SOCIAL WELFARE USA by Mark Rosenfelder, Australia by Chris O'Regan, Austria by Klaus A. Brunner, Brazil by Emilio Neto, Brittany (France) by Damien Erwan Perrotin, Canada & Ontario by Adam Bishop, British Columbia (Canada) by PJ Perdue, Quebec (Canada) by Valerie Bourdeau, China by the English class at the Suzhou branch of Agile Software Co, Colombia by Carlos Thompson Pinzón, England by Graham John Francis de Sales Wheeler, Finland by Johanna Laakso, France by Nicolas Duvernois, Germany by Irgend Jemand, Greece by Chris TDAQ, India by Apurva Mishra, Israel by Robin Alexander, Italy by Riccardo Distasi, Japan by Hirofumi Nagamura, Urban Mexico by Acoyani Garrido Sandoval, The Netherlands by Bas Suverkropp, New Zealand by Gareth Wilson, Nigeria by Didi, Poland by Pawel Stachura, Scotland by Geoff Eddy, South Africa by T'Mar, Sweden by Anders Janson, Turkey by Cyril Alebard, Long Island by Robert Delaney, Southern Louisiana by Andrew Chaney, Texas by Tom Wier, Yorkshire (UK) by Stephanie Bailey, Southcentral Alaska by Cherie Campbell, and the general characteristics of the First Generation Immigrant by John Smith
Country or region	Attitudes toward social security, welfare programs, unemployment payments, medical assistance, charitable aid
NORTH AMERICA
USA	You are distrustful of welfare and unemployment payments-- you think people should earn a living and not take handouts. But you would not be in favor of eliminating Social Security and Medicare.
ALASKA SOUTH-CENTRAL, USA	You are distrustful of welfare and unemployment payments - you think people should earn a living and not take handouts. But you would not be in favor of eliminating Social Security and Medicare.
LONG ISLAND, USA
LOUISIANA, USA
TEXAS, USA	You'd rather that the government not spend so much money and time with social programs, although you don't mind the idea of their being there for you if you need them. You prefer other social institutions (like your local church or synagogue) to carry out those duties instead.
CANADA	You cannot imagine a country without Social Welfare.
BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA	You think unemployment payments are too difficult to qualify for, but that welfare is too easy. You know what CPP means, and what an RRSP is. You probably have one. You're worried that the Canada Pension Plan will be bankrupt by the time you're 65. When there is a social problem, you still turn to your government to fix it, instead of telling them to stay out of it.
ONTARIO, CANADA	You are very worried about welfare fraud, and some people even suggest removing welfare altogether, or at least making it very difficult to get. You're sure this is just an overreaction to a very small number of people committing such fraud, but it still worries you. You couldn't imagine the federal and provincial governments not having social welfare, and you expect the government to help fix social problems.
QUEBEC, CANADA	You think that welfare and unemployment payments are a good idea, but you think that a lot of people abuse the system. Welfare recipients, called BS (for Bien-Être Social, a derogative term) are often seen as lazy and a burden on society.
LATIN AMERICA
BRAZIL	You think everybody is entitled to a State pension when they get old or work long enough, even if they contributed little for the Social Security fund. You may think the Church is too rich, and wish they would give more to the poor; but you seldom give to organized charity yourself. If you are a good person, you may help poor people you know personally.
COLOMBIA	You don't know about welfare and unemployment payments-- you think people should earn a living and not take handouts, but, given the lack of opportunities, it would be nice if our government could help the unemployed.
MEXICO (URBAN)	There are no unemployment payments, only pensions for retired elderly people. Thus, if you can't find a job, you must live in the street, homeless.
EUROPE
AUSTRIA	You think welfare and unemployment payments are good, but you think some people could easily earn a living and not take handouts. Eliminating Social Security is completely unthinkable.
FINLAND	You think that Social Security and unemployment payments are good ideas and should continue. You also "know" that some people profit from them without trying to find a real job, which is deplorable. You are accustomed with the society (rather than families, churches or charity organizations) taking care of the poor, sick and disabled. When your mother gets too old and sick to live alone (and that means really old and sick), it's normal to put her in a nursing home, not to take her to live with your family.
