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Norway is a basically the country that won the lottery, wisely invested the winnings and now gets to enjoy early retirement in perpetuity. The UAE is similar: v
by polemic 14y ago
Norway is a basically the country that won the lottery, wisely invested the winnings and now gets to enjoy early retirement in perpetuity. The UAE is similar: very few UAE citizens actually work in the private sector, and when they do, it's largely a token role.
The ideological arguments are largely moot anyway - you can't have a global economy populated by investor-nations. That would be like SF with all VC's and no startups. =D
- jpatokal 14y agoThe huge difference between the UAE and Norway is that in Norway the prosperity is essentially shared by all, whereas in the UAE a tiny, super-privileged citizen elite (11%) and a small cadre of well-paid expats lord it over a vast class of disenfranchised foreign workers in menial jobs. http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/commentators/johann-hari/the-dark-side-of-dubai-1664368.html http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/commentators/johann-hari...
- Camillo 14y agoWho does the menial jobs in Norway?
- Kroem3r 14y agoGenerally, Norwegians. They just get paid decently for them. It makes, for example, going out for dinner a little more costly than North Americans are accustomed to.
- notdrunkatall 14y agoMore than a little, from what I've read.