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rOTFL. Yes, I am attacking ignorance and the absurd notion of "self-sufficiency" that keeps conservative Alabama, Mississippi and Arkansas the poorest states in the nation while liberal New Jersey, New York and Connecticut have the highest per capita disposable incomes.
Many of the macroeconomic mechanisms and resulting policies are counterintuitive, they do not make sense to someone who just glanced over economics 101, yet they do work. The proof is in the numbers: not only the liberal US states beat conservative states economically but also the entire economically developed world runs on liberal economic policies of sustainable development. The key word being sustainable. High taxes are funding education, which allows for development of cutting edge technologies, that allow to remain globally competitive and economically successful. There is no other way. The other way is sustained poverty of Alabama, Mississippi or Louisiana. Take your pick.
Here is your proof in the numbers, I hope you won't cry looking at this data
Your inability to respond to what's said to you is the stuff of legends.
Here's what I said:
Quote:
Because, as all lefties do, you pretend that government is what make this work.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Traditionally, they all had strong national and ethnic identities tied to a culture of work and productivity. The welfare state has all but destroyed this culture, and even they, as stubborn and fool-headed as they are, have begun to realize this and start reducing the welfare state.
Here, people like yourself spend your entire life attacking the culture of self sufficiency, and then you whine that those who understand it all oppose your agenda of destroying that culture of work, which is the ONLY thing that could bring a nation through a government designed to encourage dependency and laziness.
Now, address what I said to you, instead of some silly off-topic rant.
No, I do not address you in "key words" to which you respond with canned blather.
I said very clearly PRECISELY what I meant to say. Respond to that.
According to poster 'workingclasshero' poverty is common in the Nordic countries.
Well its not uncommon, at least not in Finland. Its just a completely different level of poverty than in other countries. I've been living in (Finnish) poverty up until about a year ago, definitely poorer than the average person here but certainly not unbearable.
The fundamental premise of the question is wrong. Of all the Nordic countries, only Norway has a higher GDP per capita than the U.S., and I'm sure that's driven by their significant oil revenues spread over a relatively small population.
Yes, when you factor in health insurance and property tax in US, the monthly deductions are about the same as in Nordic countries. 401K, collage education etc are additional expenses in US.
Which would be a good thing. They are additional private expenses. Private means you have choice. You decide what you want and need, the government doesn't decide for you.
It's hard to respond to you really as your writing is simply, how to put it nicely, very naive.
It's like you never travelled or seen anything.
There is no mystical "culture of productivity" in Sweden, Denmark or Germany. People are people and enjoy time with their families more than work and Swedes have more days off than Americans. Probably twice as many lol
What makes it work for the swedes, are smart socio-economic policies aimed at maximalization of human potential, but without expoitation of an individual. Swedes have very open and non-judgemental society which means that people spend less time talking about other people but more being productive.
Now, what you're calling "self-sufficiency" is a dairy tale that has been discredited many years ago. Society is a living organism, we all struggle and all take care of each other as it takes one sick cell to bring down the entire organism.
Swedes implemented many progressive, liberal socioeconomic policies such as investing in education and there is a higher percentage of swedes graduating from college than Americans.
Can you digest any of this? Of course not. You only know what you know
Quote:
Originally Posted by pnwmdk
Your inability to respond to what's said to you is the stuff of legends.
Here's what I said:
Now, address what I said to you, instead of some silly off-topic rant.
No, I do not address you in "key words" to which you respond with canned blather.
I said very clearly PRECISELY what I meant to say. Respond to that.
If you're looking at Norway as an example, you have to factor in the tremendous supplemental income the get from oil. Secondly, these countries are now starting to have problems. The reason it worked was because of the work ethic of previous generations. They're starting to have problems with people realizing that they can sit home and get their needs met.
I'm afraid you're right. People in 2014 living off the work of people from 30 years ago.
I don't think they're as high in NYC and CA as they are in Scandinavia.
I'm sure they are higher. Especially if they too have provisional or local taxes on top of their federal..... Not to mention that NYC and CA don't have a great fiscal track record.
CA has the worst business climate in the US for 8 years in a row
Sounds like a lot until you see their standard of living and what they get out of it. It's amazing what your country's citizens can achieve by providing them more....
Well, I think my standard of living is not too bad..... No thanks, I'll would rather keep the money I earn (rather than spread the wealth), and invest it in the way I sit fit for myself and my family.
Last edited by chicagogeorge; 09-10-2014 at 09:08 PM..
How do you think American became powerful? A weak government?
The entrepreneurial spirit!!!!!!!!!
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