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Somewhat misleading. No health care costs. High home ownership with no property taxes. Excellent life expectancy and good morale. The Cubans in general appear to like Cuba.
Could it be true that both capitalism and socialism are bad systems?
It seems like the most successful countries (Scandinavia) are a hybrid of both. They avoid the downsides of both.
That's pretty smart. I like to use the wind turbine company Vestas as an example. In the 1970s, Denmark suffered quite a bit under the oil crisis. A small country with little clout, any semblance of energy independence was worth investigating. So the government reduced taxes dramatically on the renewable energy sector. That's where market forces kicked in - capital moved to where there was money to be made, and wind turbine factories popped up like mushrooms. Most were utter junk. But gradually Vestas beacme the main player thanks to them delivering the right product at the right price. The tax credits, having done their job, were phased out - but by then the renewable energy sector was running quite well on its own.
And Vestas had $17B in 2020 revenue, which isn't half bad for a company that traces itself to a blacksmith opening shop in 1898.
That's pretty smart. I like to use the wind turbine company Vestas as an example. In the 1970s, Denmark suffered quite a bit under the oil crisis. A small country with little clout, any semblance of energy independence was worth investigating. So the government reduced taxes dramatically on the renewable energy sector. That's where market forces kicked in - capital moved to where there was money to be made, and wind turbine factories popped up like mushrooms. Most were utter junk. But gradually Vestas beacme the main player thanks to them delivering the right product at the right price. The tax credits, having done their job, were phased out - but by then the renewable energy sector was running quite well on its own.
And Vestas had $17B in 2020 revenue, which isn't half bad for a company that traces itself to a blacksmith opening shop in 1898.
Interesting.
I’d like to see the USA do more to advance battery technology (so we can put more wind and solar on the grid). I’d also like to see the USA do more research on advanced nuclear power and nuclear waste processing / storage so that we can use more nuclear (if we have to).
The climate crisis and eventual exhaustion of fossil fuel supplies seem like the two greatest problems facing humanity right now.
Clearly we’re going to need government investment to do these things. Private investors aren’t going to fund something that might not pay off for decades.
Could it be true that both capitalism and socialism are bad systems?
It seems like the most successful countries (Scandinavia) are a hybrid of both. They avoid the downsides of both.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Andtheblack
Good point.
Inaccurate point. None of the Scandinavian countries are socialist, not even partially. Sweden dabbled in socialism in the 1990s by requiring companies to give partial ownership, in the form of stock, to unions. But they dumped that policy in less than a decade.
The Danish PM gave a talk at Harvard in late 2015 where he criticized a certain presidential candidate for saying that Denmark was socialist. We are not, said the Danish PM.
None of the Scandinavian countries are socialist. Rand Paul has a good set of chapters on Scandinavia in his book "The Case Against Socialism." Swedish econ writer Nima Sanandaji also writes about this in his books.
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