The state of welfare

The news, as broadcast on a massive electric sign, is that a quarter of next year’s budget is going to be spent on welfare.

Some meet this news with alarm, asking, "Aren’t they going to invest in growth? Do they want to end up like Sweden?" One among these very comfortable individuals appears to be former president Chun Doo-hwan, who is suing the state because he says he should not have to pay a gift tax on cash he gave to his son.

One homeless man, reading that Sweden ranks third in "global competitiveness," thinks to himself, "Just pay your taxes, why don’t you."

(Hankyoreh Geurimpan, 28 September 2006)