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So I don't know about you guys but here in the United States there is a lot of media going around (especially on social media like Facebook) that praises countries like Denmark, Sweden, Iceland, etc. I sort of think that the U.S.'s liberal media is looking at these countries with rosy glasses. I'm a firm believer that every country and every place has problems, because no place is perfect. Other than the fact that these countries can get pretty cold, what are the negatives to these nations?
I mean, why would you think these places are "perfect"? These are all good countries, but with problems.
Denmark has some of the highest prices on earth, bad food, generally flat and boring landscape. Iceland has a corrupt prime minster, had its three largest banks all default in recent years, and carries tremendous debt. Sweden has an immigration crisis, negative interest rates, and is the rape capitol of the first world.
North-Western Europe is the worst place on Earth, second to only North Korea and worse than Syria and South Sudan.
Just because you have pink haired American crazies on marijuana who praise them doesn't mean sh*t.
Remember: Loyd George who was a British liberal went to praise Hitler and the "Nazi culture" in Germany before WW2. Turned out Churchill and the conservatives were actually right about the Nazis and not the liberals (surprise, surprise).
What's "negative" to an American might differ from what is negative to the average Northern European.
Homes are smaller on average. That might be a negative for Americans, who are more likely to have a "bigger is better" mentality. That being said, cities across Europe would be less vibrant if they lacked density and were more sprawl-like.
I mean, why would you think these places are "perfect"? These are all good countries, but with problems.
Denmark has some of the highest prices on earth, bad food, generally flat and boring landscape. Iceland has a corrupt prime minster, had its three largest banks all default in recent years, and carries tremendous debt. Sweden has an immigration crisis, negative interest rates, and is the rape capitol of the first world.
Bad food in Denmark? Not compared to the US. Sweden is the rape capitol because they take sexual crimes seriously.
I mean, why would you think these places are "perfect"? These are all good countries, but with problems.
Denmark has some of the highest prices on earth, bad food, generally flat and boring landscape. Iceland has a corrupt prime minster, had its three largest banks all default in recent years, and carries tremendous debt. Sweden has an immigration crisis, negative interest rates, and is the rape capitol of the first world.
I have some family in Sweden, just outside of Stockholm and within it, and they seem to have very positive views on their country. With how bias our media can be I don't really trust the borderline propaganda for Northern European nations.
These countries are insanely expensive however. My great aunt and uncle were selling their home in a town roughly an hour northwest of Stockholm and when I saw the posting, I ran it through our currency and the home was slightly over a million dollars, and the home while it was nice it was similar to my cheap house here in the desert for 1/5 of the price. Similar square footage (2,500 sq ft) and all that. I guess home ownership is tough over there.
No place is perfect, I just want to hear the downfalls to reassure me because I know they have some. We all do.
So I don't know about you guys but here in the United States there is a lot of media going around (especially on social media like Facebook) that praises countries like Denmark, Sweden, Iceland, etc. I sort of think that the U.S.'s liberal media is looking at these countries with rosy glasses. I'm a firm believer that every country and every place has problems, because no place is perfect. Other than the fact that these countries can get pretty cold, what are the negatives to these nations?
First of all, let's look at the positives. These countries have a pretty extended welfare system which is able to guarantee a decent life to any of its citizens who wants one. They are prosperous countries whose economy is rising (aside from Finland, you have Sweden and Iceland around 4% and Denmark qand Norway around 1,5% during 2015).
The negatives, what are they? Well, first of all, high prices in all of these countries although to varying degrees and usually depending on what the average income is (which makes prices higher in Norway than they are in Finland), Iceland has had its three larger banks default and a corrupt (Conservative) prime minister, Finland just isn't finding a way to make the economy recover at its fullest registering little to no growth and Sweden is in the midst of an immigration crisis but is finally implementing stricter policies and a cap on immigrants
I think the problem of the Bernie Sanders or any Democrat campaign is that they focus almost exclusively on the Nordic countries as a model when France or Germany can be a model as well when it comes to welfare system. Even the much maligned Italy can be when it comes to healthcare. Referencing to France or Germany could exclude a few of the usual arguments Republicans make
North-Western Europe is the worst place on Earth, second to only North Korea and worse than Syria and South Sudan.
