9 reasons Denmark’s economy leaves the US in the dust

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May 26, 2016 at 8:39 pm #44812

zn
Moderator

Here are 9 reasons Denmark’s socialist economy leaves the US in the dust

Here are 9 reasons Denmark’s socialist economy leaves the US in the dust

1. Denmark’s unemployed workers get 90 percent of their old salary for 2 years.

Denmark has a tremendous social safety net for unemployed workers — any worker who worked at least 52 weeks over a three-year period can qualify to have 90 percent of their original salary paid for, for up to two years. The Danish government also has plentiful training programs for out-of-work Danes. As a result, 73 percent of Danes between 15 and 64 have a paying job, compared to 67 percent of Americans.

2. Denmark spends far less on healthcare than the US.

According to the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), the US spends twice as much per capita on healthcare than in Denmark, where taxpayer-funded universal healthcare is available for all citizens. 2009 OECD data shows that the U.S. spent an average of $7,290 per person on healthcare. Denmark spent just $3,512. World Bank data, as seen in the chart above, shows Danish healthcare costs are about $3,000 less per capita than in the US.

3. Denmark is the happiest country on Earth.

The World Happiness Report, which determines which nation’s population is the “happiest” using criteria like life expectancy, GDP, social safety nets, as well as factors like “perception of corruption” and “freedom to make life choices,” found that Denmark was the happiest country. The US, in the meantime, ranked #17 on the same list.

4. Danes enjoy the world’s shortest workweek.

Denmark leads every other OECD nation in work-life balance. Danes work an average of 37 hours a week, earn an average of $46,000 USD annually, and have the right to 5 weeks of paid vacation per year. Here in the US, the average worker puts in an average of 47 hours a week, and only takes 16 days of vacation a year. This is largely due to a more stressful work climate, in which wages are stagnating while costs are rising. Combine that with a highly-competitive job market, and that means more Americans are willing to chain themselves to their desk then to risk taking vacation days and coming back to find someone else took their job.

5. Denmark pays students $900 a month to attend college.

Here in the US, the cost of going to college has soared by over 500 percent in the last 30 years. But in Denmark, not only is college free, but students are actually paid $900 USD per month to go to school, provided they live on their own. And this funding lasts up to six years. By contrast, the average US student pays over $31,000 a year in tuition to attend a private university, out-of-state residents at public universities pay $22,000 a year in tuition, and tuition costs for in-state residents at those same universities is still over $9,000.

6. Denmark has one of the highest per-capita incomes in the developed world.

In Denmark, despite a short work week and a generous social safety net, workers make more than enough to meet basic needs. According to per capita income data from the World Bank, Denmark’s per capita income is roughly $5,000 higher than in the US.

7. Denmark has one of the world’s lowest poverty rates. The US has one of the highest.

The benefits of living in Denmark are far-reaching — out of all OECD countries, Denmark has the second-lowest poverty rate at 0.6 percent. To compare, the OECD average of 11.3 percent is still lower than the 14.5 percent poverty rate in the US.

So all this socialist nanny-state coddling must be making all the businesses flee Denmark as fast as they can, right?

Wrong.

8. Denmark is ranked the #1 best country for business (The US is ranked #18).

In 2014, Forbes ranked Denmark as the #1 best country for business.

Forbes used 11 different criteria to rank countries — innovation, property rights, red tape, taxes, investor protection, stock market performance, technology, corruption, personal freedom, freedom of trade, and monetary freedom.

Under the same criteria, the US ranked #18.

9. New parents in Denmark get 52 weeks of paid family leave. New American parents get nothing.

The Danish government gives new parents an average of 52 weeks — a full year — of paid time off after having a child. Those 52 weeks can be allocated however the parents wish. In addition to the 52 weeks, new moms get 4 weeks of maternity leave before giving birth and 14 weeks after. Even new fathers get 2 additional weeks after the birth of their child. But here in the US, 1 in 4 new mothers go back to work within two weeks of having a child.

This is what Democratic Socialism really looks like. Is this the dystopian nightmare that Republicans are making it out to be, or an ideal vision of what Americans could have if we came together and demanded it from our government?

May 26, 2016 at 10:51 pm #44824

Zooey
Participant

Well, we can’t afford any of those programs because we are richer than Denmark. So forget it.

