Scandinavian Miracle
There's an idea called the Scandinavian Miracle: that they upped their Social Programs and it had no impacts on their economy or culture. If you believe in Miracles, you're a rube. Everything comes with tradeoffs. Anyone that tells you the grass is greener is a flim-flam artist or rube. It should set of warning bells and make you want to find out what they aren't telling you. And the Northern European countries are no exception.
- These countries aren't Socialist at all. They keep chewing out the ignorant American Socialists for calling them socialist. They don't control the means of production: they have low tax/regulation on businesses -- so they're more free-market than we are.
- They do have low individual freedom (high personal taxes), and big safety nets. But that comes with other costs. Like an intolerant culture that believes in the Law of Jante. (Individuals are shit, the collective is what matters... so conform or be socially ostracized).
- Some might want to live in a country were Ovaltine is outlawed, you can’t homeschool, and the government gives you a list of approved names for your kids, but that won’t fly here.
- Their countries is smaller than many of our cities
- They have less diversity... they're trying to catch up, and now have more violence (turns out homogeny helps)
- Denmark had one of the highest suicide rates in the world, until they put everyone on anti-depressants. (Highest use in the free world). They rank as happy, the truth is they're just drugged up. Put zoloft in our water supply, and we could be as happy as they are, in our mindless stupor.
- Visitors think it’s quaint to live without any diversity, and living in 2/3rds the sq ft per person, and so on. But when you have ride your bike and take public transit in the sleet and bitter winter, it turns out that quaintness wears thin.
- Even they got sick of it, and have been trending much more conservative, lowering the social benefits, and heading more in our direction
Read Harrison Bergeron and the Law of Jante and try to understand how homegenous and intolerant towards individuals the culture had to get, before you could even have such a thing as their Social System get voted in, or work at all. (Also remember scale, their countries are smaller and have less diversity than many of our single metro areas).
|
Human costs
Erica Komisar psychoanalyst and author of “Being There: Why Prioritizing Motherhood in the First Three Years Matters" wrote a great article on the Human Cost of Sweden’s Welfare State.[1] The gist is think of the impacts:
- 61.85%+ Tax Burden: and you're only as free as how much of your money you keep control of. So you're 38% freeman / 62% ward of the state (Slave) in Sweden
- They decide/pressure/cajole parents in turning their kids over to state indoctrination camps from the age of 1 or so, so that they can be fully "educated", parents can't be trusted with the minds of the young
- Mothers who stay home with kids are stigmatized as regressive and antifeminist. Daycare exists to, “liberate women from their maternal instincts.”
- This lack of parental involvement, overstimulation has mental health impacts: high suicide rates, 1 in 5 teens are into self-harm
- While more Women are forced to work, they have lower rates in Management than U.S., Canada, France, Russia or Australia, and their income wage gap is greater than other places.
Roads and Infrastructure
Many view the United States as a free market capitalist state and Nordic countries such as Sweden and Finland as socialist due to their extensive welfare system. Yet, in the United States, most roads, highways, and other transportation infrastructure are publicly owned and operated. Meanwhile, the vast majority of roads in Sweden and Finland are operated by the private sector and maintained by local communities. The Norwegian model works better and costs half as much. In the U.S. it also helps to remember that the vast majority of roads were created before the federal government got involved in national highways, and they worked just fine... often better, and definitely much cheaper and with more local control and less waste. People that love big government can never reconcile this reality with their imagined world where Government makes things better. more...