In many country of the EEC like France and Belgium, the welfare state is in technical stage of bankrupt, which means that the engagement (in term of retirement pension, healthcare, ...) is far superior to the asset of this state and the capacities to collect more funds from the state.
The consequence is that these states had increased the fiscal pressure on individual to the level that many of them (even with a master degree) have to live with a very strict budget. One way to evaluate the tax pressure is to compare the freelance rate in the software industry. In France and Belgium, an individual who can rate ( 500 EUR par days * 22 = 11000 EUR per months), will have an official salary of 5000 EUR per months (after company taxes) and after his own welfare and income taxes ( 2000 EUR per months). So, it is only 20 % of his initial earning.
This situation is the result of the impossibility to rationalize the management of the welfare state. It was difficult to introduce new technology, impossible to suppress job and obsolete department,...This situation had made the Latin European expert in fiscal avoiding or fiscal evasion (by working in England for example), and so accelerate the state of bankruptcy of the welfare state.
The present situation makes that the service of the welfare state is also declining due to the impossibility to collect more taxes for its funding.
And, other word if the state were a company, it will be a "bankrupt" one.
This point of thing was in fact rather logical and the consequence of the lack of responsibility and situation of monopole of the actor of the state. Even 100 years ago, some economists like Bastia could foresee this kind of development. The idea of the welfare state has always been an utopia and no models of welfare state are defended in the theory on the long run.
To face this reality, a new model called coexistencialism has been developed. It consists in putting the action of the welfare state in competitive structures called community or community.
These structures would have some characteristics of associations (political parties or religious organization), others of the state and also some attributes of companies (in competition and regulated by the state for example). They would be in competition and might move in real bankruptcy if they are poorly managed.
This new model is a rational alternative to the welfare state, some project are in process and you can support the models by answering to our petition.