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Denmark

 
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 19, 2016 6:55 am    Post subject: Denmark Reply with quote

PeakTrader:

“The minimum wage in Denmark is about twice that of the United States, and people who are totally out of the labor market or unable to care for themselves have a basic income guarantee of about $100 per day.” – Bernie Sanders

I wonder if he understands the concept of “incentives.”

If someone in Denmark makes $15 an hour or $600 a week (assuming a 40 hour workweek and no taxes), then why lose money by working?

Here’s what someone from Britain, who moved to Denmark, said a few years ago:

“The Nordic Countries “success story” economies are a joke. I’ve been living here the last couple of years after being dragged here by my wife, and trying to run your business here is tough. It just isn’t a business friendly place at all. Taxes in Denmark are 60-odd % as soon as you have the cheek to earn more than £35,000 a year! My guess is that 50-70% of the population are in government jobs, and they rely heavily on exports of oil, timber and fish in order to generate the foreign earnings to pay for it all.”

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The Danes seem willing to work and pay high taxes for a strong safety net. Someone from Britain may not want to live in a society where human potential is constrained by equality. What may work in a small homogeneous country may not work in a large diversified country.

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Car ownership is low in Denmark, because prices of cars are very high, the sales tax on a new car is 180%, and gasoline was over $8 a gallon not long ago. It seems, they ride bicycles often, while being drunk, and take a lot of “happy” pills. I wonder what kind of houses they live in? I heard, a meal at a cheap restaurant is 50% higher than the U.S..

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Also, I heard, parking tickets are high.

“There is a certain sense that the driver should be slightly ashamed to be driving a car at all. Real Danes drive bicycles.

This is partly a tenet of environmentalism – the Danish national religion – and partly because of an egalitarian conviction that no one in Denmark should have anything unless everyone else has one. The Danish government subscribes to both of these principles, and makes car ownership as difficult as possible.”

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Here’s a revealing story about buying a car from a dealership in Denmark:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/9853662/Buying-a-car-in-Denmark-even-a-banger-costs-a-fortune.html

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EMIchael:

So let me get this straight.

We have gone from the lack of incentive to work to the high cost of cars and expensive parking tickets.

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PeakTrader:

Consumption has something to do with production.

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Baffling, if regulations didn’t make it easier to start a business in Denmark, I doubt there would be many businesses, given high taxes. That doesn’t mean Denmark isn’t a heavily regulated country. Also, labor can easily move from a job to a strong safety net – back and forth – whenever a worker feels like it, unless you’re an immigrant.

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That doesn’t mean Denmark isn’t a heavily regulated country and taxes aren’t high. And, immigrants are denied welfare. So, they can’t move back and forth between a job and welfare, whenever they feel like it.

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Although, being addicted to a safe, secure, and easier life is satisfying, it’s not without costs.

I’m just revealing some of the costs.

Pretending those costs don’t exist or ignoring them don’t make them cheaper.

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Maybe, we need to spend trillions of dollars on a War on Poverty or get Democrat politicians to run the city.

Wouldn’t that be better than making everyone ride bicycles and making people, who work, pay a lot more in taxes?

Smile


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What about the even poorer immigrants the Danish don’t want to help with their “generous” welfare?

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Why concern yourself with something like “cost” when everyone can ride a bicycle, exist in a tiny shelter, and equally overpay for a meal?

Maybe, you’re having your free lunch, while waiting for a helicopter to throw money out the window to raise your utility.

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“We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” – JFK

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Again, you miss the point of a safe, secure, and easy life, while denying the costs.

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