Stossel: Sweden is Not a Socialist Success
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- Опубликовано: 30 май 2024
- Many people think Sweden is socialist, but its success comes from free markets.
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Democratic socialists in the United States point to Sweden as a socialist success. But Swedish historian Johan Norberg says, "Sweden is not socialist."
Norberg hosts a documentary called Sweden: Lessons for America?, in which he notes that in Sweden, "government doesn't own the means of production. To see that you have to go to Venezuela or Cuba or North Korea."
John Stossel asks Norberg why so many Americans think Sweden is socialist. Norberg answers, "We did have a period in the 1970s and 1980s when we had something that resembled socialism: a big government that taxed and spent heavily."
But big government led to problems. "Our economy was in crisis, inflation reached 10 percent, and for a brief period interest rates soared to 500 percent. At that point the Swedish population just said, 'Enough, we can't do this,'" Norberg says.
Sweden cut public spending, privatized the national rail network, abolished certain government monopolies, eliminated inheritance taxes, sold state-owned businesses, and switched to a school voucher system. It also "lowered taxes and reformed the pension system," adds Norberg.
So Stossel asks why we keep hearing "that Sweden is this socialist paradise."
Norberg answers: "We do have a bigger welfare state than the U.S. and higher taxes than the U.S. But in other areas, when it comes to free markets, when it comes to competition, when it comes to free trade, Sweden is actually more free market."
He's right, according to the Heritage Foundation's Economic Freedom Rankings. Sweden ranks higher than the U.S.
Norberg also tells Stossel that Sweden's tax system may surprise Americans. "This is the dirty little secret....We don't take from the rich and give to the poor. We squeeze the poor, because rich people might leave."
Even people who earn below average income pay up to 60 percent in taxes.
Stossel asks: What lessons should Americans take from Sweden?
"You can't turn your backs [on] the creation of wealth," warns Norberg.
Sweden: Lessons for America? airs on PBS on October 29th at 7 p.m. Eastern. You can also watch it at freetochoose.tv.
The views expressed in this video are solely those of John Stossel; his independent production company, Stossel Productions; and the people he interviews. The claims and opinions set forth in the video and accompanying text are not necessarily those of Reason.
When you realize Sweden is more American than America
That American spin in this documentary is well crafted ! These documentary makers can make North Korea be more American than North Korean!
I live in Sweden and they lied in the documentary when they said the poor people pay more than rich which is utter disgusting lie.
its up to the viewer to be wise enough to do research for the facts rather than accept whatever sees on any give video or article on the internet.
@@135792468101214 FFS, we all know nordic countries are NOT socialist, fuck they have the one of the most free market in the planet, they are SMALL countries with atleast 5 mill people, compare that to america.
@@135792468101214 they didnt say they pay more taxes than the rich, they said everyone pays alot in taxes. You are so triggered
@@justice1674 Watch that part again 4:44 this is a lie
@@135792468101214 I think he meant more as a percentage of income. Not "literally" more.
Sweden even had to come out and tell Bernie that where not socialist
Cicero Progontus they did too but Sweden ex prime minister camw out and told bernie to stop calling them Socialist
Had Bernie ever accused Canada of being socialists? We also would like to disavow vehemently.
WishYouWereHere he talks about y’all health care programs. Yall health care programs are good? Cause all i hear is that its not good how the media portrays it to be and the waiting times are bad.
Denmark's Prime Minister came out and said not to call his country socialist.
@@masteroogway8453 Our health care programs could be better, that's a given - i don't know any country in the world who created the 100% perfect health care system, however NONE of our citizens needs to call an uber to get to the emegency room. (Ofcourse, you'd not GET an uber here, since the whole concept is illegal) None of our citizens are presented with a bill when they leave the hospital, and none of our citizens are turned away because of lack of medical insurance. As to waiting times. By all means, if you are in for a boob job, you can wait 2 years for all i care.. My mom just went in for cancer surgery... her wait time was 5 days. There's absolutely nothing wrong with the wait times here. If you have an urgent procedure, you get it, if you have a procedure that's not urgent.. you wait a while. Nothing ominous or strange about that...
The PM of Denmark had to come out and say, *WE ARE NOT A SOCIALIST COUNTRY*
He's right
It doesn’t matter what word we use for it in all reality the idea is something similar to Sweden and Denmark
@@Boilermaker625 Nordic model? Social democracy?
Yes and that is a pitty since capitalism sucks!
@@ulfljung4630 Well, its the best we humans have came up with so far. So cant complain about that
"We want to be like Sweden"
"Sweden is capitalist, not socialist. They have a mixed economy."
"Ok, let's do that then!"
*crickets*
The problem is that the people who claim to want the US to be like Sweden only looks at the services the government provides and ignores how the Swedish government gets the resources to provide those services. We manage it through high taxes on everyone, making the taxes much more evenly distributed than they are currently in the US . When Bernie Sanders talks about taxes he rants about the 1 percent and wants to implement a wealth tax and a transactional tax, both of which we have tried and rejected in Sweden.
themadmathematician3 not to mention the US already has many socialist elements such as social security and public schools
Do you really think you're going to make the lower income Americans pay 60% of tax? HAHA
@@xPRODIGYxGAMER I'd consider it, if they also paid for education, public transit and healthcare. You know, like sweden does.
