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> Norwegians keep their head down; most seem content with what little they have. Are you aware that Norway is one of the richest countries in the wold?

by olavk 9y ago

silvestrov 9y ago
They are rich as a society, not as individuals. They don't have a neighbour who has created a multi-million dollar company.
- erikbye 9y ago
  Exactly. Median income in Norway is scary low, especially for single-person households. https://www.ssb.no/en/inntekt-og-forbruk/nokkeltall https://www.ssb.no/en/inntekt-og-forbruk/nokkeltall
  - somecontext 9y ago
    In case anyone is interested, Statistics Norway believes that the median after tax income for households consisting of persons living alone under 45 years old was 280,200 NOK/year in 2015. The exchange rate with the dollar varies of course, but this is somewhere between 33,300--38400 USD/year. This report https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2016/demo/p60-256.pdf https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publicatio... suggests that the median income of non-family households in the United States was ~33,800 USD/year, before taxes but after cash transfers from the government. I am not sure how to compare the before and after tax measures, but even if I could, there are still many remaining differences between the United States and Norway. Also note that the two groups being compared are not the same, because of the age restriction.
  - olavk 9y ago
    Scary low compared to what?
    - erikbye 9y ago
      For being one of the richest countries in the world the median income is way too low (especially for single-households). And a direct comparison with other countries can't be done without factoring in all the taxes we have in addition to payroll tax. Norway is also one of the most expensive countries in the world. We have 25% VAT on most goods and services. 15% for food and drink. Alcohol is heavily taxed, for high alc/vol 65% of the purchase price is taxes. Vehicles are heavily taxed, compared to, i.e., Sweden. A $50k car in the U.S. would be $100k here, or more, depending on engine size, emissions, etc. High environmental taxes for fuel, electricity, etc. Taxes on gifts, inheritance, property, wealth, pension, etc. http://www.skatteetaten.no/en/Rates/Value-added-tax/ http://www.skatteetaten.no/en/Rates/Value-added-tax/
- olavk 9y ago
  Norway have more millionaires (in dollar) than any other country in the world. https://www.theguardian.com/money/2007/jul/13/business.internationalnews https://www.theguardian.com/money/2007/jul/13/business.inter... On the number of billionaires per capita, both Norway, Sweden and Iceland ranks above the US: http://www.businessinsider.com/countries-ranked-by-billionaires-in-proportion-to-population-2015-7?r=UK&IR=T&IR=T/#15-taiwan-1 http://www.businessinsider.com/countries-ranked-by-billionai... Your ideas about Scandinavia seem very disconnected from reality.

> Norwegians keep their head down; most seem content with what little they have. Are you aware that Norway is one of the richest countries in the wold?

by olavk 9y ago

> Norwegians keep their head down; most seem content with what little they have. Are you aware that Norway is one of the richest countries in the wold?

silvestrov 9y ago

They are rich as a society, not as individuals. They don't have a neighbour who has created a multi-million dollar company.

erikbye 9y ago
Exactly. Median income in Norway is scary low, especially for single-person households. https://www.ssb.no/en/inntekt-og-forbruk/nokkeltall https://www.ssb.no/en/inntekt-og-forbruk/nokkeltall
- somecontext 9y ago
  In case anyone is interested, Statistics Norway believes that the median after tax income for households consisting of persons living alone under 45 years old was 280,200 NOK/year in 2015. The exchange rate with the dollar varies of course, but this is somewhere between 33,300--38400 USD/year. This report https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2016/demo/p60-256.pdf https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publicatio... suggests that the median income of non-family households in the United States was ~33,800 USD/year, before taxes but after cash transfers from the government. I am not sure how to compare the before and after tax measures, but even if I could, there are still many remaining differences between the United States and Norway. Also note that the two groups being compared are not the same, because of the age restriction.
- olavk 9y ago
  Scary low compared to what?
  - erikbye 9y ago
    For being one of the richest countries in the world the median income is way too low (especially for single-households). And a direct comparison with other countries can't be done without factoring in all the taxes we have in addition to payroll tax. Norway is also one of the most expensive countries in the world. We have 25% VAT on most goods and services. 15% for food and drink. Alcohol is heavily taxed, for high alc/vol 65% of the purchase price is taxes. Vehicles are heavily taxed, compared to, i.e., Sweden. A $50k car in the U.S. would be $100k here, or more, depending on engine size, emissions, etc. High environmental taxes for fuel, electricity, etc. Taxes on gifts, inheritance, property, wealth, pension, etc. http://www.skatteetaten.no/en/Rates/Value-added-tax/ http://www.skatteetaten.no/en/Rates/Value-added-tax/
olavk 9y ago
Norway have more millionaires (in dollar) than any other country in the world. https://www.theguardian.com/money/2007/jul/13/business.internationalnews https://www.theguardian.com/money/2007/jul/13/business.inter... On the number of billionaires per capita, both Norway, Sweden and Iceland ranks above the US: http://www.businessinsider.com/countries-ranked-by-billionaires-in-proportion-to-population-2015-7?r=UK&IR=T&IR=T/#15-taiwan-1 http://www.businessinsider.com/countries-ranked-by-billionai... Your ideas about Scandinavia seem very disconnected from reality.