Albert Einstein once stated that the definition of insanity was doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. For pretty much the entire history of Socialism this has been the primary argument used against the disciples of Marx. Communism and Socialism had disastrous results everywhere that it had been tried.
Of course their retort was always that their predecessors were “Doing it wrong.” When you study the history you find: The Bolsheviks hated the Mensheviks, because the Mensheviks were doing it wrong. Mao hated Stalin, because Stalin was doing it wrong. Pol Pot hated Mao, because Mao was doing it wrong. Are you starting to see a pattern here?
Than humble little Sweden entered the scene. Sweden boasts that it has found a middle ground between Capitalism and Socialism. All of the supposed experts state that the economy has all of the competitive aspects of a Capitalist system with strong welfare programs that border on Socialism.
Now if you really want to give yourself a headache, try finding a solid definition for what Socialism is. You can find a solid definition for Capitalism: More or less, if the Government is trying to take a cut in the business transaction than you do not have true Capitalism. You can find a solid definition for Communism: More or less, if you are acquiring a product or service from some other agent than the Government you do not have true Communism. So could anything in-between be characterized as a Socialist system? (Let the bickering commence)
Despite the claims by the Swedes that they still believe in some degree of Capitalism, the Socialists are trying to hog Sweden all to themselves as a victory for Marxism.
So there is some debate as to whether or not Sweden is entirely Socialist or not to begin with, even though they won’t claim they are entirely the advocates for Capitalism have a hard time seeing anything about their system that is friendly towards the idea of a free market.
People in Sweden are more economically equal, supposedly happier, they live longer, are more productive, have better sex, have whiter teeth, look better in a bathing suit, and are much more charismatic than us fat and ugly Americans.
When we whip out our CIA world factbook on the other hand, the raw numbers paint a completely different picture of Sweden.
Sweden is slightly larger than the state of California and boasts a population of a little more than 9 million. (No where near the population of the state of California) The GDP per capita is about $29k, where as the GDP per capita is about $44k in the United States. (So much for being more productive.)
While boasting an unemployment rate of 6%, this only includes those citizens listed as “Not employed, and currently looking for work.” This does not include the 1.5 million citizens that have exited the workforce altogether to live off the Government dole. (Once again, so much for being more productive.)
The average household income before taxes is the equivalent of $26k a year, compared to our $47k. This means that if Sweden were to become the 51rst state, it would officially be the poorest state in the union.
That $26k a year is before income taxes. Sweden holds one of the highest tax burdens in the world with an income tax of around 55%. Sales taxes on some items reach upwards of 22%. I know in the United States the average citizen works from January through May just to pay all of their taxes. I wonder how many months out of the year the average Swede is working to pay all of their taxes. The general consensus is that all that one can afford in Sweden is what the Government decides to hand out after raping you blind. Someone once told me that the nature of Government in America is to break your legs and than hand you a crutch. In Sweden it would appear that they gut you like a fish and than hand you a band-aid.
This is coupled with a very negative attitude towards business. Though a more lax tax policy during the 90% did see an increase of business startups by 25%, we still have not seen an Erickson or an IKEA emerge since the late 70’s. In an interview with Forbes magazine IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad stated that Swedish Tax bureaucrats were relentless and often would attack him with the tired cliché of “You’re only in it for profits!” Um yeah, somewhere these bureaucrats forgot that the first lesson in business school is that the business of business is business, without the profit motive there is no business. Than again, without a profit motive society in general comes to a grinding halt because, like it or not, it is human nature to address the question of, “What’s in it for me?” Try telling someone that they have to shovel Hippopotamus crap for 12 hours a day not because the pay is good but because they are doing some sort of great service to humanity and you are going to have a hard time filling that position.
So with the business sector constantly under attack, the growth of new industry stunted and with outrageous taxes I would say it would be pretty pointless to try to hold down a job in Sweden. If it were me, I’d just go on the dole.
Let us not also forget Sweden’s healthcare system. We all know that health care in America is in the crapper, but is that because of greedy capitalists in a health care system governed by profits or is it because the American health care system isn’t all too dissimilar from other health care systems around the world with the exception that the bill goes right to the consumer from the health care practitioner and not from the practitioner to the Government and than to the consumer via taxes? The American health care system is so bogged down in Government regulation that I would hardly call it capitalist.