What a perfect comment. Who cares what you call it... let’s adopt the good qualities and have a progressive future. Their system isn’t perfect, but neither is ours. Sure taxes may increase a little... perhaps for everyone... but then everyone would have healthcare (which they conveniently didn’t even mention in this video which is funny, since that’s what Bernie was referring to when he said we should be more like these places.). We need to stop labeling entire systems as one catch phrase and instead we should focus on continuing to improve our own system, regardless of what label it may have. (It is so nice that these guys were able to show that a capitalist country can provide their citizens with healthcare for all... and still be a capitalist country. Perfect!)
One thing that struck me: It's important for the "poor" to pay tax in general because they'll start to be interested in how the government spends money.
Or minimize the fucking taxes, max 5%, so the government doesn't have much to think about spending.
WhoAmI Taxes fund the country bro lol
TheOfficialUnofficial Thats how the government functions. The federal government gets no private funding other than taxes.
TheOfficialUnofficial You’re talking about the people that make well over 6 figures, who are too highly taxed already. The federal income tax for the bracket im in is 10%. Also, for the tax bracket you mentioned, over 200k a year, they get taxed 35%, so your numbers are wrong. The highest it goes is 37% for those that make over a half a million a year.
TheOfficialUnofficial I’m in America brother. I don’t know why you’re talking about Sweden
Only people who have never lived in a socialist society would say that .
Lol
@Slav I doubt they ever saw there a Real Socialism
@@orelskivis Probably not.
The rest of the world would call that communism, and would understand the difference.
@@orelskivis the name was "Sojus Sowjetskich Sozialistitscheskich Respublik" what is: Union of sozialist sowjet republics. I guess millions of people were happy that this socialist construct collapsed, independant of your doubt, what the victims of socialism had in front of their faces. But you know better - really?
I guess america need to learn the lesson in a hard way...
Same in Spain, socialism has failed and I'm sick of it.
Pedro Sánchez is a traitor and should be in Jail
It works because Germany bails out the government over and over again!
from what i know spain was better economically under franco then it is now and that is a great fucking achievement for pedro.
@@kartvelianmapping808 Whoever told you that is an absolute dumbass. Franco held Spain's development back massively and crippled the economy. Needless to say the horrible things he has done to some people but all in all Socialist as well as the Conservative governments after him did not change much of the Franco mentality. But at least the country developed a bit better
@@cembal5024 nope economically spain had less unemployment then it has now and the economy was doing better.
Sweden is a capitalist success story. Electrolux, Spotify, Ericsson, Skype, SKF, IKEA, Koenigsegg, Hasselblad, Atlas Copco, Volvo, Sandvik, ABB (Swedish-Swiss), AstraZeneca (Swedish-British), H&M, Absolut Vodka and plenty more. There are no socialist success stories. Not in Scandinavia, not anywhere else.
Your missed ABBA. :)
@@m.chumakov1033 and meatballs.
Sweden is a social democracy. I want that.
@@CaesarAugustus. An essential step would be to embrace capitalism that same way Sweden does. Imagine if Sweden wasn't capitalist. It would be a shithole.
@@CaesarAugustus. No, we’re a capitalist welfare state. The Socialdemocrats are just a big political party
Yeah, we can argue all day about welfare systems, but at the end of the day, if you want a large welfare network, you need a free market in order to afford to pay for it.
There's a few other fixes but none of them are pretty. Like cutting doctor pay (this is really bad), decreasing cost of medical supplies (this one makes a lot of sense if you look at salt solution cost), or you decrease the number of fat people who take up about 1/3 of medical costs in the usa with weight related diseases.
if you have a welfare system paid for with "taxes" you don't have a free market
No you don't.
@@ballpython3310 "decrease the number of fat people"
I like that idea. I propose public executions by guillotine. Hack off your fat or we're gonna hack off your head. Should get them motivated to exercise in no time!
That... or you just do what the Arabs did and nationalize the oil industry.
There's NOWHERE in Scandinavia that is SOCIALIST...
Socialdemoracy. A variant of socialism
According to americans socialism is just america but with higher taxes and higher social security, as if USA would suddenly become socialist if they switched over yo universal healthcare.
The truth is that Sweden is far from socialist, Sweden just have more areas financed by taxes.
@the Lost Q It does matter, as the far right uses socialism as a bad word and by calling Scandinavia socialist they make uneducated people dismiss the policies of those countries.
Even the left in the US seems to not know exactly what Scandinavia is, as we have seen Bernie Sanders call Scandinavian countries Democratic socialists rather than the correct term social democracies.
@@onkelberra3166 Capitalism with some aspects of socialism. Not really a variant of socialism by a long stretch.
@the Lost Q Yes like importing rapists from low IQ countries. You must have won a master mind competition, you totally useless piece of shit.
