Norway still best place to live

Aftenposten ^ | 26 Aug 2005 | Reuters

[Snickersnee]

Agree about the oil -- once that's gone you've got Appalachia with pickled herrings. Any room left in the Dakotas and Minnesota?

[general_re]

I would class it as a social democracy in the usual European sense. I believe that his intent was not to argue that it was socialist itself, but rather closer on the spectrum of such things than many other countries.

[Eurotwit]

I think you make many fair points. However, using the word nightmare is taking it a tad to far.

BTW: If you have seen my posts around here, you'd know that I want to see Norway shake of socialism. I doubt that will happen anytime soon though, so I'd settle for a realistic immigration policy.

Cheers.

[Eurotwit]

After having lived for years in the US and in Australia, I think that Bawer is not far off the mark.

Cheers.

[Little Ray]

Nope. The Norwegian gub'ment is playing it smart. They ain't spendin' every cent that comes their way - the are investing it in various instruments (stocks, bonds, etc.) that will yield income long after the oil runs out.

[farlander]

I'm exceptionally sensitive to socialist bull. The whole idea of wealth redistribution is morally offensive to me, and when they tax people to death I just want to vomit. So to me a country with some of the biggest taxes ever and HORRID socialized medicine problems is a socialist nightmare.

Yea they could definitely use a bit more sense - I have been noticing that there's been changes lately (for the better). They seem to have eliminated the "gift" tax... maybe they're coming to realization...

[Eurotwit]

Petroleum Fund up 94 billion
The market value of Norway's Petroleum Fund investment portfolio increased by NOK 94 billion (USD 14.4 billion) in the second quarter.
This means that the state Petroleum Fund now has a total value of NOK 1.184 trillion (USD 181.5 billion) at the end of Q2 2005., up NOK 167 billion since the beginning of the year.

The increase is due partly to transfer of new funds (NOK 101 billion), returns from the capital market (NOK 53 billion) and a weaker exchange rate for the Norwegian krone (NOK 13 billion).

The Petroleum Fund is government controlled, owned by the Norwegian people and managed by the central bank. The fund is invested 40 percent in shares and 60 percent in bonds.

(Aftenposten English Web Desk/NTB)


http://www.aftenposten.no/english/business/article1101369.ece

[monday]

"And it will continue to be the best place, until the oil runs out. Then it will be hurting."

Nonsense. Oil doesn't guarantee a successful place to live. Both Saudi Arabia and Russia export more oil and both have a comparatively miserable standards of living. In fact almost all oil rich countries, with the exception of the US, Canada, Norway, and the UK, are miserable places to live.

In comparison places like Hong Kong, Switzerland, Singapore, and Luxembourg have no oil or other natural resources and are among the highest standard of living in the world.

Norway will be just fine after the oil runs out, if it does. Iceland, with a similar population, has one of the highest standards of living in the world. It has no oil.

[Little Ray]

With what they have stashed, the Norwegians could buy themselves another country...

Dang. They have pretty good politicians.

[Question_Assumptions]

Norway -- Population: 4,593,041

Many countries have single cities with more people than that.

[monday]

"An April 2 article in Dagsavisen, a major Oslo daily, asked: How is it that "in the world's richest country we're tearing down social services that were built up when Norway was much poorer?"

The reason is that the more money government is given, the more efficiently they are able to oppress and the more money they waste. Small governments with few tax enforcement officials for instance, are much more efficient at collecting taxes. It sounds paradoxical, yet never the less, is demonstrably true.

[MNJohnnie]

We have everything and that is basically all we have. The meaning of life is to do difficult things," professor Thomas Hylland Eriksen told newspaper Dagsavisen. That is his explanation for Norway, regularly rated the best place in the world to live and one of the planet's richest nations, only finishing 14th in a study of world happiness.

Interesting article from the same paper. Guess Socialist Perfection does not equal happiness. Really got to read this article. IT is funny as heck. Basically the people quoted are congratulating themselves on how great Norway is and scratching their heads why no one else seems to agree. Then there is this little gem. Guess maybe the official unemployment numbers are a little suspect

Aetat believes that unemployment has decreased in the past year, and is currently at 3.4 percent, but SSB disagrees, NRK (Norwegian Broadcasting) reports. Norway's official statistics bureau says that unemployment has risen to 4.7 percent, 100,000 people. Researchers and analysts

[monday]

"Nope. The Norwegian gub'ment is playing it smart. "

lol... yeah right

[workerbee]

"So all you need to make socialism work is a ton of oil and a bunch of capitalist countries to sell it to. Gotcha."

And someone else to cover you militarily so you never have to budget for your own defense.

[Little Ray]

Well, the Norwegian gub'mint has a fund of over $181 BILLION dollars stashed. This for a country with less 'n 5 million people.
It is invested in stocks n' bonds, rather than held in a "lockbox." Bet they don't have any "Politically Correct" garbage limitin' their investments, either.

Compare that to what American politicos would do - they'd have spent every cent. In my book, thats playin' it smart.

[Little Ray]

Just so you know - there is only so much military you get get outta five million folks. And we've actually bought Norwegian hardware (just as they've bought ours) - Penguin anti-ship missiles IIRC.
Shouldn't badmouth the Norwegians. Be happy for 'em.

[Eurotwit]

Norway is now second only to the United States in NATO in per capita spending on defense.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20E16F835540C778EDDA10894DB404482

[takbodan]

"Norway -- Population: 4,593,041"

Key point is the small population base.

[jbstrick]

You really cant compare Russia and Norway. The population of Russia is 144,526,278 (July 2003), and is considerably smaller.

[aquila48]

Any study coming out of the UN is immediately suspect. I'm sure Norway is number one according to the UN's agenda.