Welfare+State

====A welfare state is a model in which the government of a country provides its citizens with protection and the promotion of their well-being through economic and social means. The main idea behind a welfare state is to improve economic equality between citizens and make sure that a minimum standard of living is set for the country. Welfare states provide their inhabitants with services such as healthcare, education, and public transportation. The majority of the European countries use some form of this system as does North America to a certain extent.====

GREAT DEPRESSION EFFECTS
The Great Depression originated in the United State, and can be dated to the Stock Market crash on October 1929. It turned to a worldwide economic depression, most countries started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s. It was the longest, most widespread, and deepest depression of the 20th century. Personal income, tax revenue, profits and prices dropped, while international trade plunged by more than 50%. Cities that dependent on heavy industry were hit hard. Construction was virtually halted in many countries. Farming and rural areas suffered as crop prices fell by about 60%. Facing few alternate sources of jobs, areas dependent on primary sector industries suffered the most.

Given the close economic links, Canada was quickly affected. The Prairies and Maritimes were hardest hit, along with mining areas and heavy industry areas of Ontario and Quebec. Massive lay-offs occurred and some smaller companies went into bankruptcy and closed operations. Canada did have some advantages over other countries, especially its stable bank system that had no failures during the entire depression, compared to over 9,000 small banks that collapsed in the United States. Canada was hurt badly because of its dependence on wheat and other commodities, whose prices fell by over 50% and because of the importance of international trade. In the 1920s about 25% of the Canadian Gross National Product was derived from exports. U.S’s first reaction was to raise tariff via the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, which passed into law in June 17, 1930. This hurt Canadian economy the most, and Canada retaliated by raising its own rates on American imports and by switching business to the Empire. The British introduction of trade protectionism and a system of Common Wealth preference during the winter of 1931-32 helped Canada and Australia avoid external default on their public debt. It was largely the extension of imperial protection by Britain that gave Australia and Canada the opportunity to increase their exports to the British market. The British market played a vital role in helping Canada and Australia stabilize their balance of payment in the immensely difficult economic conditions of the 1930s.

Modern Liberalism
====After the Great Depression that greatly affected the global economy and the lives of many citizens, people and governments began to realize how the laissez faire system was unstable and could lead to very large downfalls in the economy. This paved the way for the birth of modern liberalism. Governments of countries such as the U.K. and Canada that were previously more in favor of the laissez faire system began to support the idea of an economic system where the government took more control in the economy. This meant increased spending on social programs such as education, pension, unemployment insurance as well as government run companies.==== ====Modern Liberalism is characterized by an economic system committed to a mixed market economy. This means more government intervention which leads to less booms and busts because of the stability that the government would provide, very important to liberalism, less economic disparity. This was a theory that John Maynard Keynes came up with soon after the Great Depression. It was called Keynesian economics. Modern Liberalism still sticks to the old Liberalism in the way of equality of opportunity among citizens and the value of the charter of rights and freedoms. Modern Liberal parties and government tend to tax more especially against the corporations and create more social programs that tend to be very beneficial for society as a whole. Modern Liberalism is still based on individualism but when it was introduced these collectivist ideas were strongly embraced as part of it.====

SWEDEN
====Sweden is one of the best examples of a welfare state. It’s known as Folkhemmet in Swedish which translates to mean the folk home. Sweden embraces the Nordic model in which the welfare state is funded through redistributionist taxation, where the people’s taxes are collected and then reinvested into them through public services and benefits. This does however mean higher taxes for its citizens but it is a small price to pay for stability. The government also uses more than 26% of the GDP of the country to put towards social expenditures. To put this into perspective the United States spends at max 17% of their GDP on social expenditures which is a whole 10% less! This is why Sweden still has such a strong economy amidst the recessions and bail outs going on around the world today.====

CANADA
====Canada, while sporting a strong government run healthcare system, a stable public education system and a fairly stable economy that has government involvement, has a lot of evidence that we may be a welfare state, but in truth we are not a real welfare state. A true welfare state like Sweden taxes around 70% from their citizens. Canada only taxes around 30-35% from their citizens.==== ====Canada does however have very good social programs that benefit the country as a whole. Pension and unemployment insurance are two of Canada’s most collectivist views that are greatly beneficial to the retired and the people struggling to get a job. This greatly lessens economic disparity and shows a strong support for welfare state values. Canada also runs a mixed market economy in which the government has multiple companies such as Air Canada and CBC, just to name a couple.====

Definition:
Holetzky, Sherry, and Bronwyn Harris. "What Is a Welfare State?" //WiseGeek//. Conjecture, 22 Dec. 2011. Web. 08 Mar. 2012. []. "Welfare State." //Wikipedia//. Wikimedia Foundation, 03 June 2012. Web. 08 Mar. 2012. [].

"Welfare." //ThinkQuest//. Oracle Foundation. Web. 08 Mar. 2012. [].
"Great Depression." //Wikipedia//. Wikimedia Foundation, 03 Aug. 2012. Web. 08 Mar. 2012. []. "Great Depression, Canada." //- Encyclopedia Article//. Web. 08 Mar. 2012. [].

Modern Liberalism:
"Keynesian Economics." //: The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics//. Web. 08 Mar. 2012. []. "Thread: Classical Liberalism vs Modern Liberalism." //TheologyWeb Campus//. Web. 08 Mar. 2012. []. "Modern Liberalism in the United States." //Wikipedia//. Wikimedia Foundation, 03 June 2012. Web. 08 Mar. 2012. [].

CaseStudy:
"Social Welfare in Sweden." //Wikipedia//. Wikimedia Foundation, 26 Feb. 2012. Web. 08 Mar. 2012. []. "Why Canada Became a Welfare State." //Vigile.net//. Web. 08 Mar. 2012. []. "Immigration and the Canadian Welfare State 2011 | Fraser Institute." //Research from Canada's Leading Public Policy Think-tank//. Web. 08 Mar. 2012. [].
 * 1) =====Sweden: "An Introduction to Social Policy." //The Welfare State//. Web. 08 Mar. 2012. []=====
 * 1) =====Canada:=====

Picture:
"Thread: Canada, United and Strong." //Paradox Interactive Forums//. Web. 08 Mar. 2012. []. > ====John Maynard Keynes:==== > John Maynard Keynes." //News//. 08 Mar. 2012. Web. 08 Mar. 2012. []. > Cartoon: "Welfare System Cartoons and Comics." //CartoonStock//. Web. 08 Mar. 2012. [].
 * 1) ====Great Depression:====