I’m convinced Sweden is just a giant ikea and all these people just decided to live there and not look for the exit,
isnt ikea netherlandian?
We "squeeze the poor" in the US too. We tax food, water, energy. I think I remember reading a story, years ago now, about an old lady who added up all the little taxes she was paying, right down to he morning coffee at McDonald's. Americans have no idea how much they are paying - for SES salaries, and "training" for federal employees to go to resorts. I tried to fight it, I tried to block such "training." I was kicked off off the committee. And shortly thereafter, the committee was reduced to email voting for approval of taxpayer funds, to send VA employees skiing in Aspen... Ya know in the name of "therapy training for Veterans."
The VA, and the whole damn all of it federal budgeting system - is a disgusting disgrace.
It doesn't matter what of the two parties is in power.
true.
“Socialism is when the government does stuff” Karl Marx
Marshall Guynn was socialism the thing nartzis where?
@@lukedontknow9283 Nazis called themselves national SOCIALISTS because they wanted to get working class workers ... Looks like the trick still works today because people call them left ...
You mean like build the Hoover Dam ?
Luke Dont know
National Socialism = nazism
🤦♂️
I'll give you an Canadian view - Between the time they told me I needed a hip replacement -and I got it - was over a 3 year wait. It was 6 months before I got to see an orthopedic surgeon to schedule an MRI - then a year before I got the MRI - months more before I got back to see the surgeon for diagnosis results. The last year of waiting was spent in a wheelchair till I actually got the surgery. There is more to this story but that gives you a good idea of Universal health care. And I'm Lee's mom - not Lee
There is a reason Harley Street Doctor practices flourish for those who have the money to skip to the head of the line.
I’m pretty sure Lee’s Mom had the option of going to another country (the US) and pay for a hip replacement... but for some reason Lee’s Mom chose not to pay the enormous costs to have the surgery in the US. Wonder why? Did she even call and see how much all of that would cost in the US??
In Norway the government would have sendt you to a private hospital in another country at that point.
Right, but what was stopping you from wheeling your way into a private clinic to get a $10,000 MRI on the spot, or even just rolling on down to MURICA to spend $36,719,063,567 on your new hip?
@@buckwheatboi How surprising that capitalism - the system made/pruned by the top 10%, benefits... the top 10%... And life is so good for the 10% that FUCK the 90%. They dont deserve anything!
I'm from India 🇮🇳 Don't touch socialism it slowed our growth till 1990 😭😭😭
Anti-socialists: LoOk aT tHiS sHiTHolE tHaT sWItCheD tO SoCiaLiSm aNd iT dIdn'T TuRn evErYtHiNg aRoUNeD, mUSt Be SocIAliSM's FauLt ENTIRELY!
Shut the fuck up, you clearly don't understand how to make culpable comparisons, so leave that to the functioning minds.
@@andrewjensen8189 ew a socialist who has never lived in a socialist country!
@@FungIsSquish I have family in Denmark, and have lived in Denmark for over 2 years of my 19 year life. Sure Denmark is far from full Socialism, but they are one of the most socialist-leaning western countries in the world. I benefited personally while living in Denmark as a kid, and my sister went to university for free, and got $1000 per month for expenses. I currently reside in a country with socialized healthcare, as well as privatized healthcare so I think I probably have more experience with *more* Socialized governments than you do.
@@andrewjensen8189 bruh he’s literally from a socialist country. You’re an idiot
@@AmazingAwesomeAlaska My point is that people who foster that argument are the real idiots. Why is it a surprise that 90% of India is still a shithole? If Socialism doesn't instantly bring a unbelievably poor, corrupt, uneducated country with zero infrastructure out of poverty, does that really mean Socialism is a failure? Capitalism failed India first, that is why sweatshops existed. Capitalism, that is why Slaves existed. Capitalism.
I am not anti capitalist, I am just reasonable, and I see progressive "socialist" policies being enacted, and working tremendously in other countries, so why not try it here?
2:07 To clarify: the national rail was previously a gov. monopoly. Since 2009, it is "deregulated" meaning that other operators can open lines. So far, two companies have done so, on one line each between the larger cities. The old monopoly company is still owned to 100% by the gov, and they have the absolute majority on passenger rail traffic. As a rail traveller, I think the service is good enough, in terms of frequency and price.
As a danish Guy, i can personally say that almost every problem in denmark is created by the state. The little socialism we have does not work.
the exact same with sweden and probably the rest of the nordic countries.
Socialists: a solution looking for a problem to screw up at taxpayers` expense.
@Slav we are just saying that the socialism we have cause problems which is true and the free medical system we have in sweden is pretty trash.
@Slav education is good but I said the health care is shit here. Which it is.
@Slav you don't know anything. America is really not as "capitalist" as you think most is half state half private. America in the 1940's was capitalist for the most part. The state was minimum. Free and fair trade Capitalism lifts everybody up. The capitalist countries are not as capitalist as it could be. Sweden tried socialism in the 1970's and suprise, surprise it didn't work. As it has never worked ever. Talk about People starving and dying, that's socialism. Socialism has killed over 100 mil. And over 400 mil. Forced abortions in china alone. *Free fair trade capitalism has never failed.*
Whenever leftists speak of Scandinavian socialism and wanting to be more like them, we should fully agree that the U.S. should be more like them and then explain how they're more free market.