So does Sweden’s health care system work much better? Well despite what many would like to think, there are a lot of raw materials, land, and investment capital required to keep any medical practice chugging along and thus healthcare can never really be “free” (But than again, the first lesson of Economics is that everything has a price. There is no such thing as a “free lunch”)
The increasing costs of healthcare have put a strain on Government budgets, so they have taken the only rational measure and have imposed health care rations. If you are diagnosed with a serious condition that required immediate surgery, you could find yourself on a waiting list for a year or more. (Even though the maximum is supposed to be 90 days) Not to mention that your choice of providers is pretty narrow thanks to all the red tape you have to jump through just to be seen by a physician in the first place.
The sad thing about this is that even with Sweden’s supposed “Socialist” health care policy and our “Capitalistic” policy. The United States spends 18.5% of Government revenues on health care while Sweden pays almost a full percentage point less. (So how in line with the free market again?)
But Sweden does boast a higher life expectancy that in the United States. The average life expectance in the US is only 79.5 years, while in Sweden it’s monumentally higher at 80.1 years. Of course this isn’t accounting for underlying issues like the enormous amount of automobile deaths in the US. In fact auto deaths are the number 1 way to go in the US if you are under 35. In Sweden… well good luck affording a car in the first place. I guess the bus system is adequate though.
So if health and wealth aren’t all they are cracked up to be in Sweden, how are we doing as far as providing entertainment and distractions for how miserable it is to be buried in 8 feet of snow for 9 months out of the year?
The general consensus that I have found from the Swedes themselves is that they would much rather be in Denmark. Pretty much everything is the same regarding the economics and healthcare, but they have better weather and better entertainment at least.
The picture that the average Swede paints sounds like Salt Lake City on steroids. The winters are very harsh (though in Salt Lake City the summers are too, but at least we get a summer here.) While most of the population of Utah is Mormon, an overwhelming majority of Swede’s are Lutheran. The religious sensibilities of the population at large naturally means draconian regulation and taxation as far as vices go (Though the religious right is saying that no one in Sweden actually goes to church and they are all closet Atheists. Apparently Socialism and Atheism always go hand in hand.) . At least Stockholm is seen more often in world tour lineups than Salt Lake City.
So what happens when you have a large amount of the population that is unemployed and you give them nothing to preoccupy them selves with? Surprise! Crime and the suicide rate have been increasing. Crime rates in Sweden rose 61% from 1975-1990. The crime rates have been increasing still but only by about 1% or so a year since 1990. The big problem the police say that they have now is organized crime in Sweden. While the number of crimes hasn’t been increasing at a monumental rate since 1990 at least, the caliber of crimes committed is getting nastier. While shotguns used to be the weapon of choice as far as gun crime went, police report that they now are seeing more automatic weapons and explosives like hand grenades. While Sweden and Denmark have a ways to go to catch up with US crime rates, according to the World Health Organization we have a ways to go to catch up with Suicide rates in Denmark and Sweden. In 2008 Denmark ranked number 27 on the list of countries where you are most likely to kill yourself, with Sweden directly below it at 28. The US came in on the list at 42. All over the world (Except Japan and China) men seem to be killing themselves far more often than women. In Denmark and Sweden, while men still kill themselves a lot more often nearly twice as many women per capita are killing themselves The WHO (not the band) is rather concerned with the fact that a significant amount of women and youths tend to pull the plug if they happen to live in Sweden. Does it really suck that bad to be a woman in Sweden? I guess at least it doesn’t suck as much as it does to be a woman in China.
So in a nutshell, the numbers don’t have me convinced enough to start putting my immigration paperwork together. If we start following in Sweden’s footsteps on the other hand, I might have to try out Hong Kong, or Dubai. Or maybe I can find enough money in the couch cushions to buy Djibouti. You don’t have to take my word for it though, if you are still convinced that Sweden is so great… please move! Go and enjoy Sweden and quit telling me that we should try to be more like them. I am perfectly happy to be writing this article in grand American fashion, sweaty and in nothing but my underwear at 4am, and you better not take that away from me!
