Economist: Best countries to be born

[ManAbout]

So even if we assume that the US has suffered from" rampant socialism" the main culprits to this would thus be... Republicans!

I would have thought that the sarcasm in my post would have been obvious, given that the top ten countries in that list are hated socialist utopias that the US is afraid of turning into.

 

[kosko]

I think Norway is up there because of its no debt, and its super sovereign wealth fund. Fucking thing is like $600,000,000,000. For a tiny country. Give them 20 more years and none of those mother fuckers will ever have to work again because they will all be living off interest. That fund was started in the early 90's and they built it up to that much wealth in 20 years.

Its a shame other countries rich in resources can't accomplish that, ie Canada. More specifically Alberta. Oil around a 100 bucks a barrel for most of 2012 and they are running a deficit of over 3 billion.

I think it would be too hard for Canada to accomplish such a thing, especially when compared to Norway. Norway is a country of under 5 million, with a largely homogeneous culture and population, whereas here in Canada, "Multiculturalism" is an official policy.

It would be hard to implement it in just one province, Quebec managed to have a good welfare state during the Quiet Revolution, but their separatist sentiments led to straining their economy. Alberta did have the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund which received a large chunk of Oil royalties with the goal being similar to Norway's fund. But damn politicians stopped sending off royalties to the fund and it has been largely drained in the past two decades. Alberta and Saskatchewan, more so the latter, both early on pointed to them developing as a welfare state taking advantage of their resource wealth. The 80's sort of ended that unfortunately.

Canada DID do things like this. The bones such as a the CPP, Canada Medicare, Underwritten Tuition (school was not free here but the Govt gave you loans which limited the ability for costs to soar), etc. All of these things were started because at 25-35 million people whom only live on 0.8% of the land surface and abundant resources Canada could easily provide top-notch services for its citizens. The same was true in Australia as well I believe.

What happen in Canada was three events.

1st. To join the G7 Canada had to give up its sovereign right to create its own currency and adopted the private model of the 'Private Central Bank' which was a requirement of all the members in the G7. In those days Canada freely developed infrastructure and funded exploration projects for Gas and Oil. Even in the parts I am from the Crown Corporation invented the first Commercial Fibre Optic network and Cable Video on Demand. The research behind this was all done in 70's with abundant debt-free money.

2nd. Mulroney sold of key Canadian industries for next to nothing in a fire sale to raise cash, and would end up bankrupting the Country in due time (see point 3).

3rd. Canada was basically bankrupt in the early 1990's it had to take out loans from the IMF and with that had to adopt IMF "recovery packages" which lead to the squeezing, gutting, or capping of key Government services. The University one is a key example before then The Govt gave Student loans out at next to no interest. After the IMF conditions Students Loans where now dealt via Private Banks (RBC, CIBC, BMO, etc), the Govt only now could act as middle-man and keep interest payments of the students shoulders. After this move Tuition costs have gone up in a lot of places 120%.

Canada has by some estimates 100 Trillion in untapped wealth in Canada and yet we still run deficits each year. This was all done by design to limit the sovereign power and ability to leverage these resources for the nations good. Instead private bankers leech and get most of the benefits of Canadian resources not Canadian citizens. In Canada we scrape of Royalties while in Norway they develop and sell all of their key resources.

The Norway model is ideal. It is far from socialism making sure your citizens have a good education, good health, and to make sure they have a full stomach is an investment in the future. A nations top resources are its citizens and if they do not invest in their citizens properly they end up going into the shitter in due time.

So even if we assume that the US has suffered from" rampant socialism" the main culprits to this would thus be... Republicans!

I would have thought that the sarcasm in my post would have been obvious, given that the top ten countries in that list are hated socialist utopias that the US is afraid of turning into.

The USA is probably the most Socialist nation on earth. Look how much money the pump in to subsidize select areas of the economy. Everything from the roads to the military is heavily fronted and propped up by the Government. The difference is very little goes to benefiting the people, most of it just goes to benefit the extreme wealth .5%.

 

[Sherman]

I have lived in several countries, and it is still hard to beat the US for comfort, convenience, and an unlimited number of useful things to buy for a cheap price.

 

[T and A Man]

The USA is probably the most Socialist nation on earth.

No.

Just no.

 

[rudebwoy]

I hate these type of lists.

I would love to be born in any country that pays my education after high school, I believe Roosh said Denmark pays for a Master's program.

I also believe Saudi's get alot of handouts from the government, for things like marriage and buying property.

Life is hard enough, a little help along the way does not hurt.

How can Ireland, Greece and Spain be so high up on this list? Not a great time for these countries at the moment.

Scandinavian countries "pay" your tuition. I know that in Sweden it's free only if you're EU citizen. Germany and Switzerland also have low tuitions. But cost of living in these countries is very high.

Apparently the list as more to it than merely economic factors. Freedom, access to basic needs, etc.

Is this a bad thing? Should it not be free for Swedes alone.
In Canada I know guys that pay $900 a year to park there cars at University. In Montreal earlier this year people were rioting over the increasing cost of University.

 

[porscheguy]

The USA is probably the most Socialist nation on earth. Look how much money the pump in to subsidize select areas of the economy. Everything from the roads to the military is heavily fronted and propped up by the Government. The difference is very little goes to benefiting the people, most of it just goes to benefit the extreme wealth .5%.