These are hallmarks of why market capitalism works.
@CJED OK, it's not free; it's paid for by taxation.
Aside from paying more than half of their income in taxes to cover this, Swedes also have to deal with long waiting queues due to a shortage of nurses and available doctors.
Some 80% of the healthcare sector is in need of nurses.
Now, I'll grant that government health coverage has some valid arguments. However, a market solution is far preferable.
Think of any other consumer goods or services. Let's use auto insurance, for example.
The goal is to get the best quality at the lowest prices. So, people shop around and find the policy that best fits their needs. They pay for it, so they have a strong incentive to choose wisely, or risk loosing money.
If one company declines in quality, then you as the consumer are perfectly free to go find another, better company. That provides a strong incentive for companies to deliver good quality. The same goes for prices. If your prices increase, you're free to find another, cheaper company. This provides a strong incentive for companies to deliver low prices.
Now, if you want more coverage, then you pay more. The same goes for health insurance. But, you don't use auto insurance for your every oil change. Yet, people seem to want to use health insurance for even minor health needs, yet wonder why they're having to pay so much.
If you want quality health care at reasonable prices, you should subject your care and your insurance to the same market principles as any other good or service.
For me, I choose to get less coverage and keep some money set aside for smaller emergencies. If I really do need a major procedure done, then I have health coverage for those large expenses. But, for smaller expenses, I pay out of pocket and get plenty of discounts for doing so. Health providers typically offer discounts to self-pay patients since that reduces their costs associated with dealing with insurance.
Meanwhile, I'm generally pretty healthy. I have virtually no health care expenses and just pay a fairly small, monthly premium. Whereas the average health insurance premium for an individual is about $440/month, I pay less than $100/month.
@@johnc1014 I think you broke his brain lmao
@@mattlarocca16 I hope not. I would prefer him to simply follow my logic and challenge anything he disagrees with.
@Slav "The problem with a market solution like in the US for example is that theres massive inflation of prices for medicine," -
Yes, we both agree these high prices are a problem. But, that's not a result of a market solution. That's a result of the U.S. having so much government regulation of the health care industry. For example, the government practically gives a monopoly to 3 three corporations that produce insulin.
This article is short and clearly summarizes the main reasons.
www.t1international.com/blog/2019/01/20/why-insulin-so-expensive/
Though, their solution is for more patients to speak out and be informed. That's good, but a greater solution is to simply deregulate and allow for market competition.
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"without a doubt you will go into debt if you have a health problem in the US." -
That can certainly happen, but I think it's a little overblown. As flawed as our health insurance system is, it does serve to keep people from incurring such high debt in the event of high medical bills. Of course, then there's the issue of high insurance costs. But, that's a result of insurance being so overused for every minor medical need.
I'd advocate keeping private insurance for any catastrophic medical needs and paying out-of-pocket for anything smaller. Shop around for the best health insurance plans, at the lowest prices. And, shop around for the best medical services, at the lowest prices. This creates market competition, which leads to higher quality and lower prices.
Of course, when you have something like a sudden emergency, you can't really shop around in the moment. But, that's where you put that burden on your health insurance. Seek out plans that best cover those sudden, unforeseen emergencies. Of course, the insurance company doesn't want to pay any more than they have to. So, they now have an incentive to negotiate lower prices on your behalf.
I actually don't have health insurance, but rather a Christian healthcare sharing ministry. It sort of works the same, except I'm more free to seek out those lowest prices for myself. If I have something that costs $5,000 or less, it's entirely out-of-pocket. Now, I'm pretty healthy and I have set aside over $5,000 for such an emergency. But, if I have something really serious, than I'm completely covered. Say, I have some $10,000 medical emergency where I need some surgery.
I go get that service that I need and tell them I'm self-pay. Since they don't have to deal with the excess hassle and costs of dealing with insurance, they can usually offer me much larger discounts. I get all that I can and submit my bills to the ministry. They cover everything in full.
It's actually pretty straight forward and I pay a lot less for coverage than most Americans do for health insurance.
The key is to do your research and be a well-informed customer.
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"You have free healthcare, free education, and a heavy welfare state." -
Nope. You have taxpayer funded healthcare, education and welfare.
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"So not many swedes are in poverty as most of there needs are already met by the government." -
Yes, and those needs often cost far more to taxpayers and are of far lower quality. Although, education isn't really that way since the Swedish government allows for far more competition between primary schools.
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"Its true that without socialism a capitalist society would not be able to survive thats why we are witnessing America on the brink of collapse, one of the most capitalist nations on the planet." -
Every part of that statement is false. Capitalism is in no way dependent on socialism. Socialism came as a response to capitalism. And, socialism didn't really come to the U.S. until the 1930's with Roosevelt's New Deal.
