If Sweden were a US State, it would be the poorest state in the union

Reuters Market News Swedes less well off than poorest Americans -study

STOCKHOLM, May 4 (Reuters) - Swedes, usually perceived in Europe as a comfortable, middle class lot, are poorer than African Americans, the most economically deprived group in the United States, a Swedish study showed on Saturday.

The study by a retail trade lobby, published in the liberal Dagens Nyheter newspaper 19 weeks before the next general election, echoed the centre-right opposition's criticism of the weak state of Sweden's economy after decades of almost uninterrupted Social Democratic rule.

The Swedish Research Institute of Trade (HUI) said it had compared official U.S. and Swedish statistics on household income as well as gross domestic product, private consumption and retail spending per capita between 1980 and 1999.

Using fixed prices and purchasing power parity adjusted data, the median household income in Sweden at the end of the 1990s was the equivalent of $26,800 compared with a median of $39,400 for U.S. households, HUI's study showed.

"Weak growth means that Sweden has lost greatly in prosperity compared with the United States," HUI's President Fredrik Bergstrom and chief economist Robert Gidehag said.

International Monetary Fund data from 2001 show that U.S. GDP per capita in dollar terms was 56 percent higher than in Sweden while in 1980, Swedish GDP per capita was 20 percent higher.

"Black people, who have the lowest income in the United States, now have a higher standard of living than an ordinary Swedish household," the HUI economists said.

If Sweden were a U.S. state, it would be the poorest measured by household gross income before taxes, Bergstrom and Gidehag said.

They said they had chosen that measure for their comparison to get around the differences in taxation and welfare structures. Capital gains such as income from securities were not included.

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The median income of African American households was about 70 percent of the median for all U.S. households while Swedish households earned 68 percent of the overall U.S. median level.

This meant that Swedes stood "below groups which in the Swedish debate are usually regarded as poor and losers in the American economy," Bergstrom and Gidehag said.

Between 1980 and 1999, the gross income of Sweden's poorest households increased by just over six percent while the poorest in the United States enjoyed a three times higher increase, HUI said.

If the trend persists, "things that are commonplace in the United States will be regarded as the utmost luxury in Sweden," the authors said. "We are not quite there yet but the trend is clear."

According to HUI figures, in 1998-99 U.S. GDP per capita was 40 percent higher than in Sweden while U.S. private consumption and retail sales per capita exceeded Swedish levels by more than 80 percent.

The HUI economists attributed the much bigger difference in consumption and sales mainly to the fact that U.S. households pay themselves for education and health care, services which are tax-financed and come for free or at low user charges in Sweden.

According to recent opinion polls Sweden's Social Democrats are comfortably ahead of the centre-right opposition in the run-up to the September 15 elections.

You're taking this entire thread much too seriously, IMHO. However, I can tell you that most Swedes are extremely cautious by nature, not to mention that they are no strangers to intimidation. Politically, that is not a good thing for those who do want change in their government. I do think that their political situation will change sooner than later, though.

What impact did ABBA make? They're a cultural icon, in many more countries than their own. Not only did they write their own material and play their own instruments, but they produced their own albums, and maintained control over their musical direction. There aren't many groups who do that even today. Now you're comparing them to Snoop Doggy Dogg, or however you spell that monstrosity?! Rappers (I will not call any of them "rap artists!") are notorious for speaking their obnoxious and offensive lyrics, and they appear to be proud of it. ABBA, on the other hand, wrote and performed music that one could escape into, without being drawn into a frightening world of violence, and hate. ABBA's music has been featured in some really worthwhile movies, not the least of which is my favorite movie of all time -- Muriel's Wedding. Their music is, dare I say it?, "wholesome." And darned if their voices didn't just happen to blend really, really well! (They did blend well. Beautifully, even!)

I attended college (for my first two degrees; one being music, of course) on a full-tuition vocal/keyboard scholarship. (An academic scholarship picked up everything that was left -- room and board, books, even a bi-monthly check!) Not counting singing, I have been involved in music since I was seven years old, when I started taking piano lessons. When I reached the 5th grade (the grade when band started for all of us in Galva, Illinois -- sister city to Gavle, Sweden), I joined and took up bassoon. The band director tried to talk me into playing something like clarinet first and then taking up bassoon, but I declined. I wanted to play the bassoon. Period. Later, I learned oboe as well. Then I tackled mallet instruments, and just kept going. . . .

During my college years, and after, I was a professional singer and musician here in Nashville. I married a fellow musician, Randy Mason (for those who know guitar, yes -- Brent Mason's brother). Randy played drums for Jimmy C Newman on the Opry at the time, but is playing drums and guitar with Merle Haggard now. Brent -- well, he plays guitar for anyone who is lucky enough to get him on a session! (CMA Instrumentalist of the Year more than once, and considered a "guitar god" by many. He's darn good, but "guitar god?!" If anyone is one, it would be Brent, though.)

