They have oil money, but it doesn't seem to help much. Gas is still about 5$ a gallon, housing is expensive, tax rates are high, and they don't get what they used to get via socialism. That is, they now have to pay for things that they used to get for free.
In addition, there doesn't seem to be much economic advancement for individuals. One of my best friends is a Norwegian and we often talk/argue about the differences in our systems. She's told me that there's very little chance of a regular guy eventually becoming wealthy as is often the case over here. In fact, before she left Norway to pursue the doctorate over here, she was told she shouldn't, because she doesn't come from an educated family. So much for pulling yourself up and improving your lot in life. Once a peasant, stay a peasant, huh?
The constant refrain I hear is, "You should pay more taxes so you would get more." Sigh. So much for freedom.
I won't even go into how the Scandanvian sexual 'equality' and socialism has screwed the relationship between the sexes. It seems to be hard to get these guys to marry because they don't have to. Like here, they can get what they want sexually w/o marriage, but unlike here, the woman can get so many benefits w/o the stigma of being on welfare, she doesn't really need the man for anything but sperm donation.
I'd like to visit, but I'm glad I'm American.
Oh yeah, I forgot. Apparently Norway doesn't have the snacks we do, either. My friend has spent an inordinate amount of her time here performing taste tests on American snacks. I have felt it my duty as an American to help her in this endeavor.