I'm not sure where you get the idea of America being "on the brink of collapse," considering we're still the largest economy in the world, by far. We certainly have our problems, but we're still way better off than most people around the world by almost any measure.
And, America is certainly not one of the most capitalist nations on the planet. Actually, Sweden is probably more capitalistic. We have so much government regulation and control of our currency, businesses, and market. We might be doing pretty well, but that's in spite of all this mess. If you got rid of all this government meddling, we could very well see economic growth making our economy greater than the rest of the world combined. Sadly, our economy is greatly restricted.
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"Socialism has been practiced for thousands of years and has been shown as a very successful system when not colonized by capitalist imperialists." -
Socialism - "a political and economic theory of social organization which advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole."
I'm not sure what you're talking about with "thousands of years." Virtually every country that has adopted this system has been far worse off for it. It has been tried around the world and failed miserably. A prime recent example is that of Venezuela.
If any country is "on the brink of collapse," it's Venezuela as a result of their Bolivarian Revolution (socialist political process beginning in 1999).
If want to talk about that, then lets talk about how socialism led to mass government take-over of much of industry and enormous food shortages, lose of employment, skyrocketing crime rates, mass exodus from the country, and hyperinflation. Consumer prices rose 800%, the economy contracted 19% in 2016 alone, the annual inflation rate is about 160%, and nearly 75% of the population has lost at least 8.7 kg in weight due to malnutrition. As far as crime, the U.S. has a murder rate of about 5 per 100,000 people. Venezuela's murder rate skyrocketed to 90 per 100,000 people. Between 4-6% of the population has left the country and millions seek asylum in the U.S. and neighboring countries. Thank you, socialism.
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"With capitalism workers will always be at the bottom and ceos will always be at the top." -
So, in capitalism, if you want to become wealthy you start a business that provides goods and services that other people are willing to voluntarily give you money in exchange for.
If you want to become a CEO and take responsibility for ensuring such a business is successful, then there's nothing stopping you but your own willingness to work hard and achieve that.
As far workers being at the bottom, I'm not sure what you mean. I'm a worker and I'm doing great. Some of my coworkers make close to $100k/year.
If you don't want to work for someone else, start your own business. I have several friends who have their own businesses.
The difference between capitalism and socialism is that capitalism doesn't reward failure and laziness, but rather promotes hard work and achievement.
I'm free to make as much money as I'm willing to work for; it all depends on my own efforts. Take Elon Musk, for example. He decides to create new electric cars, send astronauts and rockets into space, and plans of one day reaching Mars. He'll probably make space travel as mainstream as air travel one day.
He's also has a net worth of over $70 billion. The socialist says that's unfair for him to have so much more than others. The capitalist says that's more than fair because he has earned it.
There's that common chant that the "1% make almost all the wealth in America." Well, duh. It's because they do so much more than most Americans. If you want to be part of the "1%," then start a business like Tesla, Walmart, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, etc.
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"Who was more of an advantage in a capitalist society? a young black man who grew up poor, or a rich white man that inherited his wealth?" -
The vast majority of "wealthy" Americans didn't inherit their wealth. Even for those few who did, who cares? They parents earned it and passed it down to them. It's their money and their business what they do with it.
By the way, what about a young white man who grew up poor and a rich black man who inherited his wealth?
If the poor man wants to get out of poverty, they have plenty of opportunities to do so. Likewise, the rich man has plenty of opportunity to waste his money and become poor.
Of course, people start with different advantages in life. That's life. But, what matters more is what you make of what you have. I know people who literally became homeless and now make more than me.
My family was fairly poor; now, I make more than my parents. And, my children will likely make more than me one day.
By the way, why do you care what color a person's skin is? That seems very racist. I don't care what color skin you have. Money is color-blind. A good work ethic, a strong character, a determination to be successful . . . these are all color-blind.
By the way, if you want to talk about poverty, there are three factors that reduce the likelihood of you being poor to virtually 0% in American. 1) You have a job; 2) You've graduated high school; 3) You haven't had a child out of wedlock. If you meet those three criteria, you are almost guaranteed to not be poor in America.
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Part 2 -
"Capitalism cannot exist without greed and exploitation," -
Capitalism - "an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state."
So, where is the greed or exploitation? Socialism is inherently greedy because it seeks to steal from some to give to others who didn't earn it. Capitalism requires you to produce something that other people want and are willing to voluntarily give you money for. If you want money, you have to earn it.
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"there are hundreds if not thousands of examples but why is nike for example paying children in the middle east pennies to make clothes?" -
So, this is the old idea of outsourcing being claims to exploit foreign labor. Here's the reality:
America is a very wealthy nation that has a great deal of prosperity, high wages, high standard of living, etc. This is good, but those high wages paid to Americans make it expensive to produce many consumer goods domestically.
Therefore, American businesses seek to outsource labor costs to other nations where the standard of living is lower and wages are lower.
It's commonly remarked that these people make far less (i.e. "pennies") compared to American wages. Of course, this is the case. Their economies are far smaller and standards of living far lower. Think back to America in the Industrial Revolution. That's where many of these countries are. Most workers are fairly unskilled and their economies are n't very developed.
