Denmark a Socialist Cesspool

[_Kevin Graham]

Well, according to a recent rant by Trish Regan on FOX Business channel anyway. The clips has gone viral and people from Denmark have tried very hard not to laugh, and a couple have produced their own refutation clips:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cwzmles_JyI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSd8ellS52M

I watched the entire clip on Facebook after a Fox News lover posted it as proof Socialism is a failure everywhere, but then I started reading the comments section. Here are a few examples I found interesting:

Christian Rasmussen Okay then.

I'm a dane who makes around $92.000 a year. This is well above average in Denmark. I paid around 37-38% of that in taxes last year after deductions and all that. There are MANY tax deductions. Yes, then there is a 25% sales tax on everything, but still...there's sales tax in the US as well.

I bought my first home, a 1 bedroom apartment, with my entry level salary as an IT technician. I was 4 miles from the center of our capital, Copenhagen. Can you guys do that? We can.

Now I live in a 2 story apartment with my kids and my wife who just finished med school. Med school was free by the way. And not only that, as an encouragement to students she got just shy of $1000 every month just for studying. That's about $11.000 a year, just for studying. That's $66.000 during the course of her education.

Think about it. She got $66.000 for becoming a doctor!

We've used the healthcare system a lot since we became parents. Never paid anything. Not when our kids where born (well, I had to pay for my own food, but my wife ate for free) or any of the other times we've been to the hospital.

If I lose my job, I can get financial support for up to two years while I search for another job. After the two years, I would still get money, but less. And this support lasts forever as long I don't have a job.

So there is no fear in my life linked to losing my job or having a medical emergency that requires me to sell my home to afford treatment.

Can you say the same?

The reason we're happy is that we have less fear in our lives. It's great, you should try it!

And another:

Duncan Kirkby As an ex-Pat Englishman, I have lived in Denmark for 17 years. I recently lost my wife, leaving me alone with 3 small daughters. The Danish state supports me with child benefit and widowers allowance and single parent benefit. I have an average salary, a lovely house and a new car. I am safe in the knowledge that if I lose my job, I will receive unemployment benefit at a level for up to 2 years where I would not need to sell my house or car. I know that my daughters will all receive approx $1000 a month for up to six years during their university education should they choose that route. Further education is a right, not a privilege. On top of all this I get 6 weeks paid holiday every year plus a week of bank holidays, I can take my kids out of school to travel if I choose. There is very little crime, almost no violent crime, very little unemployment and people are happy with their lot. I have been asked many times since my wife died if I will move back to England. I am proud of my heritage, but move away from Denmark? You have to be joking.

And another:

Annemarie Kastberg Nielsen Omfg this is sooooo funny to read
So, I'm a Dane. Single mom, 31, social worker who pays 37 % in income tax.
I own a house 30 minutes from our Capitol, own a car (and a bike as well ), I have the money to go on vacations (also abroad), I eat mainly organic and have what you consider "luxury commodities".
Why don't people do some research on their own....

[_Some Schmo]

A Republican friend of mine brought up Venezuela recently in a similar discussion. Eventually it got to the point where I asked him, point blank, to tell me the difference between socialism and communism. He couldn't do it.

Again... Republicans don't like to be called stupid, but refuse to do anything constructive about it, like learn what the hell they are talking about.

[_SteelHead]

Whenever some one brings up Venezuela as a failed socialist state, just bring up Honduras as a failed libertarian capitalist state.

[Rosebud]

https://sweden.se/business/how-sweden-c ... l-economy/

Sweden’s present economic and social prosperity was built on the lessons learned from the financial crisis in the early 1990s. Governments pursued reforms and fiscal sustainability became institutionalised. Stable economic policies combine with competitiveness, innovation and an open approach to trade to make Sweden a model for economic success."

Finland has best education system in the world. Norway were wise using the profits from their North Sea Oil.
One has to ask why are these Nordic countries the happiest. They are also low in religious participation.

[_Black Moclips]

“Better never means better for everyone... It always means worse, for some.”

― Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale

I don't think the socialist countries of Europe are cesspools. For the most part, I think they are decent places to live, probably without the extremes in wealth that we have here. If you can maintain the demographics, it could work for a long time. But in the not too distant future I think they will have issues with it, as people live longer and the retired population increases faster than kids entering the taxable workforce due to declining birthrates.

[_aussieguy55]

Countries like South Korea and Japan are approaching a demographic nightmare with declining birthrates. I searched for the poorest states in the US and they seemed to be red states while the wealthiest were with the exception of Alaska blue states.

[_subgenius]

Christian Rasmussen Okay then.

I'm a dane who makes around $92.000 a year. This is well above average in Denmark. I paid around 37-38% of that in taxes last year after deductions and all that. There are MANY tax deductions. Yes, then there is a 25% sales tax on everything, but still...there's sales tax in the US as well.
...

Ok, I follow ya here...$92k a year and after lots of deductions he paid $34,00 in taxes...and still has $58,000 to spend (which, arguably, after sales tax of 25%, has purchase power of $46,000).

she got just shy of $1000 every month just for studying. That's about $11.000 a year, just for studying. That's $66.000 during the course of her education.

so over the 6 years he paid $204,000 in income taxes and she got $66,000...he is still $138,000 out. Now, in America the median cost for medical school is $207k, so arguably its a wash....but average tuition Denmark is about 15k euros a year..or 90k euros for her medical schol..or a cost of $103.5k...meaning that Hamlet here has paid into the system $204k and got $169.5k in return.

And he is still looking at 25% sales taxes.

