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But they are more happy than you. Freedom is to wake up in the morning and have no worries. Lack of freedom is having to work your butt off to keep your head above water.
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But, I would be concerned if I had the highest debt ratio in the world like Denmark.
Danish are reported to be the happiest people on the planet (americans are unhappy, just check this forum)
Not having a car is a great deal because they bike a lot and stay healthy.
They don't have crazoid people that go postal killing others die to stress at work, like today in Virginia.
At most they work 30-33 hours a week (americans average 45-50, not counting commuting).
Vacation time in average American worker starting a job = two weeks (5-6 weeks in denmark) Free college education
It is all about perspective.
Nothing is free. The Danes pay for university with taxes.
But, I would be concerned if I had the highest debt ratio in the world like Denmark.
Denmarks GDP to public debt is 45.3% (Public debt as a %age of GDP CIA), 50.1% (Gross Government debt as a %age of GDP IMF)
US GDP to public debt is 72.5% (Public debt as a %age of GDP CIA), 106.5% (Gross Government debt as a %age of GDP IMF).
Are you sure you're looking at the right country? According to the CIA Denmark is carrying just over half the public debt of the US, and according to the IMF less than half. In no way is Denmark the holder of the highest debt ratio in the world I think that's Japan in both CIA based Public debt, and IMF Gross government debt, or at least of countries that are considered developed. Denmark isn't even the holder of that title as the highest in Europe, that would be Greece.
Ultimately trying to look at microeconomics figures in an attempt to derive standards of living and happiness of particular countries is doomed to failure. Having lived outside the US, I was not really concerned about gross income, more net income and buying power, in the US it's more obscured to a large extent because of costs that come after income taxes (like college loans, health insurance, property taxes, etc.). Ultimately the arbiter of what is or is not the best place to live is determined by after doing what you need to earn a living and paying all required living expenses, do you have the available funds to spend doing what you want to. That isn't reflected in the bottom line of a spreadsheet that states "earnings after tax", for some people that may well be living in Denmark, for some others it may be living in the US, or Japan, or Brazil, because it's very hard to establish an objective measure.
OK so if you paid $23,000 total, including 180% tax, the dealer price was about $8200 in Denmark ($8200+8200*1.8=22,960). And you say in the US that car would run $15,000, or getting close to double the Danish price of $8200.
How do you know that money is going into the dealer's and manufacturer's pockets? The dealers have to compete with each other here in the US. If a dealer could make a profit selling Fits for $8200, they would undercut their competitor and dominate the market.
If the numbers are as you say, there is something else going on here, most likely having to do with collusion Washington DC and Detroit, MI, probably trade barriers of some kind. If so it would be DC ripping you off, not Honda and the Honda dealer.
It is also possible that there are subsidies by the Danish gov't involved. Whatever it is, I'm willing to bet it is not that the "dealers and manufacturers are ripping you off." If so, you have to explain why Honda wants to rip off Americans but not Danes.
I will confess, I haven't looked into it - as you can probably tell from my chosen vehicle, cars aren't really that important to me. Feel free to look up the prices - a Honda Fit in the US is for bizarre reasons called a Honda Jazz in Europe.
I do know that when I worked in Germany, German colleagues would scheme to try and get their hands on a Danish untaxed car, ship it to Germany and pay lower German tax on the (much) lower Danish price.
The streets, especially in lower Manhattan, were not designed for cars. Public transportation within and out of the city is solid and people of all backgrounds ride together. Land is scare and therefore the cost to park is off the charts.
There are about 3 million more people living in NYC than Denmark.
If you can't name your child without the governments permission you can't talk about freedom.
Those Scandinavians are messed up in the head. I think it's all the snow.
LOL. "If you can't abuse your child with some horrific name, you arent free!"
I know someone who named their kid "goliath". He was a tiny kid. It went poorly for him. Even worse? This was the compromise name...the original name was even worse.
After the state took the kid away, his grandparents renamed him to something reasonable. Children deserve some protection.
If you can't name your child without the governments permission you can't talk about freedom.
Those Scandinavians are messed up in the head. I think it's all the snow.
What in the world are you talking about? Where do you get all this nonsense?
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