Megan McArdle considers the Danish
model:
“… Denmark has
solved its pension problem, keeping budgets in balance, generously pre-funding
private retirement accounts, and linking retirement ages to rising lifespans.
After 15 years of watching every other country fail to address the coming
demographic bulge, it’s hard not to think that if the Danes can do that, they
can do anything.
So, sorry,
conservatives: Denmark really does combine high wages with high employment,
high taxes with prosperity, fiscal responsibility with high levels of
government spending. No wonder leftists ask if policymakers couldn’t do something
like that in the U.S.
But also … sorry, leftists. After a week in Copenhagen, the conclusion I came to is that no, they probably can’t. Not because the Danish model doesn’t work, but because it’s so very, very Danish.”
But also … sorry, leftists. After a week in Copenhagen, the conclusion I came to is that no, they probably can’t. Not because the Danish model doesn’t work, but because it’s so very, very Danish.”
Just one minor quibble about the facts stated in the
above article:
Norway is now ranked as the happiest country in the world (Denmark is second)
Norway is now ranked as the happiest country in the world (Denmark is second)
http://worldhappiness.report/ed/2017/
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Norway’s Strange Attitude towards Success:
NYTIMES piece highlights:
“They want their
athletes to destroy everyone in their favorite sport, but the sport could be
destroyed unless other countries win.
A similar tension is
built into Norway’s fortune, which comes from vast oil reserves and has turned
the nation’s sovereign wealth fund into the largest in the world. Norwegians
are green to the core, and when it comes to their own energy needs, they are
huge fans of the clean, renewable variety. They also pocket billions from
fossil fuels.
A surfeit of gold and oil — bigger problems have plagued nations. But Norway is not going to stop drilling, and it certainly won’t handicap its cross-country athletes.”
A surfeit of gold and oil — bigger problems have plagued nations. But Norway is not going to stop drilling, and it certainly won’t handicap its cross-country athletes.”