[rohry]

It seems that the Swedish Chef from Sesame Street is here because of a lack of opportunities in his home country!

[rohry]

OK, I'm really bored! Here's another good article from the folks in Auburn, AL...

[larryjohnson]

Save to maybe send to my Swedish cousins,some coming to poverty part of socialist Maine next month.

[A Navy Vet]

Additionaly, an important factor the Maxist economists forget or refuse to factor in is human nature. Take away the rewards to produce and and you take away the producers' ambition. No ambition to produce equals no production - simple.

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

And the Germans are going to Great Britain (England) for medical and dental care. Very interesting article!

[elbucko]

Really great post, rohry. Lots of info for the mind to chew on, i.e.;

"governments are forced to cannibalize their own capital structure over time in order to make the system to continue to work."

".and if the disease is not arrested, much of Europe will tumble off into real poverty in the not-so-distant future. Is this..Spring Time for Hitler?..in 2025

"Europeans--and, most likely, Americans--seem destined to learn Such a statement turns the age-old theory of exchange--that economic exchanges create mutual beneficiaries--upon its head.

Socialism, the cannibalization of ones own economy.

[CrazyIvan]

I have a good friend who is a Swede over here working for an American company. Your post would be no news to him. Almost two years ago the Swedish government confiscated his and almost everyone elses Swedish equivelent of an American IRA becouse it was short on cash. His claim is that if it were not for a large export of hydro-electriciy they would be in even worse shape.

[rmlew]

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.

The immigrant and Refugee sections of Malmo, Gotenborg, Boras, and Stockholm are not nice. They may not be the pre-Giulliani South Bronx but there is crime, drugs, and despondancy. These predominantly Msulim immigrant areas are known for muggings, rapes, and other assaults.

[SauronOfMordor]

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.

The poorest sections of West Virginia and Vermont are probably poorer yet more livable than Detroit or Newark. hint: it isn't the income level, it's the culture of the residents

[Smile-n-Win]

Bump for a great article.

The affluence of the welfarist Western European countries is indeed a myth. I studied in Austria and worked in Germany for a while, and found that most of the people there lived no better than we do here in Western Hungary--a post-communist country!