The difference between Belgium and Sweden/Denmark is that the return to the population in benefits is much bigger in the Scandinavian countries.
For example, maternity leave is only 3 months in Belgi...
That's a common argument, yes. Though having seen some of those countries operate from the inside, I'm inclined to disagree.
Maternity leave and other "social insurances" are costs levied on businesses, which crowds out lower-paid jobs and push up (the real) prices of everything. It means it gets harder to employ anyone for anything; It's not a mythical benefit in our pure Nordic air. The systems also don't redistribute very much -- some 85%+ returns to the same individual over his or her lifetime.
Swedish health care is somewhere between crap and delay-delay-delay, so instead of rationing on price you ration on quantity and quality.
As for bureaucracy, I don't know... it's pretty bad in the Nordics.
Maternity leave and other "social insurances" are costs levied on businesses, which crowds out lower-paid jobs and push up (the real) prices of everything. It means it gets harder to employ anyone for anything; It's not a mythical benefit in our pure Nordic air. The systems also don't redistribute very much -- some 85%+ returns to the same individual over his or her lifetime.
Swedish health care is somewhere between crap and delay-delay-delay, so instead of rationing on price you ration on quantity and quality.
As for bureaucracy, I don't know... it's pretty bad in the Nordics.