The direction of family policy

The plan wants to see strong, universal insurance and states that children, the sick, and the unemployed shall have the same right to good lives as working people. It particularly highlights that many children grow up in poverty and demands redistribution from rich to poor. Raised caps and basic levels in parental insurance and child allowance, as well as a reformed housing benefit with stronger equalizing effect, follow directly from that line.

• security for families with childrendecisive»Barn, sjuka och arbetslösa måste självklart ha samma rätt som arbetande människor att ha goda liv.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Children, the sick, and the unemployed must obviously have the same right as working people to have good lives.”
• strong social insurance»Vi vill se starka försäkringar som skapar trygghet för var och en under« (party programme ↗)“We want to see strong insurance that creates security for everyone”
• combat child poverty»Många barn växer upp i fattigdom och Sverige har högst andel fattigpensionärer av de nordiska länderna, oftast är det kvinnor som drabbas av orättvisan.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Many children grow up in poverty and Sweden has the highest proportion of poor pensioners of the Nordic countries, often it is women who suffer from the injustice.”
• redistributive distribution policy»Det är möjligt, men det kräver en annan politik och att vi omfördelar resurserna från rika till fattiga människor, från rika områden till fattiga områden och förorter.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“It is possible, but it requires a different policy and that we redistribute resources from rich to poor people, from rich areas to poor areas and suburbs.”

The plan commits to strengthening the economy for child-raising families and that social insurance shall be robust and assure a good economic standard, with the aim that no children grow up in poverty. Raised ceilings and basic levels in parental insurance and child allowance as well as a reformed housing allowance are precisely such a strengthening of income-equalising family policy. The plan thus speaks for the counter-proposal's demands.

• strengthened economy for child-raising familiesdecisive»Vi är beredda att stärka ekonomin för Sveriges barnfamiljer.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We are prepared to strengthen the economy for Sweden's child-raising families.”
• good economic standard for child-raising families»Insatser som främjar jämställdhet och tryggar god ekonomisk standard för alla« (party programme ↗)“Measures that promote equality and assure a good economic standard for all”
• no child poverty»Ett samhälle där barn inte växer upp i fattigdom.« (party programme ↗)“A society where children do not grow up in poverty.”
• secure social insurance»Sverige ska ha trygga försäkringar byggda på tan ken om plikt och rätt.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden shall have secure insurance based on the idea of duty and right.”

flags: citat_migrerat

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The election manifesto explicitly promises an increased housing allowance for families with children, and the party programme establishes that support for families with children must be sufficiently high so that no children grow up in poverty. The counter-proposal's requirement for raised ceilings and base levels, indexation and a reformed housing allowance that reaches more households is precisely the income-equalising direction the plan indicates. The plan thus contradicts the committee's assessment that family policy is already sufficiently targeted.

• increased housing allowancedecisive»höja bostadsbidraget för barnfamiljer och bostadstillägget för pensionärer.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“increase the housing allowance for families with children and the housing supplement for pensioners.”
• sufficient family support»Ersättningarna till barnfamiljer, framförallt de som har det tuffast ekonomiskt, behöver vara tillräckligt höga för att barn inte ska växa upp i fattigdom.« (party programme ↗)“Support for families with children, especially those who are struggling economically, needs to be sufficiently high so that children do not grow up in poverty.”
• no child poverty»I det nya gröna folkhemmet ska inte ett enda barn växa upp i fattigdom« (2022 manifesto ↗)“In the new green people's home, not a single child should grow up in poverty”
• general family policy»Ekonomiska stöd till barnfamiljer är en viktig del av den svenska välfärdsmodellen.« (party programme ↗)“Financial support for families with children is an important part of the Swedish welfare model.”

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.

The election manifesto establishes that more money shall be spent on welfare's core and less on benefits, and that the employment line shall be protected. A coordinated strategy that raises and indexes ceilings and base levels in parental insurance and child allowance and broadens housing allowance goes the opposite direction. The party programme moreover requires that security is designed so that it stimulates work and self-support.

• less on benefitsdecisive»Mer pengar ska läggas på välfärdens kärna, mindre på bidrag.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“More money shall be spent on welfare's core, less on benefits.”
• the employment line is protected»Arbetslinjen måste värnas, och den som kan jobba ska inte leva på skattebetalarnas pengar.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The employment line must be protected, and those who can work shall not live on taxpayers' money.”
• security that stimulates work»ingen faller igenom samtidigt som den stimulerar till arbete och egen försörjning« (party programme ↗)“no one falls through while at the same time it stimulates work and self-support”
• responsible state finances»Det finanspolitiska ramverket ska värnas och förstärkas, och Sveriges långsiktiga ekonomiska stabilitet ska försvaras.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The fiscal framework shall be protected and strengthened, and Sweden's long-term economic stability shall be defended.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The party programme wants the ceilings in social insurance to be raised successively and the ceiling in the parental insurance income replacement protection to cover the broad majority of wage earners and entrepreneurs, and points out increased housing allowances as part of a comprehensive reform. That is in substance what the counter-proposal demands. The plan also wants to lower marginal effects in the support, which corresponds to the demand for studied gradual phase-out.

