Democratic socialism is how capitalism is SUPPOSED to work...

[Soph0571]

[modrepub]

1. Maybe a Little Dose of Reality

I'll point out that Norway nationalized their oil industry so profits from that industry are returned to the people. Other than Alaska, to some extent, we don't have nationalized industries to tap into.

I still think properly functioning capitalism is the most efficient means of moving forward. In the US, companies have become so large and entrenched that they often use their resources to stifle competition that would force them to reallocate their profits into becoming more efficient. Something could also be said regarding executive pay, which has become so large it removes incentives to do a good job over the long term. Some CEOs make so much in a year they really don't have a work incentive because they could live off the sum for the rest of their lives. People would also be less cynical if the people running companies shared the same fate as the rest of their workforce; i.e. company closes down they suffer the same fate instead of walking away with a boat load of money.

I proscribe to Schumpeter, grudgingly accept Keynes and not a fan of Hayek as espoused by Greenspan.

[watoos]

3. How many aircraft carriers does Norway have?

We don't have capitalism in America, we have crony capitalism, or fascism. Our government and corporations are one, with corporations in control. Boeing will decide when the Max 8, Max 9 planes fly again not the government, that's the capitalism that we have in America. The rest of the world doesn't trust us anymore.

The rich need more tax cuts because the country still isn't behind gutting our Socialist Medicare, Medicaid, and SS.

[DFW]

2. How many times per week are we going to be subjected to this paste?

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10181197768

Repeating it doesn't make it any more true than the first time.

[watoos]

4. What stat isn't true?

Our life expectancy in the U.S. has gone down the past 2 years. That's a statistic that is important to me being 71 years old.

I see a lot of people backing capitalism, our Democratic candidates must make a pledge of allegiance to capitalism or risk being called Socialists. The problem is that we don't have capitalism in America, we have crony capitalism.
When tax dollars go to the poor it is called Socialism, when tax dollars go to the rich it is called capitalism. Trump recently gave billions of taxpayer dollars to soy bean farmers because his tariffs cut into their profits, lost them their markets.

I know nothing about economics, but I listened to Ike's farewell address. He talked about the dangers of a growing military industrial complex. He talked about how it was a choice how we spend our tax dollars. He said we can spend our money on bullets or books, on tanks or automobiles, on rockets or baby buggies. That's my simple understanding of economics, what Ike said in his farewell address. We have 12 or 13 aircraft carriers and are planning on building another one.

Was Eisenhower a Socialist, I'm asking?

[DFW]

11. How about the title for starters?

Ask any Norwegian. They do not have socialism, democratic, dictatorial or otherwise. They have a social democracy with a regulated free market.

And as for free everything: Education and medical care are, of course, not free. Doctors don't work for free. Medicine is not given to hospitals and clinics for free. Teachers do not work for zero salary. Schools are not heated for free. Electricity is not provided for free. These things are publicly financed. They are not free. Har du vært i Norge? I take it the answer to that is nej, and I'm not even Pete Buttegieg. He's right, though, Norwegian IS easy for an Anglophone to learn. *

The GDP number looks great when converted into US dollars, but the cost of living is off the charts there that it costs the average Norwegian way more of their income to live than it does the average American. See for yourself:
https://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/Norway/United-States/Cost-of-living

Some sample stats:

Real estate rent index: Norway is ranked 14th. 68% more than United States
Consumer price index: Norway is ranked number one. 95% more than United States
Grocery prices at the market: Norway is ranked 3rd. 70% more than United States
Local purchasing power: The USA is ranked 2nd. 44% more than Norway
Apartment purchase price: Norway is ranked 7th. 4 times ((!!! 400%) more than United States


The have more oil per capita than just about anybody and have been wisely socking the money away for decades. They have also wisely not joined the European Union, so they don't have to follow more wasteful bureaucratic practices the other do.

*Just what you'd expect from the people who invented the high-tech help desk over 500 years ago:

By the way, my daughter works in the USA, and she gets 3 weeks paid vacation. I don't know what part of the USA has none, but I'm sure there are labor laws that would frown in such a practice.

[appalachiablue]

5. !! HAPPY PLANET INDEX: US 108th of 140, NORWAY 12th of 140

- USA: The USA is a wealthy country, with the eighth highest GDP per capita of all countries included in the HPI rankings. Its economy is based on trade, fossil fuel production and the world’s second largest manufacturing industry. Despite the USA’s financial wealth, it ranks a dismal 108th out of 140 – suggesting that the USA’s material wealth isn’t being translated efficiently into sustainable wellbeing for its residents. More, http://happyplanetindex.org/countries/united-states-of-america

- NORWAY: One of the wealthiest nations in the world, Norway ranks 12th in the Happy Planet Index - the highest scoring European country. Norway ranks very highly in terms of wellbeing, life expectancy, and having low inequality. More, http://happyplanetindex.org/countries/norway

[stonecutter357]

6. I'm not a socialist , I don't think the democratic party is socialist.

[brooklynite]

7. Except that the Norwegians don't call it "Democratic Socialism"

Neither should we

[malaise]

8. Yep - there is a better way

I'll never understand the unfettered greed that is America

[TwilightZone]

9. Norway: not democratic socialism

Certainly not in the way that groups like the DSA define it.

The US doesn't have unfetted capitalism, for that matter, either.

[Codeine]

10. While I personally trend toward a socialist view

Norway isn’t a socialist nation; capitalistic social democracy might be a fairer description. There are some state-owned enterprises, but many more privately-held concerns.

Also, some of those stats have more to do with a homogenous society than any economic system.