But the meme says those countries thrive due to socialism. Not partial-socialism.
While I'm far from an expert, I have visited all the Scandinavian countries. Once in fact, while on a tour there, the guide was telling us about all the great things their govt does for its citizens (in this case, it was Sweden) including a personal anecdote about a serious accident her husband had, and how he was airlifted to a hospital, treated, and thankfully recovered. All in all, the cost to them was minimal. Similar care in the US would have cost a significant amount.
In the same conversation, she was talking about all the immigrants coming into Sweden. While she was rightfully proud that the percentage of immigrants to natural born citizens was relatively high (I forget the precise percentage, but thinking about it now, it seems like it was in the 10% to 15% range) she also said that the immigrants had an obligation to assimilate into the country; learn its values and laws. Hell, she almost sounded like Trump!
There are three things I should mention about these countries in terms of their socialist policies. First, they're much smaller than the US, which I think makes it easier for the policies to work there. Also, they've had these policies for a long time. These countries were even smaller when they were implemented, which means their current semi-socialist ways have evolved; they weren't suddenly imposed on them "as is". I mention that because I think trying to force this form of govt on Americans would be almost impossible. Take health care for example. Govt control means capping salaries and services. Nobody in America is going to go for that. Besides, do you really believe one person has the right to another person's services, even if it is for health care?
The final point to mention is that from what I could see, their govts spend the tax money responsibly. If we gave the same percentage of income / corporate earnings' taxes to our govt here in the US, our politicians would spend it like drunken sailors on shore leave. If you doubt that, please consider how they spend now, with money we *don't* have.
And these comments don't even touch the tax rates in these countries. Sure, it seems most people there pay gladly, but to implement it here, the tax rates would have to come first, well in advance of the benefits. That hardly seems like a recipe for success in terms of implementing the Nordic model here in the US.
Caption this Meme