However, when American companies set up shop in these locations, they provide work opportunities for local people, who can then reinvest that money into the local economy. Over time, that creates economic growth, an increased standard of living, and increased wages.That definitely helps the people and has this cycle has literally lifted millions of people out of poverty around the world.
Now, once these wages are increasing, guess what? Labor costs are increasing again. So, the companies begin moving elsewhere to do the same in other impoverished countries. Currently, many American goods are "Made in China." Yet, Chinese wages are now dramatically rising. So, we're beginning to see the shift to other nations, like Vietnam.
So, far from exploiting foreign peoples, the drive for profit has caused many of these businesses to directly contribute to decreased poverty levels around the world.
"Now ask yourself what is the core principle of a capitalist society? Profit." -
Bingo. The profit-incentive is what makes capitalism so great.
I lived and worked in Sweden in 1977 when there was a wealth tax on the money in bank accounts but not on all possessions like the proposed tax in California. The result was that people stopped saving money and started spending it on vacations and anything that wasn't taxed. Of course that caused a big drop in capital available for loans and investment.
The other problem was that overtime was taxed at 90% (no that was not a typo) so employees refused to work overtime. At the company for which I worked, for every hour you worked overtime you were given an hour and a half of time off. So inefficient and unsustainable for the economy.
The 90% tax on overtime is to reduce overtime work and employee exploitation
It is efficient to give a day off as compensation for overtime instead of money
@@dominicj7977you know some people want to get payed more right… lol
@@Lem0nsquid
That would be an excuse to exploit workers.
@@dominicj7977 getting payed time and a half? I love when my employer offers me voluntary OT
America: Sweden is socialist.
Sweden: No we aren't.
America: Yes you are.
Murica!
Yes... we are actually.
@@flattabang My comment wasn't about whether you are or aren't.
@@flattabang I was more just trying to take a jab at my own country.
@@flattabang Not the way americans sees it. They think its something like communisme.
@@TullaRask socialist/communist whatever u wanna call it. a polished turd is still a turd.
Bottom line...
No such thing as a free lunch.
Yes however if we work together and spend our money right we can really help our nation
Scandinavian nations economies are based on free market capitalism and not socialism. The foundation of our welfare system is the private industry and the taxes that come in from them, don't ever let anyone convince you otherwise.
@@ashamahee :D :D Do you ACTUALLY think there are people who believe otherwise? Nobody is questioning that a well funded welfare system is based on various forms of taxes from both personal income and corporations and that the private sector plays a big part. What you should be explaining is how the US with all its privatized heathcare and glorified capitalism, manages to pay more than any country in the world for its healthcare, while obtaining less results (lower recoveryrate/longer rehabilitation period and similar). 15-20% taxes first THEN 500 bucks for insurance, THEN another 1000 bucks for daycare and God forbid you ever need prescription drugs (or was born uninsurable). It is waay more than any modern social democracy with "sociliastic" traits.
Furthermore, all the scandinavian countries are so called mixed economies where there's a healthy blend of private and public enterprises in capitalistic markets with varying degrees of state interventionism. Claiming they are "based on free market capitalism" and therefore implying the model is "the same" as in a country like US, is simply just misleading. A short conversation with americans will easily clearify this, as many of them would call any of the numerous programs the scandinavians have socialism or communism before claiming it will fail because reasons.
Lol
@@Jason_Lucifer *PUSSIES
The poor in Sweden are "loyal taxpayers"? I suspect it is more a case of them not being able to move out of Sweden like the rich can.
I mean...yes. That's the bitter reality. Skewing the tax burden absurdly towards the top doesn't work because you are actively discouraging the rich to stay rich, stay in the country, and anyone else to become rich. Sweden's solution - along with Denmark and others - was to flatten the tax burden. A lot of it - most of it - falls on the middle class, that's the only way it works.
@@Nuvendil Yeah. That way you motivate the poor to work harder and improve their money-making capabilities so they can pocket a higher % of their money.
@@wanlitan7406 If you tax the poor 60%,they're not going anywhere.They stay poor.
@@truthseeking6611 No, those who are smart enough go to school and make more. since it's paid by tax
@@truthseeking6611 I don't know. I'm just throwing this out there. Maybe people should learn a trade that pays better if they are not satisfied with their salary? Education is supported by taxes in most of the Nordic countries. You don't have to pay for the school if you're going to public one.
Sweden does not tax the poor significantly compared to other countries. In fact, Sweden has a progressive tax system, which means that people who earn higher incomes pay a higher percentage of their income in taxes than those who earn lower incomes. The Swedish tax system is designed to redistribute wealth and ensure that everyone has access to basic social services such as healthcare, education, and welfare.
Sweden has a high overall tax burden compared to many other countries, but this is because the Swedish government provides a wide range of public services that are funded through taxation. These services are meant to benefit all citizens, regardless of their income level.
