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No one said anything about converting anybody to anything. The title of this thread is "do you want to be like Norway, Sweden, Denmark?", and the statistics show that might not be a bad idea.
Well said. All I am personally asking for anyone (regardless of which side of the aisle one sits on our leans towards) is to thoroughly and unbiased (as possible) research this matter.
What does thorough research on this matter, from reputable sources (sources not politically biased one way or the other) show in regards to heavily taxed countries (such as those listed) in regards to being happier, healthier, have better quality of life, less poverty, higher life expectancy, less debt and have more household income then the US?
Please use your search engine and/or go to your local library and tell us your findings in regards to each category.
In Germany if you're making 3000 EUR a month in after taxes take home pay, which is about $40K USD, you're a skilled professional doing GREAT and better than most, and this is not even considering that your take-home pay spending will furthermore incur a 19% VAT tax. A more menail job, retail or warehouse for example, is 1300 EUR a month or about $17K USD a year after taxes.
Since most money is taken in taxes and salaries are already low, home ownership, savings, etc., are a pipe dream for most. This is after years of engaging with many different people in a number of different professions over a number of years, who all reported the same to me personally.
In the U.S., conversely, secretaries make $40K and up. I have a friend who works in a warehouse picking, and owns his own home.
Be careful of what you wish for, ask questions, be skeptical of data which can be cooked and presented to achieve a particular outcome. The European economy and lifestyle is not at all what it's cracked up to be. Seems great when you're on vacation, but try living there - its a completely different experience.
So in other words you are comparing net vs gross. Nice.
Also do tell how much of that take home pay (here) will have to go towards college, child care, HC, retirement, property taxes, etc.
It's not easy to do exact apples to apples, but what you are doing is not even apples to oranges.
Except none of the three would accept just anyone from the U.S.
I know an American woman who moved to Norway 15 years ago. She said it was a nice country but she got tired of the cold and long hours of darkness during the winter.
Why so many attacks on allegedly socialist Scandinavian countries? If you do not like how they operate, then don’t go there. Just need something to complain about? Mind your own country.
Yes, suddenly size of the country doesn't matter anymore. We must always compare ourselves to that country which is the size of a US state.
Let's be honest here. The "size of country" argument is nothing more than a lowbrow talking point by Fox and right wing radio. Its always ignored when talking about Venezuela.
The ruling oligarchy simply doesnt want you to find the guts to take on the oligarchy. They bribe the puppets you vote for, they own the media, they own the legislature and the courts. And they're coming for the remaining bits of the public safety net we have left, like SS and Medicare. And they'll get it. It'll be handed over to Wall Street eventually. As long as workers are not organized while big capital are highly organized, workers dont stand a chance.
America probably has a lot more in common with Venezuala than it does Scandinavia at this point. At least all the large metropolises.
In general, all sh------s and not at all safe. And all liberal-led sh------ at that, too.
The large welfare states of Scandinavia are not without their cost. In 2017, all three countries (Sweden, Denmark, and Norway) had levels of taxation exceeding half of every dollar earned. Taxes as a percent of GDP are:
50.7% in Sweden
53.5% in Denmark
54.7% in Norway
Err. Denmark isn't in Scandinavia. It's on the other side of the bridge from Sweden.
Besides, this is kind of nonsense. Norway has a very homogeneous population of 5 million. It's really easy to vote to support a social democracy when you share the race, language, and culture of everybody in the country. The United States isn't like that. You'll never get that level of political support for a Norway-level social democracy. Historically, the Federal Income tax in the United States was adopted to soak rich people. The effective Federal income tax rate on the middle class (middle quintile) has never been higher than 8%. It's hard to believe anything the Bernie people would do would exceed that. This is all rhetoric from rich people trying to get middle class people to vote against their economic self-interest.
Also do tell how much of that take home pay (here) will have to go towards college, child care, HC, retirement, property taxes, etc.
Plenty. Still income taxes apply... I paid 52%.... including taxes on housepets (hundesteuer), mandatory church tax (kirchensteuer), etc..and the GEZ which makes you pay a tax for the analog TV you get over the airwaves (the equivalent of a PBS). If you don't pay the GEZ, they literally can confiscate your property (generally your furniture and other personal items, because most don't own their own homes, and their only possessions are those housing within a rental)
You're left with very little after all this, thus very little freedom to make important life decisions for yourself.
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