Some Facts About Norway

[Webruary]

Norway has been a focus of discussion recently because of the Norwegian UN official, Jan Egeland, who called Western response to the Tsuanmi disaster, "stingy". My friend received a message from a Pal in Norway explaining what Norway is like, thought I'd like to share it with you.

This is the kind of life, most Scandinavians prefer as opposed to most Americans..

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Some Facts about Norway

I heard a lot of talking about Norwegian taxes and I think some are going over board. Norway has high taxes, too high, but you have to consider that in the taxes we pay we get "free education", Free dentist to the age of 18", free medicare and pretty good pensions compare to other countries etc. Taxes are top 28% at 55000 dollars. We get deducted 28% of interest on loans, like houseloans. Companies pay 12% of yearly wage in Summer Holiday money, this is not taxed. November has half tax.

No tax on the first 5000 dollars. I paid 5% tax when I earn 12000 dollars on my Summer job when I went to university. My dad earned 150000 dollars and paid 30% taxes. He is a part owner of a company. Acctually private enterprises are not scarce like you think. There are many ways to get taxes deducted.


Cars are expensive , but there are still many BMW, Mercedes and Audis on the road. My friend that is 27 has a new Porche convertible. My other friends that I went in class with from 1-9 grades have boats that are worth more than a million dollars and 200000 dollars etc. More examples from my class, but just to give a picture of life here. And I am not from a big city. I am from a place were middle class people live.

Up to the age of 32 you can pitch in money on a youth savings account for future house buying that gives you deduction on taxes pitch in 2500 dollars and you get 420 dollars in tax deduction.

But of course taxes are to high, but the governing parties are working on it. Like our FED EX is not state run, older peoples communities are both public and private own so are kindergartens, dentists are private, there are private hostpitals that you can pay money to get operated in.

So things are changing rapidly and private business and cost saving is a goal. And taxes will be lower compare to other countries in the future.

[Beowulf]

Well, I will say this. At least people in Norway know where there tax money is going but I won't yet say "they're getting what they pay for."

How good is there education? If their healthcare system is like Canada's, you know, free but rationed, how good is it?

If those two systems are good then I'll speak positively of it.

[Webruary]

Well, I will say this. At least people in Norway know where there tax money is going but I won't yet say "they're getting what they pay for."

How good is there education? If their healthcare system is like Canada's, you know, free but rationed, how good is it?

If those two systems are good then I'll speak positively of it.
I can't speak for healthcare, but I remember sending a post of an OECD study of Global Math skills of 15 year olds. Using the OECD's adjusted average score of 500 points, the U.S. scored 483 -- 61 points behind top-scoring Finland and 51 points behind Japan. In a wider group that also included 10 nonmembers, many of them developing nations, the U.S. tied Latvia for 27th place. The bad news is likely to be repeated next week with the expected release of another international math comparison. The U.S. scored near the bottom of that survey, the Trends in International Math and Science Survey, or Timss, when it was conducted four years ago..

Here is the list in ranking order:

The results can be found here :
http://www.pisa.oecd.org/dataoecd/25/12/34009000.pdf


Country Math score


Hong Kong-China 550
Finland
South Korea
Japan

Netherlands
Liechtenstein
Belgium
Macao-China
Switzerland
Australia
New Zealand

Canada
Czech Republic
Iceland
Denmark
France
Sweden
Austria
Germany
Ireland
Slovak Republic
Norway
Luxembourg
Poland
Hungary
Spain
Latvia
United States 483
Russian Federation
Portugal
Italy
Greece
Serbia
Turkey
Uruguay
Thailand
Mexico
Indonesia
Tunisia
Brazil

[DoctorDoom]

The author has the same illusion that all loyal, indoctrinated socialists have: whatever they don't personally pay for is "free". TANSTAAFL.

The fools are oblivious to the fact that SOMEONE is paying for their "free" services. Usually it's the productive members of society whose outrageous taxes underwrite the "free" care of the non-producers. Leeches never appreciate the "contributions" of their blood sources.

Give me the US health system any day. I'd rather pay and keep my health care between my doctor and me than to get "free" care based on what some pencil-necked bureaucrat thinks I should have.

