuesday that the [public] welfare sector would reap billions with his proposal. But if it's really true that private practitioners, private schools and private retirement homes have no value, why isn't he proposing a complete ban? In practice the limits on profits will be tantamount to a ban. … An inquiry must hold water. Ilmar Reepalu has not presented any plausible long-term solutions for the future of schools and healthcare. The result is a destructive edifice of lies which, fortunately, no one believes will become reality.”