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In defense of the Swedes, let me first say that simple comparisons of income can be deceiving. While I have never been to Sweden (even though I have relatives there), I would think that even the poorest sections of Stockholm and other Swedish cities are more livable and attractive than what one finds in many U.S. cities. Even with the high taxes, I think I would rather live in downtown Stockholm than in downtown Detroit or Newark.

However, the study alerts us to something that is much more important, and that is that the European welfare states are not making their citizens wealthier. Over time, the cracks in these relatively wealthy nations are growing larger, and if the disease is not arrested, much of Europe will tumble off into real poverty in the not-so-distant future.

And isn't that the crux of the matter? Sweden's politics stink, and they're going to get screwed by their politicians if they don't shape up. But as I said before, Sweden, no matter how you spin it, is not a third world country. And if you bothered to go there, you'd immediatly know what I'm talking about.

My biggest problem with the country is that, because of taxes, its ridiculously expensive even to visit. One of these days I'm going to write a student budget travel guide, entitled "Stockholm on $10,000 a day."

I spent my honeymoon in Scandanavia. Yeah Stockholm is extremely expensive if you stay in hotels. The Hostels there are great however and are cheap. Stockholm may be expensive but it is worth it in my opinion.

One thing we did for which I am gratefull is to take a ferry to Helsinki. I would have loved to stay in Finland for longer. Copenhagen was far more expensive than Stockholm. A Best Western was 300 bucks a night. Amsterdam was the cheapest place we visited. Meals were reasonable and you could find some tremendous bargains as far as lodging goes. And as much as people like to deride Amsterdam, it felt safe even at 2:00 AM. The Ann Frank House is a must see.