[PaulRevere]

oh blow me. Norway has a small population and is funded by North Sea OIL!!!!!!!!!!!!

Socialists with lots of oil money to spend - splurging it on the present population and saving nothing for the future. I don't know if the Norweigan is intentionally neglicting this fact or is too stupid to realize it, but I'm sick to death of socialist apologists spinning the truth about socialism.

When the oil is gone, they will be back to the same struggling socialists like in Sweden and Denmark.

PS: and whatever you heard about Sweden or Denmark being so great, don't believe it. They are nations of serfs with high unemployment rates and stifled private sector economies.

[DesertFox]

Socialism is usually "good" for the first-in-line of the first generation. Thereafter it's all downhill, it goes that way quickly, and it just gets worse and worse.

[Faithful_Servant]

I can't speak for healthcare, but I remember sending a post of an OECD study of Global Math skills of 15 year olds. Using the OECD's adjusted average score of 500 points, the U.S. scored 483 -- 61 points behind top-scoring Finland and 51 points behind Japan. In a wider group that also included 10 nonmembers, many of them developing nations, the U.S. tied Latvia for 27th place. The bad news is likely to be repeated next week with the expected release of another international math comparison. The U.S. scored near the bottom of that survey, the Trends in International Math and Science Survey, or Timss, when it was conducted four years ago..

Here is the list in ranking order:

The results can be found here :
http://www.pisa.oecd.org/dataoecd/25/12/34009000.pdf


Country Math score


Hong Kong-China 550
Finland
South Korea
Japan

Netherlands
Liechtenstein
Belgium
Macao-China
Switzerland
Australia
New Zealand

Canada
Czech Republic
Iceland
Denmark
France
Sweden
Austria
Germany
Ireland
Slovak Republic
Norway
Luxembourg
Poland
Hungary
Spain
Latvia
United States 483
Russian Federation
Portugal
Italy
Greece
Serbia
Turkey
Uruguay
Thailand
Mexico
Indonesia
Tunisia
Brazil Web, the only problem with these numbers is the fact that they're completely screwed-up. Most countries have separate schools for college track vs. vo-tech kids. The numbers that these countries report aren't based on all of the schools, they're based on the college track ones. IOW, they aren't comparing apples to apples. In the few studies where both college track and vo-tech were reported combined the US came out in the top 5 in every category. These numbers are 100% spin.

[CzechPrince]

Scandinavian nations tend to have very high literacy rates and, on average, live longer than most people around the world. Several points about this.

Number one, as someone pointed out, Norway like much of Europe, separates children at an early age as to what route they will go, either secondary education such as college/university or vocational, like a tech school. Schooling over there is appreciated, and taken seriously, since there is only room for the best and the brightest to be in the state funded Universities. Logically, if the government is paying for it, they don't want to waste it on a kid who is not bright or has a poor work ethic. Now, as to learning disabilities, I do not know how they work with that.

Secondly, Scandinavian nations for the OVERWHELMING part, have homogeneous populations. Thus, their health problems are limited, especially genetic ones. Also, this one is debateable, and I am not saying mixed people of any race are inferior or whatever, (since I am half Czech and Cherokee and I am at UVA which is a damn good school, and I worked for it) but some researchers are saying based on their pure genes, they are capeable to retaining and learning information better.

It would explain why Asian students are so brilliant, but also those cultures have very strong work ethics. There is a book called, "The Bell Curve" that is very controversial and supports this, I have read it, and I must say it is very convincing.

[DesertFox]

Read The Bell Curve Wars too, and then be sure and read Murray's rejoinder to his attackers in the foreword of subsequent editions of The Bell Curve. The libs went ballistic over The Bell Curve, mainly because they never read it all the way thru and hence spent a great deal of time and energy shouting about things the book never said.

You're right. The Bell Curve is an excellent book that makes perfect sense. Certain traits clearly run more strongly in one race or ethnic group than others, though all human traits occur in all races and all the races produce geniuses and morons. It's just stupid to ignore the evidence and put off-limits any discussion of genetic inheritance. Better to study the issue scientifically and find out just what's going on, than pretend we're all the same bland brand of meat.

[CzechPrince]

Exactly. Data is data, you can't sugarcoat it.