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Check out Canada, they have a very strong middle class, but the rich are not as noticeable. Also less poverty.
Canada has the benefit of major oil and gas deposits. If they stopped their work in the tar sands their safety net would suffer. They don’t spend nearly the amount on military as we do, not to mention they didn’t go around the world making enemies. I think our military spending could come down a good amount, that still won’t be enough to pay for a lot of the proposed programs.
We have the debt to gdp we have, which is higher than Canada’s. We can argue about how we got here, but it is what it is, how would these large social programs effect this. Canada also benefits from generally higher skilled immigration and doesn’t share a border with a much poorer country. They also benefit from having a trade deal with us and benefit from massive consumer spending in the US which helps out their manufacturing business. How would an increase in the middle class tax and VAT taxes affect consumer spending?
This is true. I like the ideals of Janteloven myself. I live very frugally and like the sense of a cohesive community. I also understand that there are many other people in this country that don’t share similar viewpoints as I. That is the reason I was explaining the differences between the countries and why certain policies are more easily sold in those countries. I know there are places in the US that have these ideals, they are typically wealthy and highly educated areas.
Those ideals do tend to minimize interpersonal friction in a society.
The US was shaped more by Calvinism, on the whole, than Lutheranism, so most Americans have a more individualistic, competitive, materialistic view of what it means to live a good life.
So if these leftists seek to emulate Scandinavia, then wouldn’t it be because they want a mixed economy and not socialism. I’m more centrist when it comes to this, but acting like a lot of these leftists want Venezuela when they say they want Scandinavia, means that a lot are cool with Capitalism, just they want to expand the safety net. There are some in the ranks that like the Soviet Union and it’s system, which doesn’t play well to their image though.
I like the idea of a stronger social safety net, emulating Scandinavia. I’m just concerned with what effects it will have in our economy and on the middle class, and how well it will work here. I don’t think a lot of the proposals will play out well and could damage the middle class and the economic viability of this country.
I think that model can work well as long as you have people willing to work before taking benefits or paying back after they have received the benefits and I believe it in the culture of Nordic people to do that....which I'm not sure either applies well to the USA.
The first thing that strikes you when you land there is how expensive things are . Norway is the highest with $50 pizza and $12 beer while Finland was relatively affordable.
They don’t break the law, they follow rules. They show respect for each other and authority. They have charity in their hearts and make sacrifices for their communities.
That's what I'd like to know. Every time someone mentions the Scandinavian model, conservatives claim "that would never work here, we have a diverse population".
The US is the only major country without universal healthcare. What is so unique about our population that makes it unworkable here when it works well in every other country?
They don’t break the law, they follow rules. They show respect for each other and authority. They have charity in their hearts and make sacrifices for their communities.
All things liberals hate.
Let me understand you perfectly, Mr Potato Head. You are saying that white people "don’t break the law, they follow rules. They show respect for each other and authority. They have charity in their hearts and make sacrifices for their communities." And that blacks and Latinos do not?
Have you been there or just pulling some statistic from the net and quoting it here.
I have been there to both Oslo and Helsinki and paid the amounts for pizza and beer that I quoted. Maybe if I had gone to a small cheap restaurant and I could have it for $7.
Let me understand you perfectly, Mr Potato Head. You are saying that white people "don’t break the law, they follow rules. They show respect for each other and authority. They have charity in their hearts and make sacrifices for their communities." And that blacks and Latinos do not?
Yes, it's just another Liberals are ruining the country threads probably not even posted by an American.
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