May 26, 2016 at 11:04 pm #44826

zn
Moderator

Zooey wrote:

Well, we can’t afford any of those programs because we are richer than Denmark. So forget it.

Yeah well why don’t you go live in North Korea if you hate Denmark so much.

.

May 26, 2016 at 11:18 pm #44829

Billy_T
Participant

I don’t think the Danes go far enough. But, yeah, they’re light years ahead of us. As are Norway, Sweden, Finland — and to a slightly lesser extent, Germany, Switzerland, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, etc. Most of Europe kicks our ass in quality of life metrics. So does Canada. And several Asian nations.

Americans brought in roughly 14 trillion per year in income as of 2014 — that we know about. It’s likely several trillion more are unaccountable. Despite all the whining by the tea party (taxed enough already) crowd, Americans are at the bottom of the total taxation list for the OECD in most years. Generally speaking, no higher than third from the bottom. We could easily afford what Denmark does and far more, without breaking a sweat. It would just take raising the tax rates on the 1%, and I’d add several new (higher) tax brackets as well. When hedge fund managers routinely make billions, it’s pretty ridiculous to have a top rate of 400K.

Throw in a financial transaction tax — the Robin Hood Tax — and we could do all of that AND balance the budget.

Just go back to the tax rates we had under Ike (91% top rate) and we can pay for everything Denmark does and then some.

May 27, 2016 at 9:09 am #44844

wv
Participant

Zooey wrote:

Well, we can’t afford any of those programs because we are richer than Denmark. So forget it.

———–

LoL

Sometimes u hit chords as perfectly as Tom Tomorrow.

w
v

May 27, 2016 at 9:32 am #44848
wv
Participant
Yeah, Denmarkians are happier and have a better quality of life
and they do it all better. Most Smart people know that. Its a given.

Now the real issue To ME, is not whether and why Denmark (and other nations)
are Better than America — the issue to ME, is how and why the
corporate-media in America PREVENTS joe and jane amerika from KNOWING
this stuff. Denmark is totally completely uttlerly and forever-ly off the radar
in the corporate-media. They dont cover it. It might as well be Pluto.

Now why would that be?

Why do only certain nations exist to the corporate-media? Iran exists. North Korea exists. Iraq exists. Israel exists. Mexico exists. Some others.

But nations like Denmark? The ones that have a higher quality of life — not allowed to examine that or look at that, or show the joe and jane amerika anything about that.

Strange, aint it.

Ask joe or jane amerika what they associate ‘socialism’ with and they
will say Stalin or Hitler. Thats all they know. Other than, “its Failed everywhere”.

w
v
- This reply was modified 7 years, 12 months ago by wv.
May 27, 2016 at 10:18 am #44854

bnw
Blocked

I’ve traveled a fair amount and I’ve never met a Dane. Same for my son who spent 6 months in NZ and spent much time with people throughout the eurozone but likewise no Danes. Same for my wife who traveled much of Russia and into Japan and South Korea. We’ve met more people from Germany by far followed by the UK, France and Netherlands. Perhaps the Danes don’t have enough disposable income to travel given their highest rate of taxation in the world?

The upside to being a Rams fan is heartbreak.

Sprinkles are for winners.

May 27, 2016 at 10:36 am #44856
Billy_T
Participant
Perhaps the Danes don’t have enough disposable income to travel given their highest rate of taxation in the world?

Far too many Americans don’t understand the concept of disposable income. They seem to believe, at least indirectly or subconsciously, that it’s what you have left over after taxes.

No. It’s what you have left over after you’ve taken care of your tax commitments and your private sector commitments. Both. So if a society, via taxes, gives you far more for your tax dollars, so much more that your private sector transactions can be radically reduced, you end up with more disposable income, not less. And that is the case with Denmark and the Scandinavian countries. It costs them far less, between public and private outlays, to cover their necessities, and their necessities include things we Americans probably think of as luxuries: Universal health care, post-secondary education, paid leave out the ying yang, and so on.

In short, their standard of living, when you add public and private expenses, crushes ours, and they make more money on average than we do.

bnw, seriously. Do you really think that just because you and your wife didn’t bump into Danes that they don’t travel?
- This reply was modified 7 years, 12 months ago by Billy_T.
May 27, 2016 at 10:44 am #44858

Billy_T
Participant

WV,

You’ve probably already seen this study, but just in case:

Americans Want to Live in a Much More Equal Country (They Just Don’t Realize It)

The ignorance on the topic of inequality may have lessened a bit since 2012. But probably not that much. And the levels of inequality have actually gotten worse since then. But the study in question points out that most Americans would much rather live in a far more equal nation, and think they actually do. It’s also ironic that when asked, in a kind of blind taste test, to pick the ideal, they choose Sweden — again, without knowing it.

