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Norway's wealth fund now worth $319,900 per citizen
- nwgo 2y ago[dead]
- RadiozRadioz 2y agoSigh. As a UK citizen, I have long wondered what it would be like to live in one of those Nordic countries that are run well with happy citizens. Once in my lifetime I'd like to have the feeling that my government cares about me and isn't completely incompetent.
- verisimi 2y agoGovernment cannot care. You're looking for love in all the wrong places.
- rwmj 2y agoI've just spent weeks in Japan, where the government very much seems to care.
- bowsamic 2y agoAre you joking? Japan?
- verisimi 2y agoYou do understand, that government really can't care, right? People, animals can care. An institution cannot. It is a social construct. It is an anthropomorphising projection to attribute care or hate or thoughtfulness or any other emotional human attributes onto social constructs.
- dijit 2y agoHumans are just collections of cells, bacteria and some electrical impulses; all vying for survival in a hostile world. By your definition, anything made up of anything can’t “care”. Corporations can care, they usually care a lot about for example profits. Governments can care, the ones you’re accustomed to might care a lot about the image of the country or their own image; some can be interested mostly in the survival and prosperity of the country and its citizens though. Politicians, CEOs, Executives etc; can be self serving. Similar to our own bodies cells: those can be self-serving too. We call that situation cancer.
- verisimi 2y agoWith which bacterial cell am I speaking?
- nobodywillobsrv 2y agoNorway has problems too. Don't mention Sweden
- dijit 2y agoAs a Brit living in Sweden for 10 years (and, who now has naturalised). It’s incomparable and the parent is definitely right to ponder. Life here is better, even if it has it’s problems. There is no “working poor” here, serial unemployment is significantly lower. And Sweden is the “worst” nordic country right now for crime and poverty rates. Britain is far-far behind, and getting worse yearly.
- nordic-uthnasia 2y ago[flagged]
- Qwertious 2y agoIt only works if you also steal all of Austria's gold.
- brabel 2y agoI live in Sweden and was wondering how bad things are recently given the daily explosions around the country related to gang criminality. Apparently, even the worst parts of Stockholm have crime rates comparable to the best areas of the USA, which surprised me TBH (and I think that's a lot better than the UK).
- kfcjligmom 2y ago[flagged]
- thaumasiotes 2y ago> serial unemployment is significantly lower "Serial unemployment" sounds like a description of going from being unemployed to being unemployed, repeatedly. But that makes no sense. What does it mean?
- dyauspitr 2y agoThat’s what you get when you have free wealth you can pump out of the ground (or ocean floor in this case). Middle eastern oil countries are very happy too with wealth shared around (for the citizens) and most costs in life covered.
- nicoburns 2y agoNot necessarily. The UK had that too (the same north sea oil as Norway), but we failed to invest it wisely.
- shawabawa3 2y agoNorway has less than 10% the population of the UK so that oil was worth more per capita
- tharmas 2y agoThatcher used the oil revenues to pay for her cuts. That way the people didn't realise the damage her policies did to the economy. And they've been believers ever since.
- Marazan 2y agoThe UK had larger oil reserves than Norway and started developing them earlier. At one point in the 1980s 1 pound in every 10 of tax taken in the UK was directly from oil extraction taxes.
- calmbonsai 2y agoI would list Norway as exceptional since every other petro-state has had generations of corruption and most have credible histories of human rights violations.
- dyauspitr 2y agoThey’re definitely governing well but without the oil it would all break down in a heartbeat.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- ElectRabbit 2y agoThe Nordic countries have a lot of problems too. One example is their completely failed drug policy, which is aimed at repression instead of care and therapy.
- ndklep 2y agoFailed from whose perspective? Definitely not the majority of citizens.
- Gud 2y ago’Failed’ is in non-functional. There has been decades of brainwashing from the state(jointly with various Christian organisations) and an incredible amount of disinformation. I am a Cannabis user and I’ve moved from Stockholm to Zürich because I want to live my life in peace.
- bowsamic 2y agoPeople replying to you don’t understand the utter failure of the UK, particularly the NHS, which is an abominable evil disgrace that unnecessarily kills and tortures many people every day
- newdee 2y agoCounter point: the NHS saved my life last year. I’m glad it exists and I’m grateful for the amazing people who work at its front lines.
- bowsamic 2y agoThat isn’t a counter point at all. Of course the NHS saves some people. That doesn’t mean it isn’t absolutely horrific. British people are infected with some kind of brain worms where they can’t accept that the NHS is in a dire state because of fear of offending NHS workers. Let me tell you, those on the front line are the biggest critics
- newdee 2y agoIt’s easy to stand on the outside, pissing inwards, isn’t it? So thanks for the sweeping generalisations and absolutes, very helpful. Since you have made no point so far, only offering spiteful generalisations and offence, I feel my lived experience is a good a counter point for those who may scroll by and want to see an alternative view.
