Posted on 01/08/2014 6:04:43 AM PST by madmominct
Hah...came across that book...my initial thought after reading it was...what the hell!!!
The facts are these
1) Sweden is helped by a small population in a rather large mass of land
2) Social Democrats control every institution in the country. It’s easy to make people happy if you tell them they are sexually liberated and can get free healthcare. Just look at the Obama lemmings.
3) They aren’t that happy. Their suicide rate is just a little lower than ours, and they don’t have easy methods to carry it out.
4) In Sweden, its hard to fall into total destitution, but its equally hard to succeed or make a name for yourself. It’s a flat economy, meaning no big losers but also no big winners. Last big thing from Sweden? Ikea is the only thing coming to mind.
5) In Sweden, huge taxes mean that you earn money, and the government deems how it is spent. If that’s your daughter’s idea of happiness, she’s got a warped sense of freedom. Stockholm is also the rape capital of Europe with all the Muslim immigrants, and the government can seize your children for attempting to educate them at home and put them into literal ‘re-education’ to convince them never to see you again.
It’s not that great, and with more immigrants every year, it will only get worse.
Oh, and that’s another point, Sweden has a pathetic military. If Russia invaded, they would completely rely on the US and some of the larger countries to protect them. Luxembourg could probably invade Sweden, where the boys are taught at a young age to behave effeminately, including mandatory ‘dress like a girl’ days in some preschools. Not kidding, it’s THAT insane.
“In Sweden there are no poor people” - Socialist Prof
“In America there are no poor Swedes” - Milton Friedman
Part of the reason Sweden and other ‘socialized’ healthcare systems ‘work’ is that the American consumers are subsidizing those systems via what we pay for pharmaceuticals and medical devices. This is so because the US still develops over 60% of all drugs and devices and most of the world obtains them for a fraction over cost. The US consumer picks up the ‘profit’ difference. Allow the US to re-import those items at world cost and those fantastic ‘socialized’ systems would break either due to increasing cost or reduced services(increased rationing) due to decreased availability of said items. If he US were to go ‘single payer’ our taxes would have to be so high as to continue that subsidizing or those other systems are screwed.
Democratic socialism can work, and work well, among a nation whose people regard themselves as part of a large, extended family AND who have a strong Protestant work ethic.
Of course, diversity will destroy that national family and make socialism fail.
In multi-ethnic empires like the USSR and the USA, communism is required to make socialist-like schemes barely functional.
Sweden, Scandinavia in general, is a very infantalized society. It is also a hugely elitist society.
What people see as "working" is a heavily socialist society that was not working and has been going through decades of reforms. So, while we see it as so shackled, the movers and shakers of those societies see it as more free. Sweden is more "free" in many ways than the United States. Certainly more free than California.
I have spent a lot of time in Sweden. I like it. But, then, I have spent time there as an ex-pat with ample amounts of money and most of my bills being paid. My 2000 sq ft apartment was $3500 a month and Swedes thought I lived in a massive place. A 10 pack of coke is about $10. A candy bar out of a vending machine is about $2. A cup of coffee is easily $5 and not a foo foo variety. Dinner out for the family of four--you better be ready to part with $100+ for basic food nothing fancy.
I am also not much of an innovator so I am not so frustrated by the shackles. A real "go getter" must get squashed in such a society. I am to the point where a safe city where I can grab a subway ride, call in sick for 10 days because I sniffled once and just throw my Christmas tree outside my front door doesn't sound so bad but then I am also to the point where I have seized most of my opportunity here when the United States was freer. I am not sure such a society would have appealed to me when I was, say, 25.
There is a huge baby boom in Sweden right now (with the cultural Swedes not just the Muslims). Kids every where. They are having four kids a piece (that is what is in fashion) and cramping them into their two bedroom flats. Kids are everywhere. It's insane, completely unEurope like. I am very, very curious how this will effect their willingness to give up to 60% of their incomes to the state. Then there is Norway. Where everything costs twice as much as Sweden. And that only works due to the oil money.
Ofcourse, I have not even touched on the Muslim problem. But I am completely rambling.
Very interesting - thank you for the ramble!
“Sweden is more “free” in many ways than the United States”
Can you give a few examples of this from having lived there?
I also remember hearing, not that many years ago, that one child families were the norm. Things have definitely changed.
Norway funds their socialism with oil revenues. Scandanavians don’t encourage the active invasion of third worlders across their borders (exception for Muslims), more illegals live in border states than the entire scandanavian region. Scandanavian countries are net exporters.
Well said!
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