It is also worth noting that Sweden has a strong social safety net and a well-developed welfare state, which helps to reduce poverty and income inequality. Swedish citizens have access to free healthcare, free education (including university), and a variety of other social benefits. This helps to ensure that everyone has a basic standard of living, even if they are not able to earn a high income.
Yeah, but those facts are just "commie talk".
"If socialists understood economics they would not be socialists."
-- Friedrich von Hayek
Monopolies: whether controlled by govt or a company stifles competition and discourages innovation
What? Google competes with Yahoo, Bing, Duckduckgo, firefox, safari, duckduckgo and many other browsers + torrent browsers. They have a lot of competition and I personally moved completely away from the google platforms besides youtube to Apples own platform because I didnt like their spying and bias.
How does a free market monopoly stifle competition and discourage innvation?
@@historynut3460 What reason do you have to get better if your already on the top? Theres no reason to compete if youve already won.
@@samelthecamel9144 If you don't maintain high quality and low cost, then competitors will re-enter the market and your monopoly will collapse.
History Nut agree. On the free market monopoly is almost impossible.Standard oil was a monopoly because of tariffs that made it impossible to complete in America with it.
102% taxes, where do I sign up?!
Someone did her taxes wrong.
@MZ well you're too fucking stupid to imagine that because only stupid people fall for propaganda. Lol
@@mehrshadvr4 nope she literally had to pay that much by law. She fell under the 80% tax bracket at that time in Swden and then they added property and inheritance tax to that as well they literally tax her more for inheritance than the wealth she inherited.
Educate yourself. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrid_Lindgren#Politics
Yes, this was correct, you had to give up everything you earned to government and borrow 2% more to pay 102% tax. Yes Stossel may be propaganda machine but this is a true Swedish story. Check yourself at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrid_Lindgren#Politics or simply google Swedish taxes during seventies.
Many thanks, Mr. Stossel, for setting the media record straight. There are very few members of the media who understand the fundamental link between economics, politics, and property ownership. Thankfully, John Stossel is one of the few. Now if we could only get the mainstream media to grasp the fundamental link between facts and truth.
Good luck with that.
It's not at all that "the media doesn't understand" LMAO.
I’m willing to bet many people did t even watch this whole video before they commented. That’s one of the many problems we have in society. People that think they know everything and no one is going to convince them otherwise. They think with their emotions instead of using critical thinking skills.
Bernie is right for once, we should look to Sweden for economical advice...Freer markets and privatization.
That's not what Bernie wants. He wants the government to be in charge.
@@bogg7zed102 that's...kind of the joke famalam.
@@Irishcrossing lol
@@bogg7zed102 i swear its every single time you hispanics post something its a dumb question or answer..
Haha good one, he advocates the opposite!
I am a university professor in the U.S. This should be shown to all incoming freshman, and again to all graduating seniors to mitigate the bullshit they get in between from their socialist professors.
You should really tell them in person. I hate to see the new gens are getting dangerous brainwashed
sure, its still showing, that social democracy works the best for the people overall? the fusion of high taxes social welfare with free market.
@@Redmanticore not really since most of middle classes or lower won't give up their 60% income for taxe perposes. And it's against people's will. Anyways, why should I pay for your lazy ass? The people who can't work already being covered. Why should I?
socialism does not mean the total obliteration of the market. That is stupid.
@@etchalaco9971 more regulation+high taxes=total obliteration of the market
As a person who lived in Sweden for multiple years, that 40-50% taxation for
What is absurd is capitalism!
@@ulfljung4630 nice argument, you've won the internet.
@@javiermendoza5173 I think he had a stroke.
@@mrmaxwell346 Stroke? No just fed up with a system that doesn't work! Slavery and death! 666 the number of capitalism!
@@ulfljung4630 so if capitalism is so bad what do you suggest is our only option "smart guy "
As a person from Sweden. Even these tax numbers are somewhat unclear for most citizen here. "low income earners" get taxes ~30% on the salary printed on the contract. Behind the scenes, social security equivalent is deducted, employer fee is also deducted even before we see our salary. Thus the 60% is reached. The deductions are usually capped at about $50k a year, leading higher income earners to just have the marginal tax rate. But not the other fees/taxes following their salary
Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez should be required to view this video.
what you believed this bull?
Too many multi sylabic words for ocasio Cortez
@@petewalsh764 I believe it a hell of a lot more than I believe that idiot AOC.
And your message is sponsored by big corporations who rather keep their profits in off shore accounts to benefit small countries than putting it back to local banks to help the local economy that helped made it successful
and the latter has to go back
Librerals should pay 102% tax!
They don't work, how would they pay taxes?
they dont have jobs
jhun dionz 😂😂😂❤️❤️❤️🏆🏆🏆
@@GErwin-ki6eo California is the number 1 recipient of welfare and New York is number 2. Try again.
@@GErwin-ki6eo u got wrecked by Adam what a libtard you are lmao
Sweden is center-left libertarian, not socialist in any form.
*Socialdemocracy
Center left libertarian
@@pepetheiii6866 yeah, a couple years on, I agree with that. I'll update my original comment accordingly.
