Posted on 01/22/2007 2:31:35 AM PST by WesternCulture
This link works:
http://www.forecasts.org/gdp.htm
And you always will lag behind. No malice.
You forgot to mention the majestik møøse.
"And you always will lag behind. No malice."
Admittedly, we will.
- but not in the per capita area! Remember we're only 9.1 million vikings and you lot are 300 bold patriots!
More importantly, Sweden of today is a very capitalist friendly country (far lower corporate taxes than the US) with a conservative government.
Ought to explain some things..
We don't have a Malmo!
"We don't have a Malmo!"
Let's continue down the road of benign competition.
Many American cities have taller building structures than Malmö, but have you got something as daring as this Malmö skyscraper?:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turning_Torso
Get a grip, buddies!
The labor market operates under inflexible employment regulations that hinder overall productivity growth. The non-salary cost of employing a worker is high, and dismissing a redundant employee is costly. Rigid labor market regulations, including high statutory overtime payment, have contributed to Sweden's failure to create jobs, particularly in the private service sector.
Total government expenditures in Sweden, including consumption and transfer payments, are very high. In the most recent year, government spending equaled 56.7 percent of GDP, and the government received 5.5 percent of its revenues from state-owned enterprises and government ownership of property.
Sweden has a very high income tax rate and a moderate corporate tax rate. The top income tax rate is 60 percent, making Sweden's income tax burden one of the heaviest in the world, and the top corporate tax rate is 28 percent. Other taxes include a value-added tax (VAT) and a capital gains tax. There has been debate over the wealth tax. In the most recent year, overall tax revenue as a percentage of GDP was 50.7 percent.
That's what I was thinking...
Yeah, Sweden. You want a few million illegal immigrants? That should help you out a bit. Make things more challenging.
we are there only because we keep giving foreign aid to countries who have NO respect for us.
Our entire treasury sits in a sieve, draining all over the planet. NO one is our friend,
NO one is our friend,
Uh, countries don't have "friends." They have allies, strategic interests, etc. but not friends. They do nothing that isn't in their self-interest. As it should be.
All true.
However, there are certain swedish cultural factors making up for these shortcomings, that in many other countries would have strangled the development of economical progress.
1. Sweden is a very rare example of a culture where a collectivist mindset exists WITHOUT the nation ever having been exposed to the evils of feudalism.
2. Contrary to what many analysts have concluded, Swedes are very corporate friendly. The basic problem of Swedish worker's traditional difficulties of getting along with capitalist order isn't capitalism in itself. Sooner, it is an effect of, especially, the Wallenberg (SAAB, Electrolux, ABB etc) owner sphere beeing very scrooge. The response from the unions has been to play hardball in all kind of negotiations.
3. Swedes are very concerned of economic matters and many ordinary citizens feel the economic development of the country is dependent on the performance of the workers and corporations rather than politicians. The best example of what a great sense of responsibility Swedes possess in this area is the development of productivity since the economic crises of the early 1990's.
ok, no one is our ally.
Nah. Only half.
But you hear those footsteps? That's the rest heading 'norte.'
ok, no one is our ally.
We have a lot of allies, including western Europe, Japan, etc. But again, those alliances are based solely on self-interest and may only include a very narrow area of concern, such as trade, military support, etc.
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