With this in mind, from the total pie of wealth (100%) what percent do you think the bottom 40% (that is, the first two buckets together) of Americans possess? And what about the top 20%? If you guessed around 9% for the bottom and 59% for the top, you’re pretty much in line with the average response we got when we asked this question of thousands of Americans.

The reality is quite different. Based on Wolff (2010), the bottom 40% of the population combined has only 0.3% of wealth while the top 20% possesses 84% (see Figure 2). These differences between levels of wealth in society comprise what’s called the Gini coefficient, which is one way to quantify inequality.

May 27, 2016 at 12:16 pm #44871

bnw
Blocked

Billy_T wrote:

Perhaps the Danes don’t have enough disposable income to travel given their highest rate of taxation in the world?

Far too many Americans don’t understand the concept of disposable income. They seem to believe, at least indirectly or subconsciously, that it’s what you have left over after taxes.

No. It’s what you have left over after you’ve taken care of your tax commitments and your private sector commitments. Both. So if a society, via taxes, gives you far more for your tax dollars, so much more that your private sector transactions can be radically reduced, you end up with more disposable income, not less. And that is the case with Denmark and the Scandinavian countries. It costs them far less, between public and private outlays, to cover their necessities, and their necessities include things we Americans probably think of as luxuries: Universal health care, post-secondary education, paid leave out the ying yang, and so on.

In short, their standard of living, when you add public and private expenses, crushes ours, and they make more money on average than we do.

bnw, seriously. Do you really think that just because you and your wife didn’t bump into Danes that they don’t travel?

We travel a lot. More than most. We don’t run into Danes. While it isn’t scientific, its interesting. Germans, Brits, French, Dutch, Japanese, Chinese always but can’t remember a single Dane.

The upside to being a Rams fan is heartbreak.

Sprinkles are for winners.

May 27, 2016 at 12:22 pm #44872

bnw
Blocked

wv wrote:

Yeah, Denmarkians are happier and have a better quality of life
and they do it all better. Most Smart people know that. Its a given.

Now the real issue To ME, is not whether and why Denmark (and other nations)
are Better than America — the issue to ME, is how and why the
corporate-media in America PREVENTS joe and jane amerika from KNOWING
this stuff. Denmark is totally completely uttlerly and forever-ly off the radar
in the corporate-media. They dont cover it. It might as well be Pluto.

Now why would that be?

Why do only certain nations exist to the corporate-media? Iran exists. North Korea exists. Iraq exists. Israel exists. Mexico exists. Some others.

But nations like Denmark? The ones that have a higher quality of life — not allowed to examine that or look at that, or show the joe and jane amerika anything about that.

Strange, aint it.

Ask joe or jane amerika what they associate ‘socialism’ with and they
will say Stalin or Hitler. Thats all they know. Other than, “its Failed everywhere”.

w
v

I’ve seen stories in the media about Denmark and recently too. This one from 60 minutes was 8 years ago-

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/kyle-drennen/2008/02/18/cbs-s-safer-u-s-should-be-more-denmark

The upside to being a Rams fan is heartbreak.

Sprinkles are for winners.

May 28, 2016 at 9:33 am #44908

canadaram
Participant

I enjoy reading about Scandinavia. My mother’s grandparents migrated from Finland and the families of my partner’s parents came from the region (mom born in Denmark; dad’s grandparents migrated from Finland). The area in which I live has many families Swedish, Finish or Danish heritage. Actually, it seems there are lots of Scandinvian ties from Minneapolis all up to my region of Lake Superior. While I consider myself somewhere near the centre of the political spectrum I’m always a little disappointed how negatively some people on this side of the ocean react to the Scandinavian way of doing things. I guess I’m not without my own biases, of course.