Think about it. She got $66.000 for becoming a doctor!

Nope, when you "think" about it...he paid her for becoming a doctor.

And he is still looking at 25% sales taxes.

[_Kevin Graham]

Trump wondered why we can't get more people from Norway instead of those "shithole countries." Well, its because they don't want to leave.

Why Danes Happily Pay High Rates of Taxes

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK — AS chief executive officer of the Happiness Research Institute, I talk to a handful of journalists every week from around the world. As Denmark consistently ranks among the happiest countries in the world, many of the journalists will look at me with disbelief and ask, "Danes pay some of the highest taxes in the world, so why are they so happy?"

Denmark has one of the highest tax rates in the world, which is often mentioned as one of the biggest objections against the Danish welfare model. The average annual income in Denmark is about 39,000 euros (nearly $43,000) and as such, the average Dane pays a total amount of 45 percent in income taxes. Danish income taxes are based on a progressive tax system, so if you make more than 61,500 euros (about $67,000) per year, an additional tax rate of 7 percent is added over this threshold.

Neverthless, a Gallup survey from 2014 showed that almost nine out of 10 Danish people happily pay their taxes to some or a high degree.

Investing in quality of life

The reason behind the high level of support for the welfare state in Denmark is the awareness of the fact that the welfare model turns our collective wealth into well-being. We are not paying taxes. We are investing in our society. We are purchasing quality of life.

The key to understanding the high levels of happiness in Denmark is the welfare model's ability to reduce risks, uncertainties and anxieties among its citizens and prevent extreme unhappiness.

The Danish welfare model provides opportunities for its citizens to pursue their happiness from advanced starting positions disregarding economic, social, gendered or cultural backgrounds. Let me give you some examples.

Education is free and even at university level, there is no tuition fee. Meanwhile, every Danish student receives around $900 per month from the state. This means I won't have to worry about how to finance my kid's education. It will be their talents and dreams that shape the path of their careers, not the size of my wallet.

The Danish laws for parental leave are among the most generous in the world with a total of 52 weeks, out of which the parents can receive up to 32 weeks of monetary support from the state. Furthermore, most employees have five weeks of vacation allowing families and friends to spend quality time with each other.

There is free quality health care for everyone and the welfare model works as a risk-reducing mechanism. Danes simply have less to worry about in daily life than most other people and that forms a sound basis for high levels of happiness.

Let's have a closer look at how the Danish flexicurity model provides a flexible job market while reducing the worries of unemployment.

The Danish flexicurity model

The Danish labor market is based on flexibility for employers, security for workers and an active labor market policy. These three elements in combination constitute the golden triangle of flexicurity, working out to the mutual benefit of all the parties involved. The golden triangle suits the needs of employers, workers and the unemployed, by allowing companies to adapt to changes and stay in business, and by providing a safety net for workers and the unemployed. Employers can easily make changes in staff, and the unemployed can look for new jobs without the same level of financial anxiety.

Also, an active labor market policy is meant to keep both the employed and unemployed active and skilled. For workers, there are many opportunities for the ongoing development of useful skills and continued education. For the unemployed, the active labor market policy provides services assisting with the job search, keeping those out of the workforce actively engaged in applying for a new job.

The golden triangle of flexicurity

According to several scholars, the welfare model's ability to alleviate risks and insecurities in people's lives is one of the keys to understanding why Denmark does well in the happiness surveys. This is mainly because Denmark does well in terms of preventing extreme unhappiness. In a research paper from 2010 it was shown that the poorest Danes generally are quite happier than the poorest Americans – since the poorest people in Denmark enjoy a wide range of public social benefits that the poorest Americans do not – while the difference between the wealthiest people in each country is very little. That is also why Denmark is one of the countries where people feel most resilient to changes and least anxious in their daily lives.

Thus, Denmark is very equal in terms of happiness. As Richard A. Easterlin, Professor of Economics at the University of Southern California, explains, "There is greater equality in happiness in Denmark and Scandinavia. Mainly because the poorest groups are doing better than in other countries."

Happiness – a new measure of progress

Happiness is becoming a core concern for the people who pass the laws shaping the circumstances of our lives.

In recent years, happiness, well-being and quality of life have made a powerful imprint on policy-making. The United Nations passed a resolution inviting countries to start measuring the happiness of their populations. Similarly, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development now includes life satisfaction as a parameter for the development of the member countries, and OECD Secretary General Ángel Gurría declares that "Improving the quality of our lives should be the ultimate target of public policies."

These ambitions reflect the growing awareness among people, politicians and scientists that economic progress is no longer a satisfactory indicator for the progress of a society.

Despite economic growth, I see massive economic anxiety. I see countries such as the United States and South Korea having achieved tremendous growth in the past decades, but failing to convert wealth into well-being for the people.

Denmark is by no means a perfect utopia, and the country faces challenges and issues like any other country. But I do believe Denmark can be a source of inspiration in how countries can increase quality of life.

[_Themis]

I don't think the socialist countries of Europe are cesspools. For the most part, I think they are decent places to live, probably without the extremes in wealth that we have here. If you can maintain the demographics, it could work for a long time. But in the not too distant future I think they will have issues with it, as people live longer and the retired population increases faster than kids entering the taxable workforce due to declining birthrates.

Most of those countries tend to encourage young people to immigrate to take those taxable jobs, and I wouldn't suggest they won't make decisions like raising the retirement age. They are making better decisions with their money then countries like the US.

[_aussieguy55]

The Danes prefer to live in smaller homes not that silly houses Americans live in.