3 ms·

In terms of abortion rights, immigration, progressive taxation, and a host of other issues the US is to the left of Norway. I think people spend more time cons

In terms of abortion rights, immigration, progressive taxation, and a host of other issues the US is to the left of Norway. I think people spend more time consuming the news than becoming familiar with the actual policies and laws of countries. In case you anyone misunderstands my claim, these are the facts: the US has more progressive taxation both on income tax and corporate tax, a minimum wage, and more liberal abortion laws (case vs planned parenthood ruling).

ThinkBeat 5y ago
When it comes to abortion law it seems dependent upon state, An extreme example right now is TX. (I think that will be overturned soon but it is still there for now.) For the rest of the states some are some are not. States https://www.guttmacher.org/state-policy/explore/overview-abortion-laws https://www.guttmacher.org/state-policy/explore/overview-abo... vs Norway https://lovdata.no/dokument/NL/lov/1975-06-13-50 https://lovdata.no/dokument/NL/lov/1975-06-13-50 For immigration, the US has much higher figured if you add it all together. US also offers many more way to move there. If you look at asylum however the US takes in 0.02% per population per year. Whereas Norway has taken over 0.7% per year. The US population is made up of 14% vs Norway at 15% immigrants The immigrant population in Norway is far more diverse than it is to the US. https://www.faktisk.no/artikler/z4nyj/norge-er-et-av-landene-som-har-tatt-imot-lavest-antall-flyktninger-i-hele-europa https://www.faktisk.no/artikler/z4nyj/norge-er-et-av-landene... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_to_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_to_the_United_Stat... https://www.faktisk.no/artikler/z4nyj/norge-er-et-av-landene-som-har-tatt-imot-lavest-antall-flyktninger-i-hele-europa https://www.faktisk.no/artikler/z4nyj/norge-er-et-av-landene... https://www.imdi.no/tall-og-statistikk/ https://www.imdi.no/tall-og-statistikk/ Minimum wage is true, in that the US has one and Norway does not. However the negotiated wages between the unions and the business sector have been "almengjøring" which means they dictate what wages need to be, even when the company you work for is not a direct part and even if you as an employee do not belong to a union. That is backed by Norwegian law This is per sector. Most sectors now have it Some dont. Where it does exist, it is far higher than the US minimum wage. You cannot live on minimum wage in the US. So it is below what is reasonable and humane. A big problem is in the construction business were the builders love to hire Eastern European migrants for a lot less than what the law dictators. This is illegal but very common As far as taxation goes I dont have time right now to really dig into it. I know I pay about 42% taxes on my income. 25% VAT on most things, but there are exceptions, for healthy food and many other things. I paid a lot less in the US :)
davidhalter 5y ago
While you might be partially right (I highly doubt immigration), there is still a huge difference in how the welfare state functions. Healthcare is paid by the government. Education is almost free. If you're poor, retirement is paid. If you cannot work you will receive some benefits like housing. There is maternity and paternity leave. There is sick leave. You get five weeks of vacation per year (not including sick leave). The prison system is humane and makes more sense, etc. etc. The list is extremely long. Taxes are in general higher, for example the VAT is 25%. I'm not particularly an expert on Norway though, I might be off a bit and basing this more on countries like Sweden/Switzerland/Germany, etc. I don't think it's too far fetched to say that the US does not really have a "left" party, quite a few intellectuals would be saying this as well (e.g. Chomsky or Briahna Joy Gray).

ThinkBeat 5y ago

When it comes to abortion law it seems dependent upon state, An extreme example right now is TX. (I think that will be overturned soon but it is still there for now.) For the rest of the states some are some are not. States https://www.guttmacher.org/state-policy/explore/overview-abortion-laws https://www.guttmacher.org/state-policy/explore/overview-abo... vs Norway https://lovdata.no/dokument/NL/lov/1975-06-13-50 https://lovdata.no/dokument/NL/lov/1975-06-13-50 For immigration, the US has much higher figured if you add it all together. US also offers many more way to move there. If you look at asylum however the US takes in 0.02% per population per year. Whereas Norway has taken over 0.7% per year. The US population is made up of 14% vs Norway at 15% immigrants The immigrant population in Norway is far more diverse than it is to the US. https://www.faktisk.no/artikler/z4nyj/norge-er-et-av-landene-som-har-tatt-imot-lavest-antall-flyktninger-i-hele-europa https://www.faktisk.no/artikler/z4nyj/norge-er-et-av-landene... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_to_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_to_the_United_Stat... https://www.faktisk.no/artikler/z4nyj/norge-er-et-av-landene-som-har-tatt-imot-lavest-antall-flyktninger-i-hele-europa https://www.faktisk.no/artikler/z4nyj/norge-er-et-av-landene... https://www.imdi.no/tall-og-statistikk/ https://www.imdi.no/tall-og-statistikk/ Minimum wage is true, in that the US has one and Norway does not. However the negotiated wages between the unions and the business sector have been "almengjøring" which means they dictate what wages need to be, even when the company you work for is not a direct part and even if you as an employee do not belong to a union. That is backed by Norwegian law This is per sector. Most sectors now have it Some dont. Where it does exist, it is far higher than the US minimum wage. You cannot live on minimum wage in the US. So it is below what is reasonable and humane. A big problem is in the construction business were the builders love to hire Eastern European migrants for a lot less than what the law dictators. This is illegal but very common As far as taxation goes I dont have time right now to really dig into it. I know I pay about 42% taxes on my income. 25% VAT on most things, but there are exceptions, for healthy food and many other things. I paid a lot less in the US :)

davidhalter 5y ago

While you might be partially right (I highly doubt immigration), there is still a huge difference in how the welfare state functions. Healthcare is paid by the government. Education is almost free. If you're poor, retirement is paid. If you cannot work you will receive some benefits like housing. There is maternity and paternity leave. There is sick leave. You get five weeks of vacation per year (not including sick leave). The prison system is humane and makes more sense, etc. etc. The list is extremely long. Taxes are in general higher, for example the VAT is 25%. I'm not particularly an expert on Norway though, I might be off a bit and basing this more on countries like Sweden/Switzerland/Germany, etc. I don't think it's too far fetched to say that the US does not really have a "left" party, quite a few intellectuals would be saying this as well (e.g. Chomsky or Briahna Joy Gray).