My great grandma considered herself a Red Guard Finn. She used to take part in secret meetings and sorts of shenanigans that the Canadian government used to fear back in the day.

http://warfarehistorian.blogspot.ca/2014/02/finlands-civil-war-1918-red-white-suomi.html

May 28, 2016 at 12:28 pm #44910

wv
Participant

canadaram wrote:

My great grandma considered herself a Red Guard Finn. She used to take part in secret meetings and sorts of shenanigans that the Canadian government used to fear back in the day.

http://warfarehistorian.blogspot.ca/2014/02/finlands-civil-war-1918-red-white-suomi.html

———————————————–
Interesting link about the Finnish Civil War and “Kinship Wars”. I did not expect to be learning about such things today.

The Internet. Ya just never know.

That finland-war-thingy seemed quite complicated. Kinda like the spanish civil war.

…i couldn’t find anything on the symbols or insignias of Finland’s Red guard. I’m always curious about flags, symbols, etc.

w
v
“….Finland’s Civil War left an indelible mark on the young nation’s psyche especially for such a small country. 35,000 Finns would perish in the civil war and the Kinship Wars, around 1 percent of the total population of the country at that time. Less than half of this number would be killed in engagements with the enemy, many more would perish in executions, persecutions, disease, or by famine throughout the conflict.

An independent Finland would remain a divided society long after the painful memories of the civil war had faded. Communist constituents gained seats in the republican government for many years thereafter and enjoyed a large and loyal following amongst the industrial workers and laborers of Finland until well into the 1980’s. White Guard and Jäger veterans of the civil war and the Heimosodat dominated army leadership until the 1960’s and their White political representatives would dominate Finland’s upper echelon of politics for many years after. The last White Guard President of Finland was Urho K. Kekkonen (1900-1986) who served as the 8th president of the republic from 1956-1982….

May 29, 2016 at 8:17 am #44935
canadaram
Participant
wv wrote:

That finland-war-thingy seemed quite complicated. Kinda like the spanish civil war.

The region Karelia is something that I heard my mother’s family talking about while I was growing up. I never really started taking much interest in Karelia until recently. These links include some pictures of flags and coats of arms.

http://heninen.net/flags/english.htm

http://www.conflicts.rem33.com/images/Finland/wat_is_karjala.htm
- This reply was modified 7 years, 11 months ago by canadaram.
May 31, 2016 at 10:37 pm #45160

Zooey
Participant

bnw wrote:

We travel a lot. More than most. We don’t run into Danes. While it isn’t scientific, its interesting. Germans, Brits, French, Dutch, Japanese, Chinese always but can’t remember a single Dane.

Welllll….anecdotal evidence doesn’t mean much, but I have encountered Danes in my travels enough that I don’t consider them a rarity. I met Danes in England, India, Thailand, and Hong Kong. In fact…though I hesitate to express this on the internet…my second favorite sexual encounter of all-time was with a Danish woman in Jakarta.

Oh, boy. I’m going to log off before I write a Penthouse letter that shames the entire board.

May 31, 2016 at 11:45 pm #45165

wv
Participant

Zooey wrote:

bnw wrote:

We travel a lot. More than most. We don’t run into Danes. While it isn’t scientific, its interesting. Germans, Brits, French, Dutch, Japanese, Chinese always but can’t remember a single Dane.

Welllll….anecdotal evidence doesn’t mean much, but I have encountered Danes in my travels enough that I don’t consider them a rarity. I met Danes in England, India, Thailand, and Hong Kong. In fact…though I hesitate to express this on the internet…my second favorite sexual encounter of all-time was with a Danish woman in Jakarta.

Oh, boy. I’m going to log off before I write a Penthouse letter that shames the entire board.

——————

Well, I for one, am glad you had a Great Dane
experience.

I think. I dunno.

w
v

May 31, 2016 at 11:46 pm #45166

bnw
Blocked

Zooey wrote:

bnw wrote:

We travel a lot. More than most. We don’t run into Danes. While it isn’t scientific, its interesting. Germans, Brits, French, Dutch, Japanese, Chinese always but can’t remember a single Dane.

Welllll….anecdotal evidence doesn’t mean much, but I have encountered Danes in my travels enough that I don’t consider them a rarity. I met Danes in England, India, Thailand, and Hong Kong. In fact…though I hesitate to express this on the internet…my second favorite sexual encounter of all-time was with a Danish woman in Jakarta.

Oh, boy. I’m going to log off before I write a Penthouse letter that shames the entire board.

I won’t be ashamed. Dish!

The upside to being a Rams fan is heartbreak.

Sprinkles are for winners.
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