Hej everyone!

 

It is getting very dark and cold here in Sweden. It is tempting to turn on every light inside my house in an attempt to cope with the weather. While I do light up the rooms I am in, I try to be good about wearing a warm sweater instead of just turning up the heat, turning lights off when I leave a room, and still walking and using public transport as much as possible.

 

I checked into my flight from home and it would cost about $12 to offset the carbon usage. It makes me wonder how much additional taxation could offset certain sources of carbon usage.

 

One big difference I have noticed between the US and Sweden is that public goods here are paid for by taxes and things in the US are often privately funded. I am surrounded by so many parks, clean trails, lighted paths, safe areas, cleaned up roads, etc. It is nice to just know things will be kept up even without volunteers coming in and handling things. I’ve talked to my host family some about taxation and it’s fascinating to hear their opinions on everything.

 

My thought for you to consider is:

What would the US look like with a culture shift towards more taxation and more public services?

 

Have a great week,

Daisy