[Brilliant]

And it will continue to be the best place, until the oil runs out. Then it will be hurting.

[general_re]

Yeah. I once had someone point to Norway after I stated that socialism doesn't work in practice. "Oh, okay," I said. "So all you need to make socialism work is a ton of oil and a bunch of capitalist countries to sell it to. Gotcha."

[Snickersnee]

Agree about the oil -- once that's gone you've got Appalachia with pickled herrings. Any room left in the Dakotas and Minnesota?

[Little Ray]

Nope. The Norwegian gub'ment is playing it smart. They ain't spendin' every cent that comes their way - the are investing it in various instruments (stocks, bonds, etc.) that will yield income long after the oil runs out.

[monday]

"And it will continue to be the best place, until the oil runs out. Then it will be hurting."

Nonsense. Oil doesn't guarantee a successful place to live. Both Saudi Arabia and Russia export more oil and both have a comparatively miserable standards of living. In fact almost all oil rich countries, with the exception of the US, Canada, Norway, and the UK, are miserable places to live.

In comparison places like Hong Kong, Switzerland, Singapore, and Luxembourg have no oil or other natural resources and are among the highest standard of living in the world.

Norway will be just fine after the oil runs out, if it does. Iceland, with a similar population, has one of the highest standards of living in the world. It has no oil.