"Pomperipossa in Monismania" (also called Pomperipossa in the World Of Money) is a satirical story written by the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

children's book author

Astrid Lindgren Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren (; ; 14 November 1907 – 28 January 2002) was a Swedish writer of fiction and screenplays. She is best known for several children's book series, featuring Pippi Longstocking, Emil of Lönneberga, Karlsson-on- ...

in response to the 102% marginal tax rate that she incurred in 1976. It was published starting on 3 March 1976 in the Stockholm evening tabloid ''

Expressen ''Expressen'' (''The Express'') is one of two nationwide evening newspapers in Sweden, the other being '' Aftonbladet''. ''Expressen'' was founded in 1944; its symbol is a wasp and its slogans are "it stings" or "''Expressen'' to your rescue". ...

'' and created a major debate about the Swedish tax system. The marginal tax rate above 100%, dubbed the 'Pomperipossa effect', was due to tax legislation that required self-employed individuals to pay both regular income tax and employer's fees. The story, a satirical allegory about a writer of children's books in a distant country, led to a stormy tax debate and is often attributed as a decisive factor in the defeat of the

Swedish Social Democratic Party The Swedish Social Democratic Party, formally the Swedish Social Democratic Workers' Party ( sv, Sveriges socialdemokratiska arbetareparti ; S/SAP), usually referred to as The Social Democrats ( sv, link=no, Socialdemokraterna ), is a social-d ...

, for the first time in 40 years, in the elections later the same year. Publicly, Lindgren continued to support the party for all her life, but private letters reveal that she supported the opposition in the 1976 election and that she feared that the Social Democratic Party after 44 years of consecutive rule was turning Sweden into a socialist dictatorship. Pomperipossa in Monismania was translated into English by Sarah Death. It was published in the first issue of the magazine ''

Swedish Book Review The ''Swedish Book Review'' is a literary journal, first appearing in 1983. Its founding publisher was Saint David's College, Lampeter, St. David's University College in Lampeter. Then it began to be published by Norvik Press, which was formerly ba ...

'' in 2002.

References

External links

Short article about Pomperipossa in Monismania
from the Astrid Lindgren website
English version
{{Astrid Lindgren Tax resistance Works by Astrid Lindgren Swedish short stories Swedish satire Swedish political satire 1976 short stories 1976 in Sweden Taxation in Sweden Works originally published in Swedish newspapers