Posted on 05/15/2007 12:15:42 PM PDT by cicero106
"The development of the Norwegian economy is very good," she told Parliament, citing strong growth, low inflation and the lowest unemployment rate in 20 years. "At the same time, the use of capacity in the economy is high."
She said the risk of wage and cost increases that could hurt Norwegian industry had prompted the government to hold back of revenues from oil and natural gas production that make the nation a major world exporter.
(Excerpt) Read more at iht.com ...
We all know Norwegians make a lot of money from oil.
However, there are lots of countries rich in oil that aren’t exactly as rich as the Norwegians are (by GDP/capita).
Why is that so?
- To begin with, Norwegians are extremely successful in several other fields of business. One is the shipping business and (remaining true to their Viking traditions) Norwegians also perform very well in the ship building business.
Furthermore, Norway has lots of national resources in terms of hydropower, fish, forests and minerals. But more important (and this is probably what separates them from Mid East/Arab/Northern African nations) they know how to make the most of their assets. Like the other Scandinavian nations, they have a passion for engineering and technology.
I remember being a twelve year old Viking reading an old copy of ‘Readers Digest’ printed in the the 1950’s featuring an article about the shortcomings of the Scandinavian countries.
Today, Scandinavia is the richest part of the world.
Don’t ever allow MSM to aid you in forming your own picture of yourself or of the world at large.
“Norway’s oil-fired economic boom will allow the central government to increase spending this year while reducing dependence on the Nordic nation’s petroleum windfall...”
-snip-
“Finance Minister Kristin Halvorsen said increased tax revenues and higher-than-expected returns from government stakes in companies allows the increase, while reducing the amount of oil wealth Norway uses.”
-snip-
“At the same time, the use of capacity in the economy is high.”
-snip-
“Fearing that oil wealth could cause the Norwegian economy to overhead...”
I never took an economics course, but how does any of this make economic sense? How does cutting the source of your wealth (oil) make you less dependent of it?
What’s a gallon of gas cost in Norway, $8?
What is happening in Sweden in places like Malmo, may be a harbinger of Norway's future.
- Inner Malmö is one of the least attractive parts to live in throughout the whole of Scandinavia, still it is paradise compared to say, Miami or Paris.
The Muslim families of Rosengård should be made to choose from these two options:
- Board the next ship to Al Quaida land
- Accepting a ‘donation’ consisting in a nice house, a Volvo V70 and a job opportunity while simultaneously accepting to behave like members of civilization.
The "oil company" (government) is holding a greater share of the current profit, with the expectation of greater cost of production. Most of the profit goes into the bank, rather than getting distributed to all of the shareholders (citizens) in the form of tax cuts.
“The “oil company” (government) is holding a greater share of the current profit, with the expectation of greater cost of production. Most of the profit goes into the bank, rather than getting distributed to all of the shareholders (citizens) in the form of tax cuts.”
- If the Norwegians wanted to, they could enjoy a standard of living that was out of this world already by today.
On the other hand, the Nowegians are competent and well informed investors and there are a lot of good things to invest in these days.
They could, but I have a feeling that the majority of them see no point in it. They seem to know the difference between needs & wants.
On the other hand, the Nowegians are competent and well informed investors and there are a lot of good things to invest in these days.
I've heard that even Norway's lefties are into investing, instead of spending everything that's not nailed down & then some.
“I’ve heard that even Norway’s lefties are into investing, instead of spending everything that’s not nailed down & then some.”
- In any case, I wonder why a proud and civilized nation like Norway would ever need leftists, or why any other country would do so..
In Scandinavia and large parts of the US, class warfare is outdated.
Many parts of Europe are still behind in this aspect.
Let them suffer.
Capitalism isn’t a nice thing.
But it works.
Our open borders are letting in a lot of people from the third world & they buy the class argument, as do a large share of our homegrown population. We *need* another Ronald Reagan, tho even he signed an alien amnesty bill, which helped open the floodgates even further.
Scandinavians aren’t breeding at replacement rate, which tends to lead to importing people from elsewhere & the more you do that, the less Scandinavian your nations become.
