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re: Facebook fun for the day: thoughts on Denmark Meme
Posted on 6/22/15 at 1:15 pm to Dawg in Beaumont
Posted on 6/22/15 at 1:15 pm to Dawg in Beaumont
quote:
Do you truly believe that the US has the worst gender inequality in the world?
That graphic is for OECD nations.
1
Posted on 6/22/15 at 1:20 pm to The Spleen
quote:
I'm just more commenting at the immediate dismissal and criticism of it by many here.
Many have the dogma of private business = good and government = bad.
It is a good exercise to see what other countries do and see if we can't copy off things they are successful at implimenting.
Posted on 6/22/15 at 1:29 pm to Duke
quote:
It is a good exercise to see what other countries do and see if we can't copy off things they are successful at implimenting.
There is no way that a large, multicultural nation like the U.S. can successfully implement anything resembling Scandinavian services. Social capital and cohesion, brought about by shared ethnicity, culture, history, values, etc., are what makes these systems work.
Posted on 6/22/15 at 1:30 pm to The Spleen
quote:
That graphic is for OECD nations.
quote:
Austria
Belgium
Canada
Denmark
France
Germany
Greece
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Luxembourg
The Netherlands
Norway
Portugal
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
United Kingdom
United States
That's like saying congrats on being the shortest NBA player on the championship team. You're still an NBA player on the championship team.
Half of the countries you listed, you literally have no opportunity to ever make more than a middle class life if you're not born into Royalty.
The bolded countries also have been borderline insolvent in the last couple of years.
Again, i like my chances.
I don't think that any of what they are doing is bad. It works for them and they seem to be happy. I don't view it as terrible, just not something that would work here.
In fact, it's what Bernie Sanders is espousing and while i find it misguided at worst, it's a much better brand of government than what leftists have been going for in the last few years and a lot more honest.
This post was edited on 6/22/15 at 1:37 pm
Posted on 6/22/15 at 1:50 pm to HempHead
I don't think the Denmark model would ever work here either.
Posted on 6/22/15 at 1:53 pm to Duke
quote:
I don't think the Denmark model would ever work here either.
I honestly think that Balkanization of a sort would lead to a more cohesive, happy populace in what we call America. I'm not entirely sure how this would affect global politics - it would certainly be an upheaval, but I can't make any good predictions. That said, I think we would all be better off by living in much smaller territories/nations in which values and culture are more aligned than what we currently have.
Posted on 6/22/15 at 2:05 pm to HempHead
quote:
I honestly think that Balkanization of a sort would lead to a more cohesive, happy populace in what we call America.
Interesting thought. It's near impossible for a central government to oversee a large and diverse nation like the USA. The challenges of the 21st century world will require governments to act nimbly, and that's not really the Feds MO.
quote:
That said, I think we would all be better off by living in much smaller territories/nations in which values and culture are more aligned than what we currently have.
I'm not sure we're all THAT different culturally across the United States. The benefit I see is more flexibility for regional governments to respond to the needs of their more specific economic/social realities.
Posted on 6/22/15 at 4:30 pm to heartbreakTiger
Denmark is a really cool place. I wouldn't mind living there.
About 8% of their people are immigrants. When you come to Denmark from elsewhere, they make you pledge to be fluent in Danish in a couple of years. ...and it is not just you, it is the whole family. They will provide you with the help that you need to get fluent, but they don't mess around with you if you don't/can't meet their requirements.
The tax rate is 55.6% these days. For someone making minimum wage, it is probably closer to 34%. That is not bad when you consider that you have full health coverage, child care, etc. If you are just leaving home, they will give you a place to live with furniture, dishes, sheets, etc. for 6 months to year so you can get established.
If your family is stuck in a cycle of welfare, they will come in and set up a plan for how and when you will get off of the dole, and you are going to get off the dole once that process starts. If you are a blithering idiot, they will, of course, take care of you. Otherwise, they will figure out what you and the rest of your family can do to be a productive member of society.
If you are young and don't have a job, in the US, they will give you unemployment. In Denmark, they would rather give early retirement to an older person and give the young person that job. In the long run, that is a better solution.
The biggest thing about Denmark is that they never stop trying to improve things. Social medicine was a mess when they first started. Then they decided to open more clinics to handle 90% of medical issues people have. They educated and employed a lot of Nurse Practitioners to see people at these clinics. If they can't fix you, they will send you on to a doctor and/or hospital. With emergencies, you go straight to the Emergency Room and see a doctor. The clinic system drastically cut their costs. They don't do free dental now because they never could figure that one out.
In Denmark, they say they are the happiest because they have the lowest expectations. Good enough is good enough as far as they are concerned. If you expect a lot out of your job or your marriage or your government or your doctor or whatever, then you are likely going to be disappointed a lot.
About 8% of their people are immigrants. When you come to Denmark from elsewhere, they make you pledge to be fluent in Danish in a couple of years. ...and it is not just you, it is the whole family. They will provide you with the help that you need to get fluent, but they don't mess around with you if you don't/can't meet their requirements.
The tax rate is 55.6% these days. For someone making minimum wage, it is probably closer to 34%. That is not bad when you consider that you have full health coverage, child care, etc. If you are just leaving home, they will give you a place to live with furniture, dishes, sheets, etc. for 6 months to year so you can get established.
If your family is stuck in a cycle of welfare, they will come in and set up a plan for how and when you will get off of the dole, and you are going to get off the dole once that process starts. If you are a blithering idiot, they will, of course, take care of you. Otherwise, they will figure out what you and the rest of your family can do to be a productive member of society.
If you are young and don't have a job, in the US, they will give you unemployment. In Denmark, they would rather give early retirement to an older person and give the young person that job. In the long run, that is a better solution.
The biggest thing about Denmark is that they never stop trying to improve things. Social medicine was a mess when they first started. Then they decided to open more clinics to handle 90% of medical issues people have. They educated and employed a lot of Nurse Practitioners to see people at these clinics. If they can't fix you, they will send you on to a doctor and/or hospital. With emergencies, you go straight to the Emergency Room and see a doctor. The clinic system drastically cut their costs. They don't do free dental now because they never could figure that one out.
In Denmark, they say they are the happiest because they have the lowest expectations. Good enough is good enough as far as they are concerned. If you expect a lot out of your job or your marriage or your government or your doctor or whatever, then you are likely going to be disappointed a lot.
Posted on 6/22/15 at 4:30 pm to heartbreakTiger
Ask her if she needs help moving.
Posted on 6/22/15 at 8:39 pm to heartbreakTiger
They left out the small population making it easier to do.
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