You are correct. But even though the US is the world's most socialist nation when it comes to the protection of the top 1%, we prefer to call this "proof that the free market works." Only when you implement programs to benefit the lower is socialism actually called socialism.

 

[Wreckingball]

I hate these type of lists.

I would love to be born in any country that pays my education after high school, I believe Roosh said Denmark pays for a Master's program.

I also believe Saudi's get alot of handouts from the government, for things like marriage and buying property.

Life is hard enough, a little help along the way does not hurt.

How can Ireland, Greece and Spain be so high up on this list? Not a great time for these countries at the moment.

Scandinavian countries "pay" your tuition. I know that in Sweden it's free only if you're EU citizen. Germany and Switzerland also have low tuitions. But cost of living in these countries is very high.

Apparently the list as more to it than merely economic factors. Freedom, access to basic needs, etc.

Is this a bad thing? Should it not be free for Swedes alone.
In Canada I know guys that pay $900 a year to park there cars at University. In Montreal earlier this year people were rioting over the increasing cost of University.

I don't think it's a bad thing. several students proceed find a job in sweden, and working for the country. and while you're there, you're using your money to boost sweden's economy.

 

[bacon]

the welfare state which exists in the us looks after the poor and the old. it also takes care of government workers who are difficult to fire and have great retirement programs. i have trouble viewing the country as a capatalist when it has more of a socialist mindset than most countries on the planet.

 

[HiFlo]

This list is fucking stupid.

I was born in America and am fully American. I don't really like Americans. But what the fuck am I gonna do? Move to switzerland? I'm already americanized and gonna connect with the Swiss like water sticks to tape.

Can I die and get reborn as a the prince of Monaco? No. So whats the point of this silly list.

 

[Asaxon]

The point is to measure quality of life and development outcomes which can be highly insightful when comparing policies and general trends... You also cannot change history but it is a worthwhile discipline to study.

 

[Joga Bonito]

Ireland has actually turned itself around the last 6 months and their gdp grew 0.6 this period. They've weathered the crisis and accepted the austerity measures.

The Irish economy is doing better by virtue of unprecedented growth in the export sector, where they are performing as well as they ever have historically. Whether or not this is sustainable remains to be seen, since it's dependent on external demand. 0.6% growth is pretty paltry however. The austerity measures on the other hand have really destroyed the morale of the people as they take the streets. The government is also auctioning off the economy to private interests that are also unsecured, sowing the seeds for further destruction in the long term. As a matter of fact, you'll be hard pressed to find any examples where austerity actually works historically. That's because the premise is inherently flawed. Cut social services and raise taxes, while unemployment goes up and wages drop. Sounds like a great way to improve the economy and galvanize consumption.

 

[Emancipator]

I think austerity works, but only if the government does it when the economy is strong. Keynesian economics IMO works best when the economy is bad, but should not be continued after the economy recovers as it is not sustainable.

A good example of austerity done right is here in Canada in the 90's. Chretien and his finance minister Paul Martin slashed spending while keeping our taxes at the same level. Of course the cut in spending hurt the economy, but the Bank of Canada lowered interest rates and due to the fact the economy was doing well allowed the government to earn fiscal surpluses with a larger tax revenue which were used to pay off the national debt. Of course some social services were weakened, but using austerity in good economic times is beneficial, unlike Greece or other European nations that kept using Keynesian and ended up in the mess they're in now.

 

[Joga Bonito]

I think austerity works, but only if the government does it when the economy is strong. Keynesian economics IMO works best when the economy is bad, but should not be continued after the economy recovers as it is not sustainable.

A good example of austerity done right is here in Canada in the 90's. Chretien and his finance minister Paul Martin slashed spending while keeping our taxes at the same level. Of course the cut in spending hurt the economy, but the Bank of Canada lowered interest rates and due to the fact the economy was doing well allowed the government to earn fiscal surpluses with a larger tax revenue which were used to pay off the national debt. Of course some social services were weakened, but using austerity in good economic times is beneficial, unlike Greece or other European nations that kept using Keynesian and ended up in the mess they're in now.

Yeah, Canada had very special circumstances that helped them in this regard:
-Demand in the US and China was exceptionally strong. Demand in the US has fallen quite precipitously since then(90's). World GDP as a whole was rising.
-Banking was never deregulated, lending was still happening
-Chinese commodities boom
-And a few other reasons like positive immigration growth and currency devalutation

As you said, the Eurozone economies are in much worse shape than Canada was in the early 90's, almost to the point of depression(in some cases). Those measures Canada took in the 90's being applied now would be disastrous.

 

[jerome]

Like most best city or country report, it usually written by someone thats never been there....

Taiwan, Hong Kong and ireland ahead of USA?

WTF...

I have never met anyone who rather live in those country versus the US....Most young people in Ireland leave to find work in London or the USA.....

HK is super expensive and fucking crowded...the place is rich and poor.....the only good thing is no corporate tax....

I'm guessing the economist is basing it on a rich man point of view....

It would be great to be a rich dude in HK, but if you were rich would you want to live in Taiwan or Ireland?