What the tories really believe

[I1L2T3]

None of which alter the fact that comparing a larger country than ours, which has a population only 10% of ours and the fact they have significant exportable resources, makes for a bad comparison, if our population was only 5 million we would no doubt do things differently.

 

In terms of political approach it's a perfectly valid comparison to make. In fact if you make the comparison it shows where we are going wrong in so many areas. Attracting investment, use of revenues from mineral wealth, effective regulation of markets, social provision etc... Extend out the comparison to Germany which has many similarities and the deficit of policy in our country is rammed home. It's a basic question - do we want to be more like Europe or more like the USA. Most Tories will probably answer the latter.

[MrSmith]

In terms of political approach it's a perfectly valid comparison to make. In fact if you make the comparison it shows where we are going wrong in so many areas. Attracting investment, use of revenues from mineral wealth, effective regulation of markets, social provision etc... Extend out the comparison to Germany which has many similarities and the deficit of policy in our country is rammed home. It's a basic question - do we want to be more like Europe or more like the USA. Most Tories will probably answer the latter.

 

In what way are these countries better than the UK, I can find examples of poverty in all of them, if they are so much better than the UK why don't EU immigrants go there instead of here.

 

There is no cause for celebration. We continue to have a scandalously high level of child poverty in Germany.

 

Concerns rise over poverty in Norway

[Grandad.Malky]

 

There is no cause for celebration. We continue to have a scandalously high level of child poverty in Germany.

 

Concerns rise over poverty in Norway

 

I would like to see their definition of poverty … would it be like the women on TV this morning complaining that she couldn’t feed her son even though she wasn’t exactly a size 8 herself and thought that a Virgin Broadband contract came before meals.

[MrSmith]

I would like to see their definition of poverty … would it be like the women on TV this morning complaining that she couldn’t feed her son even though she wasn’t exactly a size 8 herself and thought that a Virgin Broadband contract came before meals.

 

I imagine it’s a similar definition we use, if child with parents that smoke and drink doesn’t get an hot meal the child is in poverty, it’s not the countries fault though, or the fault of politicians, it’s the fault of the parents.

There simply shouldn’t be child poverty in the UK, because all parents get enough so that their child can have a hot meal each day.

[Riche]

I know many a working man that once he achieves some measure of success he forgets were he is from and looks down on others less fortunate. New rich with their Range Rover sports and flash clothes. Lets not confuse those with class and those who think you can buy class. You cannot polish a turd. It will always be a turd at heart. More show means less go.

[WeX]

Nope, it wasn't. G4S were awarded a contract for securing the Olympic site during construction and preparation for the games. That was in 2007/8. The contract that G4S failed on was a separate one awarded under the Tories in 2011.

 

Both of which were awarded by LOCOG, not the government.

[I1L2T3]

In what way are these countries better than the UK, I can find examples of poverty in all of them, if they are so much better than the UK why don't EU immigrants go there instead of here.

 

There is no cause for celebration. We continue to have a scandalously high level of child poverty in Germany.

 

Concerns rise over poverty in Norway

 

Of course they have problems. I'm not saying they don't. But I would say that in many respects they have superior policy to ours, a better mix of capitalist and social principles

[I1L2T3]

Both of which were awarded by LOCOG, not the government.

 

LOCOG work with the government. LOCOG could not have made the awards without government approval.

[manceryder]

Germany. Slightly different political philosophy but strong commitment to social welfare and markets. Germany big enough?

 

No, after the USA completely re financed them in the 1950s, (a decade after they bankrupted us.) The German economy has had a mixed history. It has received a huge boost once they had conned the rest of Europe to join the EURO and were able to suck in the money from the rest of their victims. Now they languish on the periphery of the largest financial disaster in the history of the developed world as the reality of their arrogance dawns. So much for their markets.

 

Regarding their social welfare, their record is not that good, child poverty is high. Their health service is acceptable, although ridiculously expensive at about 14% of earnings. They are better than most, but not a system we should seek to copy or learn from.

[MrSmith]

Of course they have problems. I'm not saying they don't. But I would say that in many respects they have superior policy to ours, a better mix of capitalist and social principles

 

How does that benefit the population?

What do they get that we don’t get?

 

The number of dollar millionaires increased more in Sweden than in most other European and Western countries. By the end of 2009 48,300 so called high net worth individuals lived in the Scandinavian country, an increase by more than 20 percent.

 

In other words; one out of every 200 Swedes is now a millionaire in US dollars.

 

So 199 out of every 200 aren’t, that doesn't sound like wealth equality to me.

 

Is Sweden a False Utopia?

 

The high-tax state has also created an increasingly threatened middle class. In a recent study, the Swedish Taxpayers association noted that wealth formation among the middle classes is weak. There is little correlation between earnings and wealth amongst Swedes.

 

 

Instead of building capital, Swedes go into debt: 27 percent of Swedish households in fact have more debts than wealth, compared to between 16 and 19 percent in the US. With middle class wealth formation being held back by high taxes, Sweden has ironically developed a more unequal wealth distribution than the US. The Gini coefficient for ownership is almost 0.9 in Sweden, compared to slightly above 0.8 in the US.

 

In short, there is much to admire in Sweden. But when it comes to economic policy and copying Swedish institutions, Americans are probably better off being inspired by Swedes in America, rather than Swedes in Sweden.