FRANCE	You think that Social Security and Assedic (unemployment payments) are good ideas and should continue. You also think that some people profit from them without trying to find a real job, which is deplorable. You hear (or read) that these agencies are always running a deficit; that's a pity, but you are not ready to pay more for them.
BRITTANY, FRANCE	Unemployment benefits are your right, you've paid for them after all, and of course people who don't have any money should get welfare-- should they starve or what? But you also think that there are a lot of people cheating the system. You think development aid is a Good Thing. Sending money for arms isn't.
GERMANY	You are probably distrustful of welfare and unemployment payments (people should earn a living and not take handouts), but you accept them as a necessary part of the system-- if someone talked to you about eliminating Social Security you'd ask what planet he comes from.
GREECE	You think that social security should help the less fortunate, but it often gets abused, which is a Really Bad Thing. You would not be in favor of eliminating social security and Medical Assistance, however.
ITALY	You think that Social Security should help the less lucky people, but it often gets abused, which is a Bad Thing. You would not be in favor of eliminating Social Security and Medical Assistance, however. The American social situation (education, crime, welfare) looks unexplicably primitive to you.
NETHERLANDS	Unemployment benefits are your right, you've paid for them after all, and of course people who don't have any money should get welfare-- should they starve or what? But you also think that there are a lot of people cheating the system. You think development aid is a Good Thing. Sending money for arms isn't.
POLAND	You are used to welfare and unemployment payments-- you think people should earn a living, but you don't mind taking handouts. At the same time you think that the state is giving too much money to other people.
SWEDEN	You are a supporter of welfare and unemployment payments, but you think people should earn a living and not take handouts. You would certainly not be in favor of eliminating Social Security and Medicare.
ENGLAND, UK	You think that the Welfare State is a necessary part of a civilized society.
YORKSHIRE, UK	You think that the Welfare State is a necessary part of a civilized society. You would have been hard-pressed to feed your children during the miner's strike if it weren't for free school meals. Pride means you dislike claiming benefits.
SCOTLAND, UK	You probably believe in welfare and unemployment payments to those who can't live without. You probably also believe that too many people get them who could very well do without.
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
AUSTRALIA	You are suspicious of the dole and "dole bludgers." You think mutual obligation is the way to go. You wouldn't be in favour of eliminating Medicare.
NEW ZEALAND	You think the Welfare State is a necessary part of civilized society.
ASIA
INDIA	Welfare, unemployment payments, social security, and Medicare are unheard of.
CHINA	You are distrustful of welfare. You want the government to improve social security and health care.
JAPAN	You think welfare and unemployment payments are necessary, even though you sometimes hear of people cheating. On the other hand, you would be deeply ashamed to take handouts yourself. National Health Insurance and National Pension are a prerequisite for any civilized nation.
AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST
NIGERIA	Unfortunately, there are no such things as welfare and unemployment payments - people generally earn a living or die of starvation.
SOUTH AFRICA	You think instituting a welfare system would be a good idea, but you know that the government does not have the money to do it, and that's a shame.
ISRAEL	Socialism seems to be more the way of the past, and capitalism the wave of the future. However, you are concerned that poor children and elderly people seem to be losing their government safety nets. In general you are not distrustful of welfare and unemployment payments because it can be hard to make a living in Israel, especially without education and living in a peripheral area. However, you do think people should attempt to work rather than study Torah, and are angry that some religious people subsist on welfare their whole lives without trying to find a job. Unless you are very religious, you are in favor of cuts in welfare payments to the ultra-Orthodox.
TURKEY	You are amazed at the possibility of welfare and unemployment payments. But you know that it will be years before the system is in effect.
SUBCULTURES
FIRST GENERATION IMMIGRANT	When you first arrived and got residence and working papers, you were very pleased to discover that welfare and unemployment payments exist; all the more so since you didn't contribute anything to their funding. But once you are working and earning money and paying your S.S. contributions and other taxes, then things change radically and you become very angry when you hear of people cheating. If you are a valid f-g migrant, you will freely admit that you came to the country to work, not to loaf and sponge on the system and then do anything to find a job / improve your lot. Over time, you recognize that National Health Insurance and a National Pension are a prerequisite for any civilized nation.

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