- Sep 26, 2000
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To hear tell here on P&N Obama is making the US socialist and thats the end of our economy.
Yet, the US isn't one tenth as "socialist" as many of the countries in Europe.
So, why haven't the European countries gone to hell yet?
Take Sweden:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweden#Economy
Sweden is an export-oriented market economy featuring a modern distribution system, excellent internal and external communications, and a skilled labour force. Timber, hydropower, and iron ore constitute the resource base of an economy heavily oriented toward foreign trade. Sweden's engineering sector accounts for 50% of output and exports. Telecommunications, the automotive industry and the pharmaceutical industries are also of great importance. Agriculture accounts for 2 percent of GDP and employment.
Norway:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norway#Economy
Norwegians enjoy the second highest GDP per-capita (after Luxembourg) and third highest GDP (PPP) per-capita in the world. Norway has maintained first place in the world in the UNDP Human Development Index (HDI) for six consecutive years (2001-2006).[
The Norwegian economy is an example of a mixed economy, featuring a combination of free market activity and large government ownership. The government has large ownership positions in key industrial sectors, such as the strategic petroleum sector (StatoilHydro), hydroelectric energy production (Statkraft), aluminum production (Norsk Hydro), the largest Norwegian bank (DnB NOR) and telecommunication provider (Telenor). The government controls 31.6% of publicly-listed companies. When non-listed companies are included the state has even higher share in ownership (mainly from direct oil license ownership).
France:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France#Economy
A member of the G8 group of leading industrialised countries, it is ranked as the sixth largest economy by nominal GDP.
France's economy combines extensive private enterprise (nearly 2.5 million companies registered) with substantial (though declining) government intervention (see dirigisme). The government retains considerable influence over key segments of infrastructure sectors, with majority ownership of railway, electricity, aircraft, and telecommunications firms. It has been gradually relaxing its control over these sectors since the early 1990s. The government is slowly selling off holdings in France Télécom, Air France, as well as the insurance, banking, and defence industries. France has an important aerospace industry led by the European consortium Airbus, and has its own national spaceport, the Centre Spatial Guyanais.
By any standard, even with France reducing government participation, they are light years more involved in their economy than the US will be even if every 'socialist" program of Obamas goes thru.
Why haven't these "socialist" countries self destructed due to the advanced state of socialism?
Or, could it be that there is some amount of socialism that works well in a modern industrialized society?
And have the Europeans found they had gone to far, and is the US finding out it has not gone far enough?
Yet, the US isn't one tenth as "socialist" as many of the countries in Europe.
So, why haven't the European countries gone to hell yet?
Take Sweden:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweden#Economy
Sweden is an export-oriented market economy featuring a modern distribution system, excellent internal and external communications, and a skilled labour force. Timber, hydropower, and iron ore constitute the resource base of an economy heavily oriented toward foreign trade. Sweden's engineering sector accounts for 50% of output and exports. Telecommunications, the automotive industry and the pharmaceutical industries are also of great importance. Agriculture accounts for 2 percent of GDP and employment.
Norway:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norway#Economy
Norwegians enjoy the second highest GDP per-capita (after Luxembourg) and third highest GDP (PPP) per-capita in the world. Norway has maintained first place in the world in the UNDP Human Development Index (HDI) for six consecutive years (2001-2006).[
The Norwegian economy is an example of a mixed economy, featuring a combination of free market activity and large government ownership. The government has large ownership positions in key industrial sectors, such as the strategic petroleum sector (StatoilHydro), hydroelectric energy production (Statkraft), aluminum production (Norsk Hydro), the largest Norwegian bank (DnB NOR) and telecommunication provider (Telenor). The government controls 31.6% of publicly-listed companies. When non-listed companies are included the state has even higher share in ownership (mainly from direct oil license ownership).
France:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France#Economy
A member of the G8 group of leading industrialised countries, it is ranked as the sixth largest economy by nominal GDP.
France's economy combines extensive private enterprise (nearly 2.5 million companies registered) with substantial (though declining) government intervention (see dirigisme). The government retains considerable influence over key segments of infrastructure sectors, with majority ownership of railway, electricity, aircraft, and telecommunications firms. It has been gradually relaxing its control over these sectors since the early 1990s. The government is slowly selling off holdings in France Télécom, Air France, as well as the insurance, banking, and defence industries. France has an important aerospace industry led by the European consortium Airbus, and has its own national spaceport, the Centre Spatial Guyanais.
By any standard, even with France reducing government participation, they are light years more involved in their economy than the US will be even if every 'socialist" program of Obamas goes thru.
Why haven't these "socialist" countries self destructed due to the advanced state of socialism?
Or, could it be that there is some amount of socialism that works well in a modern industrialized society?
And have the Europeans found they had gone to far, and is the US finding out it has not gone far enough?