“We *need* another Ronald Reagan”
- One of the greatest statesmen of the 20th century. I wish we Europeans had leaders like that today. But, at least, Merkel (Chancellor of Germany) and Sarkozy (President of France) appear to have more energy and drive than their predecessors. They seem to understand that France and Germany need to get back to work.
Why is Scandinavia richer than the France, Italy and Germany?
Perhaps because Scandinavians work 40-60 hours a week while people in these countries work 30 hours a week.
Germany, Italy and France have a capacity for industrial production most other countries could only dream of. Why not make full use of it and build prosperity?
“Scandinavians aren’t breeding at replacement rate, which tends to lead to importing people from elsewhere & the more you do that, the less Scandinavian your nations become”
- This is true. I hope Scandinavians are beginning to realize this.
They think our abhorrence of gun-control is hilarious, they shake their heads in disbelief when they hear about our low tax-rates (especially dividends and capital gains, and most were business students no less), they believe in gay marriage as a matter of common sense, abortion never even crosses their mind as an issue worth talking about, etc.
They are also some of the most kind, hardworking, respectable and even patriotic people I’ve ever met. They have a work ethic that puts 99% of our American colleagues (including myself) to shame.
Scandinavia is just a different planet as far as politics are concerned... If socialist policies are agreed upon democratically by a vast majority of the population, and a vast majority of the population seems okay with the economic downsides, I have a hard time condemning it. They simply do not possess our distrust of government, nor do they understand it. It may come back to bite them, but for now they seem quite content.
BTW, Norway’s birthrate is 1.8 per woman I believe. This is below replacement, but better than most of Europe. It may have something to do with the government mandating 12 months 80% paid maternity leave, and some mandated paid leave for fathers as well. According to a friend, one of the most heated political debates in Norway right now is whether the government should shell out the cash to provide free day-care for all children (something like 5 out of 6 women of childbearing age are employed).
Their distrust of government is different than our own. They have a long standing tradition of strong local government, with a dictatorial national government a short lived Nazi occupation nightmare.
As far as social issues, the church was only able to do so much in the face of natural Scandinavian inclinations. Among the commentary about old Norwegian census records was a statement that there was the possibility of discovering your female ancestor had a child of wedlock. Only England (and some of her colonies) did the Puritan thing.
In the book “Eat the Rich”, PJ O’Rourke looked at Sweden’s brand of Socialism. One of the Swedish officials told him the reason it works in Sweden is because the weather had killed off all of the lazy Swedes, so laziness was eliminated from their gene pool. That which was once a matter of survival became an ingrained trait. I think that it is cultural, rather than genetic, but find the genetic explanation funny, which is why I repeat it.
You are correct about Norway’s birthrate & it is less of a problem in Norway than elsewhere in Europe. If I had been addressing my post to a Norwegian, I’m not sure if I would have brought it up. Since I was responding to a Swede, I couldn’t resist a little nudge about the issue in the most gentle way possible. I thought that I had managed to do so in a deft manner, but I am now unmasked.
Gunownership rates in Norway per household are apparently on par with the U.S.
Though, I suspect the majority of guns in Norway are hunting rifles...
And, tomorrow we celebrate our independence day!!!
Cheers.
Happy syttende mai!
My friends are having a little celebration for it tomorrow, hopefully none of them flew in lutkefisk :).
I was gonna ask you which independence you were celebrating, since there were several, but instead of asking or making any assumptions, I looked it up. ;o)
(note the happy, since my Norwegian is very, very limited & I couldn’t begin to spell the little bit that I do know)
A good percentage of the guns in the U.S. are rifles & shotguns for hunting. My state has about 6 million people & I think over a half a million of our citizens hit the woods for the annual deer gun hunt. Most of them use a rifle, though only shotguns are allowed near to more populated areas. Occasionally, sharpshooters are hired to reduce the deer herd within larger communities, as no hunting is allowed in population centers. There are other hunting seasons as well, various birds, small game & a very limited bear season. Depending on what you’re hunting for, you may need several different weapons. My household had four; a rifle, a .22 & a shotgun. The fourth was a rifle with a smaller stock. My sons used it when they took a hunter safety course that’s required before a hunting license will be issued.
There’s no lye in your neck of the woods? LOL I think most fish is pretty yucky, so turning it into a gelatinous mess before eating it... there’s a difference?
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