"It was not socialist policies that turned Sweden into one of the world’s richest countries. When Sweden got rich, it had one of the most open and deregulated economies in the world, and taxes were lower than in the United States and most other western countries. The Social Democrats kept most of those policies intact until the 1970s, when they thought that those excellent foundations—unprecedented wealth, a strong work ethic, an educated work force, world-class exports industries, and a relatively honest bureaucracy—were so stable that the government could tax and spend and build a generous cradle-to-grave welfare state on them.

They couldn’t. At least not without costs. Because that welfare state began to erode the conditions that had made the model viable in the first place. And the fourth richest country became the 14th richest within three decades.

Things have looked up a bit since for this small Nordic country. In the 1990s Sweden had another important reform period in response to sluggish growth and a severe banking crisis. Both Social Democrats and center-right parties contributed when marginal tax rates were reduced; markets for finance, electricity, telecom, and media were deregulated; the central bank was made independent; the pension system was reformed partly with personal accounts; private providers in health care and elderly care were welcomed; and a school voucher system was introduced. During the last few years, Swedish governments have reduced taxes substantially, from 52 to 44 percent of GDP, and abolished taxes on gifts, inheritance, wealth, and housing.

Sweden has yet again increased exports, created private-sector jobs, and seen economic progress that has outpaced the rest of Europe. Sweden has managed the financial crisis much better than most other countries, and public debt is around 30 percent of GDP. But that’s another story—though not entirely, because present-day Swedish liberalization and liberalizers have often been inspired by the history of Swedish individuals, reforms accomplished 150 years ago, and the unprecedented prosperity that they produced."


Full text



It's a long read, but well worth your time.

thanks for this. I'm working through it, very interesting.

Jesus fucking Christ!!!!!

Scandinavian tax rates seem high, but you actually get something for your taxes (good schools, medical, elder care, etc.)  It's not the middle class -> FSA wealth redistribution system we have here.

Dude, Sweden is like, Swiss. Everybody knows that.

the problem is when people here use them as an example success and want to model our system like theirs, but fail to consider the part in bold as a factor

the furniture is real nice...

The wordly arfcom know-it-alls will soon be here to correct the Swede...

I'm sorry OP, I can't read Swiss.

Our welfare state is different, but it doesn't really work here either. It's been eroding for the past two decades.

In another 20-30 years our tax rate might almost be decent.

I'm from Swaziland dammit!

Great read.

I had never heard of Chydenius.

Excellent read. Should be standard reading for those in congress.

Politicians and voters alike need to read it. In all countries.

Norway, duhhhh.




 

Based upon you picture, that's what I guessed.

Norway is a Swedish province.

Preachin' to the choir.

Is Swaziland a part of Detroit?

No, Swaziland is civilized in comparison.

I'm glad for you and all.  But lets get one fucking thing clear.  



The Govt consuming 44% of GDP isn't Lassie-Fair Capitalism.

Read the fucking article. We didn't have anything close to that tax rate in those days.

http://voices.yahoo.com/swedish-study-reveals-men-contract-std-4163825.html


Must be because they are so manly.
Socialized health care also plays a factor since drugs that are expensive in the US are subsidized there.

lol

I've never heard anyone brag about getting an STD. That article is BS.

Take in enough muslim immigrants and you'll be rich folk living in the hinterlands of your country watching your cities burn.

That's not the tax rate. There are different rates of taxation for different things (income, corporate, capital gains, etc.). But every country consumes a certain % of its GDP on everything government spends.

Sweden is NOT burning. Having a particular problem doesn't mean the country is lost.

You're like a broken record.

And the government was much smaller in those days.

I read your OP.  Do you know what GPD stands for?  It has nothing to do with how much tax you pay on your wooden shoes.

Sigh, read the fucking article.

She did it as he job. So, your tax dollars at work.

Not all research is government funded.

I thought you guys subsidized collage?

We do, but not all research is funded by taxes. Individuals and companies make donations all the time.

The truth doesn't change and there is a time to warn people before it is too late.

Experiments don't always work out you know.

Why does a country without a serious crime problem want to import one. Why does a country without a history of rioting want one.

We do have a history of riots. You know that since I've told you about it before, but I guess facts don't matter to people like you.

I got Chydenius in college from a girlfriend. That shit burns, man.



 

Interesting stuff

OP, I'm about 2/3 way through.  Where do you think gun laws fit into all of this?  I don't see it addressed but I'm still reading.

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Gun laws have generally been getting worse and worse ever since the 30's, though they're still better than many other European countries.

We're currently fighting unelected bureaucrats within the Police Service who wish to increase restrictions on their own initiative. We also have a couple of retarded politicians within some of the smaller parties who wish to infringe on our rights, but luckily we're getting support from other, more powerful, politicians.

Damn good read.  Thanks for sharing!

bump

I finished the article tonight.  What a great read!  I did not know all of that history and background on Sweden.  

It only helps reinforce how bad socialism/communism is, and how the U.S. started to head down that same path in the 1930's (at least).  There have been some big jumps since including Medicare/Medicaid in 1965, and then jumping forward to 2010 with Obamacare.  

It will be interesting to see if Sweden will continue to turn things around, and if the U.S. will begin to go down that same path.

I hope that we will continue on the current path. Even the Social Democrats have backed away from many of their far left positions out of fear of losing middle class voters.

However, even in the best case scenario it will take decades to get this country to where I want it to be.

Ain't nobody got time for that!

All I need to know about Sweden I learned from watching the Muppets, anyway.

The Muppets are racist.