- 4ugSWklu 2y agoNot great. Very few chippies.
- tharmas 2y agoNotice ALL the Anglo speaking countries are a mess. I blame Freidmanomics. A most poisonous ideology. As Wahhabism is to Islam so Freidmanonics is to the Anglo speaking West.
- ArtTimeInvestor 2y agoSorting this list by "Value NOK" shows their biggest holdings: https://www.nbim.no/en/investments/all-investments/#/2024/investments/equities https://www.nbim.no/en/investments/all-investments/#/2024/in... Apple, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta ... Does this put Norway at the mercy of the USA? What if Norway and the USA have an argument and the USA says "You don't want us to freeze your investments in our beautiful tech stocks, do you?".
- rwmj 2y agoIf the US wants to wreck their own stock market by inducing fear and uncertainty in investors everywhere (including in the US), this would be one way to go about it.
- ArtTimeInvestor 2y agoDidn't they introduce fear and uncertainty in their currency by freezing Russia's Dollars? Didn't they introduce fear and uncertainty in their trade relationships by using tariffs as a negotiation tool? Do you think their stock market is safe from that behavior?
- chikere232 2y agoSanctions wasn't a new thing when Russia invaded. A rational investor can consider the risk that their country will start invading neighbours in a war of conquest and price it in
- thisislife2 2y agoNorway's national security is already tied to the US by virtue of its membership with NATO. Any country in a military alliance understands that it somewhat politically limits their freedom when it comes to foreign policies, as they also have to consider the foreign policy goals of those in the military alliance (especially the more powerful partners - see https://politics.stackexchange.com/q/80821 https://politics.stackexchange.com/q/80821 ). Unless Norway is lead by some foolish political leader who forgets this basic political principle, there shouldn't be any problems with the US. Note also that Norway's sovereign fund investment in the US also create an economic dependence between the two countries. It would hurt the US industries too, if Norway suddenly decided to pull all their investment out of the US. Moreover, the US dealing with the Norwegians like they did with Russian wealth in America or Europe, would mean the end of western control over international finance. Other countries have already noted how the western countries are withholding Russian funds to try and blackmail them, and are already talking about the need for an alternate international finance system that will not be as vulnerable to western politics.
- mrabcx 2y agoNorway as a state may be rich. but the state is also very afraid of spending too much money within the country as not to drive up inflation, salaries etc. In Norway the school children do not even get free/hot lunches (compared to e.g. Sweden).
- jay_kyburz 2y agoOf all the things to pick, school lunches would not have been it.
- cycomanic 2y agoSchool lunches are considered one of the best return on investment if you want to lift next generations out of poverty. It's really very little money, but greatly improves attendance and participation (poor kids go to school because the get lunch, and are much more attentive because they are not hungry).
- baobabKoodaa 2y agodoes norway have poverty
- karencarits 2y agoA large systematic review from 2023 was unable to conclude what positive consequences school lunches would have in Norway, as there is too little research from comparable countries. The report: https://www.fhi.no/contentassets/97c17432815a4b2291e3414074818f40/effekten-av-et-gratis-skolemaltid-kunnskapsoppsummering-rapport-2023.pdf https://www.fhi.no/contentassets/97c17432815a4b2291e34140748... Results translated with chatgpt: > In general, the results from the Nordic literature were inconsistent, and several of the studies were of low quality. The majority of studies from the Nordic countries indicated that a free school meal (breakfast or lunch) had a positive effect on some dietary outcomes. Furthermore, the results suggest that a free school meal may help reduce social disparities in diet. > A total of three Nordic studies examined the relationship between free school meals and weight, with one study showing increased weight, another showing increased waist circumference, and one showing no change as a result of a free school meal. Two Nordic studies investigated the effect of a free school meal on academic performance, but neither found a clear positive effect. > None of the Nordic studies found a link between free school meals and absenteeism (two studies), well-being (two studies), or the school environment (two studies). > Regarding sustainability, only one study from Denmark examined the impact on food waste. The results showed that a warm school meal led to more food waste compared to a packed lunch brought from home. > Two studies examining the long-term effects of free school meals, implemented in the Nordic countries between the 1920s and 1940s, found that the school meal led to longer schooling and increased income.
- fgasdfs 2y ago[dead]
- jampekka 2y agoIn Norway the state owns over 50% of the country's wealth, and over 70% if you don't include home ownership. Over 20% of the government budget is covered using profits from ownership. Norway didn't follow the 80s/90s trend of public asset selloff. Turns out there are alternatives after all. It also didn't join the EU, so it has more sovereignty over its economic policy, although EEA does mandate some neoliberal policies (some of which Norway has ignored or fought against). https://www.peoplespolicyproject.org/2018/03/14/the-state-owns-76-of-norways-non-home-wealth/ https://www.peoplespolicyproject.org/2018/03/14/the-state-ow...