Round the World Writer: Socialism Norwegian Style

“The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.”
~ William Arthur Ward

August 10, 2019 ~ Sea Day

I promised to talk about Norway’s socialist democracy. As a disclaimer, let me begin by saying this is only my opinion. You're free to disagree. The nice thing about being an American is that we can say anything we like as long as we respect each other.

But because so many people in my own country are proposing we change to this system, I thought it might be appropriate to share my observations of the Scandinavian version of socialism. (Venezula’s collapse under the same system is never mentioned by those who hail socialism as the future, but then it wouldn’t be, would it?)

Our guide in Stavanger assured us that Norwegians are protected from cradle to grave. They are given many goodies—free universal healthcare (with a nominal fee for each doctor appointment), free public schooling (including university except for room, board and books), and generous maternity leave (full pay for 9 months and a guaranteed job to return to!). If a person loses their job, they receive full pay for 2 years while they find another. Salaries average 50K a year. Unemployment is about 4%.

“It works,” our guide told us. (Though evidently not for all because we were greeted by a homeless beggar in Bergen. I have to admit that surprised me.)

There are a couple of things to consider about the Norway that are much different than the US. For one, Norway has a relatively small population, only about 5 million people, or 1.8 per square mile of land. The cost of living is 60% HIGHER than any other European nation. I’m not sure what sort of property and income taxes they pay, but there is a 25% VAT on goods. With a Value Added Tax, the 25% is paid each time a product changes hands—producer, wholesaler, distributer, merchant and finally consumer. No wonder the COL is so high.

The government also receives almost unlimited buckets of money from oil. In 1969, oil was discovered in the North Sea. The wealth has been flowing in ever since. This bounty subsidizes the socialist system and keeps all the goodies afloat.

And here is a bit of a conundrum for the Norwegian people. As committed environmentalists, they eschew using petrol products themselves. In fact, even though they have plenty of oil, their gasoline sells for about 15.75 Kroner per liter ($1.00 = @ 6 Kroner), so electric cars are encouraged. They have so many waterfalls in the mountains, hydro-electric power is their “white gold.” (However, our guide admits that Norwegians suffer from “range anxiety” in the winter when running the heater severeIy restricts battery life in their cars.) Still, the country’s stated environmental goal is Zero emissions by 2030.

However, while they reject oil, they have no problem selling it to others. In fact, their way of life depends upon it.

Make of that what you will. But I wonder what will happen when the oil finally dries up or their Green activists convince them to stop drilling.

What I glean from what I’ve learned is that while some of our politicians may point to Scandinavian style socialism as a viable option for the US, there are many differences that would make its adoption difficult. We are a much larger population. NYC alone is many times the population of Norway. We don’t have a bottomless source of OtherPeople’sMoney (Norway’s revenue from the sale of nationalized oil). Americans are tax averse. A 25% VAT would be a terrible gut punch to our economy.

It’s like Margaret Thatcher said, “The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money.”

That hasn’t changed. Socialism tends to fall under its own weight. No matter who tries it.

August 11, 2019

Last night we said goodbye to our friends from Bristol. They were lovely tablemates this week.