• raised ceilings in social insurancedecisive»taken i socialförsäkringarna höjs successivt« (party programme ↗)“the ceilings in social insurance are raised successively”
• high ceiling in parental insurance»Taket i inkomstbortfallsskyddet ska därför ligga tillräckligt högt för att omfatta den breda majoriteten löntagare och företagare.« (party programme ↗)“The ceiling in the income replacement protection shall therefore be sufficiently high to cover the broad majority of wage earners and entrepreneurs.”
• increased housing allowances»skatteavdrag för barnfamiljer samt höjda bostadsbidrag och bostadstillägg« (party programme ↗)“tax deductions for families with children as well as increased housing allowances and housing allowances”
• reduced marginal effects»Stödet till ensamstående behöver utformas så att marginaleffekterna sänks och fler klarar sig utan behovsprövade bidrag.« (party programme ↗)“Support for single parents needs to be designed so that marginal effects are reduced and more are able to manage without needs-tested allowances.”

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.

The plan establishes that individuals should retain their own income to the greatest extent possible before supplementary benefits are paid out, and that dependence on benefits should be counteracted. A reorganization that raises and indexes ceilings and base levels in parental insurance and child allowances to strengthen the income-equalizing effect goes in the opposite direction. The plan wants to support families with children, but based on families' needs and targeted at those with small margins.

• own income before benefitsdecisive»den enskilde i största möjliga utsträckning får behålla sin egen lön« (party programme ↗)“the individual retains their own income to the greatest extent possible”
• counteract benefit dependence»bidragsberoende motverkas« (party programme ↗)“dependence on benefits is counteracted”
• needs-based family policy»Barnens och familjernas behov är utgångspunkten för familjepolitiken.« (party programme ↗)“The needs of children and families are the starting point for family policy.”
• targeted support for vulnerable households»Lågavlönade barnfamiljer, pensionärer och studerande måste ges möjligheter till en god« (party programme ↗)“Low-income families with children, pensioners and students must be given opportunities for good”

The election manifesto's carrying commitment in the benefit question is a benefit ceiling that makes total benefits never higher than income from work, and that the higher child allowance shall be abolished from the fourth child onwards. The counter-proposal's requirement for raised and indexed ceilings and basic levels in parental insurance and child allowance runs directly counter to that. The party programme also explicitly warns against the notion that welfare constantly needs to be expanded.

• benefit ceilingdecisive»Införa ett bidragstak så att de samlade bidragen aldrig kan bli högre än lönen från ett arbete« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Introduce a benefit ceiling so that total benefits never can become higher than income from work”
• reduced higher child allowance»Avskaffa flerbarnstillägget från och med barn fyra så att inte kvinnor i stora familjer fastnar i hemmet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Abolish the higher child allowance from the fourth child onwards so women in large families do not get stuck at home”
• work line ahead of benefits»De samlade bidragen ska aldrig bli så höga att det inte lönar sig att jobba.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Total benefits must never become so high that it does not pay to work.”
• no constant expansion»Ett långsiktigt hot mot den svenska välfärden är föreställningen om att den befinner sig i ett ständigt pågående skede« (party programme ↗)“A long-term threat to Swedish welfare is the notion that it is in a constantly ongoing expansion phase”

The election manifesto wants to transform the multiple child allowance into a tax-reducing deduction for working parents explicitly to prevent benefit dependency and encourage work. The counter-proposal demands the opposite: increased and indexed levels of child allowance and parental insurance, and a housing allowance that reaches more households. The plan also wants to make it more profitable to work and harder to exploit welfare, which speaks against an expanded benefit line.

• deduction instead of allowancedecisive»Omvandla flerbarnstillägget till ett skattereducerande flerbarnsavdrag för arbetande föräldrar« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Transform the multiple child allowance into a tax-reducing multiple child deduction for working parents”
• prevent benefit dependency»Detta i syfte att förhindra bidragsberoende och istället uppmuntra till arbete.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“This is to prevent benefit dependency and instead encourage work.”
• work line»Göra det lönsamt att arbeta och bidra till samhället« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Make it profitable to work and contribute to society”
• welfare qualification»Göra det svårare att exploatera den svenska välfärden« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Make it harder to exploit Swedish welfare”