[WesternCulture]

- I live in ‘Socialist’ Sweden.

I’ve worked for several ‘Socialist’ companies over here, like ‘Socialist’ Volvo Cars (owned by Ford) and I’ve also worked as a ‘Socialist’ salesman on the European continent. Furthermore, I’ve had several ‘Socialist’ businesses of my own.

I reside in a middle class suburban area (Sävedalen, east of Gothenburg/Göteborg) and believe me, when I walk out the door, or drive around in my neighborhood, I see a lot of prosperity. But very few signs of Socialism.

Most Scandinavians denounce Socialism although many of us agree neighbors looking after each other is a good thing as long as everyone is willing to do their share in terms of contributing to society.

Is ‘Socialist’ Scandinavia paradise on Earth?

No, but it might well be a ‘Capitalist’ paradise. The country which produces the largest amount of dollar millionaires per capita happens to be a Scandinavian one, Norway.

[Paladin2]

Sweden seems to have a little trouble with their muzzies and there seems to be a fair amount of net migration to Norway. Some see the place on the decline.

[plain talk]

This income tax, 55% of the Gross National Product, the highest income tax in the world, is also coupled with sales taxes, property taxes, and other excise taxes and tariffs. The Swedish sales tax, a "value added tax", ranges to 22.5% of items sold, on various goods including most foods. The total ownership of public goods by the Swedish government is roughly 64%, closing in on 70%, once you include all these other forms of taxation. That is not including government-owned means of production, which control about a full quarter of Swedish productivity.

[edcoil]

Socialism works only if you want your children to have less then you.

[Windcatcher]

I’m not interested in paying for:

- West Philly’s education
- West Philly’s healthcare
- West Philly’s housing
- West Philly’s food
- West Philly’s vacations
- West Philly’s cars
- West Philly’s XBOX games
.
.
.

None of those people lifted a finger to:

- Help me through grade school
- Help me through high school
- Tutor me on how to best take an SAT
- Help me *earn* a 1380 on the SAT
- Help me *keep* a full scholarship through college
- Help me through grad school
- Help me through grad school (for another Master’s)
- Help me at work

When they can claim these things, then maybe they can start to claim some nonzero part of my wages.

[Nateman]

Imagine how bad Sweden would become if the rich Swedes did’nt have the rest of the world to hide their money in.

[Secret Agent Man]

Socialism works.

Ask the people who used to live under the USSR how well their system ‘worked’.

Ask the Canadians who come to the US for operations because of a healthcare system that hopes people die off on waiting lists, how well that ‘works’.

Ask the Brits who are fleeing their own country because of orwellian socialism and ever increasing taxes and fines, how well it ‘works.’

Ask the white South Africans who are living under the socialist ANC how well socialism ‘works’.

[Bigun]

“The inherent vice of freedom is the unequal sharing of the blessings; the inherent blessing of equality will be the equal sharing of misery.”

Sir Winston Churchill

Sir Winston was right!

[Gay State Conservative]

Just FYI...I spent a week or so in Ireland and the UK last June.A few things that struck me....1)posted on every parking meter I saw in London is the warning that any car caught at a meter that had expired would be fined 100 pounds...200 US dollars.A ride of as little as two minutes on the London Underground costs 4 pounds...8 US dollars...unless you buy a card that,itself,costs about 10 US dollars.Gasoline in Greater London costs about 9 US dollars per gallon...as opposed to less than 3 US dollars a gallon that is being charged right down the street from me on this very evening.One can only assume that the other 6 US dollars a gallon is tax.

And as for Norway having more millionaires (per capita) than any other country...that wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that for the last twenty years Norway has been producing 3000 barrels of oil per year for every man,woman and child in the country,would it?

If the breathtaking level of taxation and regulations that are in effect in Sweden works for Swedes that's great.But any attempt by you or anyone else might make to convince me that we should emulate Sweden/Europe will fall on deaf ears with me and the overwhelming majority of Americans who are here legally and who work for a living.

I've traveled to Europe a number of times.In fact,I am an Irish citizen (as well as a US citizen) and as one I could live and work in any EU country I wished.In spite of that fact I'll gladly stick with the US and I'm sure you'll gladly stick with Sweden.

[B-Chan]

Sweden adopts Catholicism as it's official religion, and many of it's subsidized public schools are Catholic schools

[farmer18th]

This message brought to you by your local public service labor union: a better life, through a bigger trough.

[freekitty]

If it works so well; why do they all want to come to America?

[spokeshave]

The highest form of socialism is Swedish taxes on Ethiopian wages.

[Revolting cat!]

Thanks for clearing things up. Willful ignorance about the rest of the world is one of the great features about living in America. It might even be written in the Constitution or one of the abendments!

[modican]

"Socialism WORKS!".



Extreme Socialism works even better.!

[SwedishConservative]

I’m not going to remark on the facts of the linked website, sufficed to say a lot of it is wrong, exaggerated or taken out of context. It’s a hit-piece and needs to be aggressive. The sentiment is correct though. I get discouraged every time I read big-government socialists using Sweden as a role-model ‘cause there are a lot of things wrong in Sweden. Multiculturalism, political correctness, mommy-knows-best big-government and tax you for all you’ve got since you obviously can’t be trusted to decide how to spend your own earnings.