Randy and I divorced, and I met and married Keith Palmer -- a highly successful songwriter, demo singer, and in-demand background singer at the time. (I sang on demos as well.) Eventually, he signed to Sony/EPIC as a recording artist, and the two singles that were released from his first CD (which had Brent Mason on guitar, of course!) were in the Top Ten. Keith and I wrote songs together at times, and one of our collaborations was recorded by "Babs" Mandrell, but it was only an album cut. On a lousy album. Produced by Tom Collins, who owned the publishing house that Keith was signed with as a writer. (You get the picture! *G*) Oh well. . . . One of Keith's last cuts (while he was still alive) was, For My Broken Heart, which "Reeber" recorded, and made her title cut on that album. It was #1 with a bullet on Billboard, and you can't do much better than that. As I mentioned previously, Keith has since died; he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and he died in 1996.

None of this makes me an expert, and I don't claim to be one, but I know a little about music, and I am proud to be of Swedish descent. All their "flaws" notwithstanding, I like ABBA. I also like George Benson, Chick Corea, Tower of Power, Mannheim Steamroller, The Moody Blues, The Alan Parsons Project, Pink Floyd, George Winston, Geoff Moore and the Distance, Al Jarreau, Delbert McClinton, Dr. John, Wynton Marsalis, Billie Holliday, Diane Schuur, Manhattan Transfer, Cato Sanden (Norway's country music star from Oslo, whom I'd never heard of until I met him and his bandleader, Rune Hauge) and countless symphony orchestras, with my favorite orchestral piece being The Moldau, written by Austria's Smetana. (I'm just getting started here, but you know where I'm headed?!)

That being said, I don't consider myself any kind of music "expert," but I know what I appreciate! I still like to listen to my favorites from when I was back in high school -- RUSH, Supertramp, Heart, Toto, Boston, Kansas, and ABBA! (And many, many more! *G*)

In short, the Swedish people are not the Swedish government, and ABBA isn't the worst thing that ever happened to the world. Sweden is a peaceful little country, they never bother anybody, and their internal conflicts are minimal. Plus, they are responsible for me being here, and I am grateful for that, personally!

;-}

During the German invasion of Norway, Sweden permitted the Germans to load troops on railway trains, and ride them through Sweden and across the Norwegian border.

You seem to have uncovered information that not even Swedes nor Norwegians have records of *LOL*. Since you're insisting I'll give you a short history lesson.

April 9th, 1940 - Germany invades Norway and Denmark. Denmark fall after a couple of hours while Norwegians continue fighting for a little while, helped by the terrible terrain.Sweden accepts German demands for import and export of products to/from Norway as before - i. e no war material.

April 16th, 1940 - Food and oil supplies permitted transport to northern Norway to "save the population from starvation" after the war had emptied the reserves. Troops, including 40 "red-cross soldiers" denied transit

April 18th, 1940 - The 40 "red-cross soldiers" were accepted for transit together with a train loaded with sanitary material, which however turned out to contain 90% food according to the Swedish customs. Further requests for transit of "sanitary material" were rejected.

April to June, 1940 - Norway protests over Sweden taking the neutrality too seriously, expecting more of support for Norway. German civil sailors were given individual transit visa. Wounded soldiers were transported through Sweden, and 20 further "red-cross soldiers" and a physician were allowed to pass together with five wagons with food stuff.

June 18th, 1940 - As the war in Norway was finished, German demands for transit were reinforced. The Swedish parliament did formally modify the neutrality policy according to Germany's demands. (England and France were informed before the parliament debate.)

July 7th, 1940 - The Prime Minister admits the transit in a public speech in Ludvika.

July 8th, 1940 - Agreement with Germany: 1 daily train (500 man) back and forth Trelleborg-Kornsjö and 1 weekly train (500 man) back and forth Trelleborg-Narvik

I could also remind you of the role that Swedish steel exports played in the care and feeding of the Nazi war machine

Indeed, and not forgetting the steel exports to the allied war machine. The setbacks of neutrality I'm afraid, unless you're just playing neutral like the U.S. did in the beginning of the war (until Japan attacked and Germany declared war). Of course, had not the Nazis completely enclosed the country (if one is allowed to take into account the German-friendly Finns later in the war), Sweden might have been in a position to play its cards in another manner.

Anyway.. Perhaps you were just shooting at the wrong target earlier? The obvious target is Division Engelbrecht which was allowed to transfer, with arms and all, through Swedish territory into Finland. A short summary:

April 1941 - As the German plans for an attack on Russia was taken seriously by the Swedish government it was discussed between the Cabinet and the Commander-in-chief how Sweden could react in case of a war between Germany, Finland and Russia. The Commander-in-chief warned for the danger in provoking German anger and occupation by a continued neutrality policy. Plans for cooperation with Germany and Finland were made. Single Cabinet members considered cooperation with the Soviet Union, which however was fiercely rejected. (perhaps more history lessons is required to understand why?)

June 23rd, 1941 - The Cabinet discuss the requested transit of one armed division (Division Engelbrecht) from northern Norway to northern Finland. Agrarians, Liberals and the Right supported the combined Finnish-German request. Social Democrats rejected. The king declared he would abdicate if the government couldn't agree with him in a positive answer on Finland's and Germany's request.

June 24rd, 1941 - The Social Democratic parliament group decides, with the votes 72-59, to try to convince the other parties for a rejection, but to agree in case they insisted. The other parties seemed prepared to split the Cabinet.

June 25th, 1941 - The Swedish government accept the transit of Division Engelbrecht.

Class dismissed.

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