Posted on 04/16/2005 4:32:04 PM PDT by TWohlford
THE received wisdom about economic life in the Nordic countries is easily summed up: people here are incomparably affluent, with all their needs met by an efficient welfare state. They believe it themselves. Yet the reality - as this Oslo-dwelling American can attest, and as some recent studies confirm - is not quite what it appears.
Even as the Scandinavian establishment peddles this dubious line, it serves up a picture of the United States as a nation divided, inequitably, among robber barons and wage slaves, not to mention armies of the homeless and unemployed. It does this to keep people believing that their social welfare system, financed by lofty income taxes, provides far more in the way of economic protections and amenities than the American system. Protections, yes -but some Norwegians might question the part about amenities.
lternatively, the study found, if the E.U. was treated as a single American state, it would rank fifth from the bottom, topping only Arkansas, Montana, West Virginia and Mississippi. In short, while Scandinavians are constantly told how much better they have it than Americans, Timbro's statistics suggest otherwise. So did a paper by a Swedish economics writer, Johan Norberg.
In late March, another study, this one from KPMG, the international accounting and consulting firm, cast light on this paradox. It indicated that when disposable income was adjusted for cost of living, Scandinavians were the poorest people in Western Europe. Danes had the lowest adjusted income, Norwegians the second lowest, Swedes the third. Spain and Portugal, with two of Europe's least regulated economies, led the list.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
I have heard that it is illegal in Japan to allow one's auto to appear much less than in new condition. Is that not so?
You can download the ENTIRE report of the study HERE.
Getting to the important issues, a Norwegian exchange student stayed here, and required a great deal of repression on my part. I don't know how many look and act like she did, but if there are more of them, they could conquer the world in an afternoon.
A couple of years ago I was on a transatlantic flight heading home from Europe to the US and my seat-mate was a young Swede. An engineer, he was leaving Sweden to take a job in Atlanta. He was from the country's most northern province (Norrbotten), very dark and cold in the winter. It wasn't the climate that had induced him to leave his homeland. It was stiffling bureaucracy and confiscatory taxation.
There are a lot of vacation properties up in Norway...which I checked into three years ago. Terrific deals...for weeks at a time. I was almost going to sign up for two weeks, and then checked the cost of food and beverages. The cost of eating and drinking for two weeks equaled the entire cost of the house to be rented. I tried to figure why...but alot of this is simply taxes. I feel sorry for them in a while...living in a great rural country...but having to work and pay the government almost half of your paycheck is pure dumb.
This article is based on what? Average wage? Production GDP? Consumption GDP? (way lower) I want to se statistics.
Norwegian data can be found here:
http://www.ssb.no/en/indicators/
I'd appreciate it if someone can come up with comparable data for the US, I'm off to check the bea.
Muslims accound for about 2 percent of the population by the way, the majority of whom live in the capital of Oslo.
Nope, didn't find anything.
I have heard that it is illegal in Japan to allow one's auto to appear much less than in new condition. Is that not so?
I think they have "registration fees" in Japan that make it increasingly expensive to keep a car that is more than a few years old.
I live in wonderland too. I tell you I have been living both places. In Norway and in the states. I say with we have a higher standard of living. Average Norwegian has a better living standard. I would put the american living standard at par with Denmark, Iceland and Switzerland but higher than Sweden, Finland, Germany, France, Great Britian and Italy. Why Oslo not look that good in some parts are artificially high prices. Single people that want to live in the middle of the city with low income or moderate income. A lot of foreigners that have not that well paid jobs. I tell you have you been to an average town the size of Oslo in the US you will see the same things. Do you think Washington DC look that much better in average.
Another thing he talks about is the media and their wiev about things. Problem with that statement is that Norwegians have 5-6 weeks vacations. So many people have travel and dont need to listen to the media. We have seen the world with our own eyes
Many Americans pay our government half our paycheck too - counting state, federal, local, property and the various fees and sales taxes, more than half our incomes go to the government too. The biggest difference is, we can buy cheap Chinese goods.
Socialism?
Our country, our rules, our way.
It works, we are not communists, but we belive that the group we call society has a duty to help those that fall behind or need help.
If thats wrong in your eyes , then maybe, just maybe you need to consider your own belives?
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