As the poster, I too have several business ventures behind me and come from a family of entrepreneurs and my experiences aren’t nearly as rosy as his seems to have been.

I will remark on one fact: Sweden hasn’t been Catholic since Gastav Wasa nixed the catholic arch-bishop in 1531.

[Radix]

There is a FReeper thread somewhere on my profile page about just how great it is in Sweden.

[Archon of the East]

The reality is America is more socialist than anyone cares to admit. Ridiculously high tax rates, a one payer health system, regulations barring entry of entrepreneurs into business, funding programs of opinion through government extortion, a NATIONAL education association, a media-party complex. Just to name a few. Maybe we don’t think so because we are still more liberal(in the true sense) than Europe.

[LiberalStalker]

I go straight to the horses mouth, the Swedish government and look at their fiscal budgets with comments.
This is from their 2005 budget proposal.
General government consolidated gross debt (this is government debt only, not private debt) has fallen sharply since its peak in 1994 when the burden of debt exceeded 75 per cent of GDP. This year the debt is down to 52 per cent of GDP and it is expected to continue to decline next year 2005.

In comparison: America’s debt to GDP ratio is currently at 37% and will peak at 40% in 2005 but should be back down to 30% by 2013, far below the levels of many other rich countries.

6,000 more staff in the pre-school sector in 2005-2007. (This to help indoctrinate children as soon as they can in the governments socialist views.) 6,000 more staff in further education/training for local government employees in 2004 and 2005. (Notice this further education is for more LOCAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.) The regular education for Swedes is through the 9th grade.

To generate more jobs, both in the short and in the long term, small and medium-sized enterprises need to develop well. The Government is taking a number of measures to improve conditions for SMEs:

Inheritance and gift tax will be abolished, partly to facilitate the transition from one generation to the next in family businesses. (AMERICA COULD LEARN FROM THIS PROPOSAL.)

Sweden is trying to bring the population into the information technology age by buying and putting personal computers into the homes and now have 52% of the homes with computers, however, on 13% of these home computers have Internet access that only costs $2.95 U.S. per month.

The Government proposes a number of tax cuts that will make work more worthwhile, increase the purchasing power of low and middle income earners and help create more jobs. This will include further compensation for the personal contributions to the pension system that were introduced in connection with the restructuring of the budget.
In 2000, the government realized that it could no longer meet the obligations of the generous pension program. They cut pension payments and cut the amount of taxes per person to allow for each person to invest in their own private pension program. The pension investment industry is now the fastest growing industry in Sweden.

(Here they have beat America’s politicians as our corrupt politicians know that the social security system has been broke SENSE it was created but refuse to allow the only thing that will fix it and that is partial or complete privatization with government over site to see that the investors make sound decisions. Every state in the union have private plans for there state employee’s and they retire with much more pension dollars than those in the SS system. I have a friend who worked for the state for 30 years, retired at 55 years old and collects $2,800. per month retirement and get state medical benefits. What’s the maximum for SS, $1,500. per month or close to that?)

In 2005, Sweden will be lowering income taxes by between SEK 900 and SEK 2,100 (Swedish Krona) per person per year to compensate for the personal contributions to private pension plans.

The regular Swedish employment rate of 77.6 per cent in 2003 to 77.0 per cent in 2004 and hold at this level in 2005. The government’s target of an 80 per cent regular employment rate will be achieved in 2007. This means the unemployment rate of Sweden is over 20%. Over 66% of all Swedish people work or live on benefits from the Swedish government, not private industry

(Well, they have seen the future of socialism and that it cannot be self sustaining without people wanting to work to earn their own way. This means working for private enterprises and not government, unless it is a communist or totalitarian government. Sweden professes to be a socialist government only and private industry is needed, however, Sweden’s socialist government and labor unions are not conductive to making private businesses very lucrative as the government puts strict limits on how much profit a business can earn, and even tax the interest on funds business set aside to pay their government taxes which are very high. Sweden, like all socialists, do not want the people creating their own personal wealth as that creates a disparity between the people and they will not feel that they are all the same (equals in every way) which people are not. Income must be kept on a equatable basis to keep the people from becoming envious of another persons wealth. This takes away form the entrepreneur the main reason for creating enterprises, making a lot of money to get wealthy. Remember, it is not out of benevolence that a farmer, baker, butcher, manufacturer provides items for the consumer, it is the motive of making money to improve their standard of living, and if there are to many restrictions placed on them they will cease to produce as it does not benefit them to do so. This is why over 66% of all Swedish people work or live on benefits from the Swedish government, not private industry.)

[PGalt]

“Socialists, like all other monopolists, desire to make the law their own weapon. And when once the law is on the side of socialism, how can it be used against socialism? For when plunder is abetted by the law, it does not fear your courts, your gendarmes, and your prisons. Rather, it may call upon them for help.”

“To prevent this, you would exclude socialism from entering into the making of laws? You would prevent socialists from entering the Legislative Palace? You shall not succeed, I predict, so long as legal plunder continues to be the main business of the legislature. It is illogical — in fact, absurd — to assume otherwise.”

from “Socialism is Legal Plunder”, read more here...

http://bastiat.org/en/the_law.html#SECTION_G1428

Thanks to FReeper raygun for the link.