Just because you have pink haired American crazies on marijuana who praise them doesn't mean sh*t.
Remember: Loyd George who was a British liberal went to praise Hitler and the "Nazi culture" in Germany before WW2. Turned out Churchill and the conservatives were actually right about the Nazis and not the liberals (surprise, surprise).
WTF! the WORST place on earth!! Is this some kind of a joke lol
North-Western Europe is the worst place on Earth, second to only North Korea and worse than Syria and South Sudan.
Just because you have pink haired American crazies on marijuana who praise them doesn't mean sh*t.
Remember: Loyd George who was a British liberal went to praise Hitler and the "Nazi culture" in Germany before WW2. Turned out Churchill and the conservatives were actually right about the Nazis and not the liberals (surprise, surprise).
In September 1936 Lloyd George went to Germany to talk with the German dictator Adolf Hitler. Hitler said he was pleased to have met "the man who won the war"; Lloyd George was moved, and called Hitler "the greatest living German". Lloyd George also visited Germany's public works programmes and was impressed. On his return to Britain he wrote an article for The Daily Express praising Hitler; he wrote, "The Germans have definitely made up their minds never to quarrel with us again." He believed Hitler was "the George Washington of Germany"; that he was rearming Germany for defence and not for offensive war; that a war between Germany and Russia would not happen for at least ten years; that Hitler admired the British and wanted their friendship but that there was no British leadership to exploit this.
Chamberlain sought to conciliate Germany and make the Nazi state a partner in a stable Europe.[82] He believed Germany could be satisfied by the restoration of some of her colonies, and during the Rhineland crisis of March 1936 he had stated that "if we were in sight of an all-round settlement the British government ought to consider the question" of restoration of colonies.
And it could go on and on about Chamberlain's appeasement policies towards Nazi Germany.
Here's some quick negatives in my country, Finland.
As said above, our economy is a mess and are gaining debt on an historical scale. We direly need some structucal reforms, but to agree on them is incredibly difficult. The trade unions are very strong and have been so since 1940 and there are various other parties all trying to clinge on to their own benefits. We probably have one the most functioning democracies in the world on paper, but that doesn't mean that change would be easy.
We have tried to create a healthcare reform since March 2014 when it was decided. It's nowhere finished yet either. And won't be in the near future. The system now is broken, and while we spend the same % of GDP on healthcare as Italy, their healthcare is in the top 3 in the world. We are like 25th. Bureaucracy takes a lot of time of the doctors which they could spend treating patients, and the 'system' swallows unnecessary tax money.
Finland is also consistently in the top 3 globally in the corruption index. Does it mean that we don't have corruption? Of course not. We just don't have visible corruption, as in handing bribes to a police officer. We have a lot of "old boys networks" where a small circle rub each others backs making very shady deals behind closed doors (or in a sauna). But as such corruption is easy to hide and the new generations' backs as are always rubbed too, the evil circle never shuts down. We have a phrase "maan tapa", which translates as 'our habit of doing things', meaning that everybody knows it exists, but there is nothing anyone will do about it.
Finland has been #1 in the global press freedom index since 2009. Does it guarantee excellent journalism? No. The media scene is very concentrated into a few big corporations, and as all Nordic countries are small in population, the circles are small too. Some journalists are a bit too friendly with the ones they should hold in the leach - the politicians. Also a journalist who wants to become a star has to tread carefully, as stepping on too many toes might make make your career path a lot more difficult. While in practice the politicians and corporations have (luckily) very little way of pressuring the media, the media corporations might feel a need for self censorship once in a while. Or stall a story before gaining more muscle from other media or institutions.
Well, here's something. Yes, life is quite good here, but as nowhere it's far from perfect.
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