Can’t remember who’s quote this is from but it stuck to me ever since Absolute power absolutely corrupts”
Lord Acton. "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
Swden isn't a socalist country.
@menckencynic karl marx defined socialism as the people control the means of production. Why would you cite marx for the definition of capitalism when he was not a capitalist? That is the definition of a strawman argument. Sweden by definition is not socialist and without a doubt is capitalist.
@menckencynic a strawman argument is defined as an argument that misidentifies an opposing argument in order to make it easier to argue against. Citing the godfather of socialism who hated capitalism to define capitalism is a logical fallacy and a weak minded methodology. I did not argue from authority since I did not cite my own authority nor did I argue that someone who disagrees with capitalism is automatically wrong, as my argument is rooted in the notion that someone who has a bias against capitalism shouldn't be the one to define it seeing as though that person has something to gain and might misrepresent its definition. Hence the strawman claim.
And no I did not interchange the definition of socialism and communism and it is you who should consult your local economist as there are two definitions of socialism: the hypothetical definition of the people owning the means of production and the practical definition of the government owning the means of production. Communism enters the conversation when there is an authoritarian governing body over that economic model.
You should stop calling yourself smart
@menckencynic oh by the way, you confused the word theoretical as hypothetical, seeing as though communism had never worked and the definition of theory is a hypothesis that has been tested and supported.
@menckencynic I'll answer your question with a question: do you suffer from insanity? Which obviously is defined as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. And is your last comment a side step by way of dismissing a person as a means to avoid having to contend with the content of the argument?
@menckencynic classic play from the bernie-bro playbook : step 1, condescend the person instead of contending with their logic. Step 2 falsely declare yourself as a superior intellectual. Step 3 (Optional) run away when you realize you can't contend with the idea and deflect using more false bravado and condescension.
All this talk about Sweden is exaggerated. I'm Swedish and Sweden isn't that bright anymore. Too many foreigners from Middle East, bad integration problems, highest crime rate than ever, highest unemployment in Scandinavia and growing capitalism. Other neighbouring countries such as Finland or Denmark have much better welfare systems and rank higher nowadays than Sweden. Sweden was known for it's social welfare and high ranking country but that was over 30 years ago. The world is changing, even China has grown from a poor big country into a worldpower during the same amount of time. Many Swedes such as this guy Johan Norberg live in a brainwashed reality and think that Sweden is still the best, or at least they tell themselves that. Truth is: Sweden is poorest in Scandinavia and last to be compared with other western european countries. I was working once in Germany and the contrast was big. In Germany they respect you and beg you to come to them and work. You have even more holiday days in Germany, better helthcare and the living is cheaper there. But in Sweden the companies are choosy and arrogant. Not to mention the residential crisis we have now. If you want a new apartment, you need to be inscribed in a housing queue and wait at least wait 10 for an apartment if you wanna live in the bigger cities. Sweden is not a fairy tale. Many swedes travel to America for work.
”Many swedes travel to america for work”
Yes like africans/middle easterns travel to sweden for work
Well, these people come because of the more comfortable life and economic assistance in Sweden. It depends what you compare to. If you live in the Middle East even Romania would be a attractive place to live in instead of Somalia or Syria. Swedes compare to America but even america doesen't have such generous economic support for individuals who have difficulties to get a job. Swedes mostly work outside their country for a while to get some experience and then return and find a permanent job in their home because we already have a good social welfare system and don't need to be addicted to american providing. If that's what you mean
Miss Sweden's "ABBA" days for sure. :)
The whole point of the video was to debunk myth about "socialistic" Sweden, not to compare where is better to live.
And coincidentally this declined came at the same time Sweden started implementing a freer and freer market 🤔
They pay more taxes but they have free higher education - free health care - free social services - free chucked care - all high quality ( besides of course the part of the school system which was privatized and failed - see PISA results after 2015 ) ...
In the US with 37000 you are really poor and have NO access to high quality services ..
Error #1 In Venezuela the government does NOT own the means of production.
Liberals - "We should be like Sweden!"
Me - "Ok, then we need Sweden's demographics"
Liberals - (sound of head exploding)
preach!
Ha ha, finally someone said it Allthough Mass immigration is hitting sweeden now too.
Why does the idea of people with different skin colors mean that you can't have socialized medicine, free college, higher wages, etc.?
@@davidmitchelwinograd7146 It's not "skin colors", which is just a cosmetic outward manifestation of more fundamental genetic realities. If you see some more sinister motive, then why don't you point us to the society that has a significant population of people with an IQ under 100 but, at the same time, is rich enough to offer all the free goodies you listed.
I'll wait.
@@johnadkins1650 What "genetic realities"? Are you saying non-white people are dumber than white people?
Central planning is not as inefficient in small political units that’s why we must advocate for localism, more power to state and local governments and less power to the federal government. It’s also more attainable than the full on libertarian/quasi anarchist society we want.
I like your term "localism." It sounds like an organizing principle Catholics call "subsidiarity," which calls for matters to be handled at the lowest or least-centralized competent authority. I'd like to see each discussion of government coercion (the passing of a law) to include a discussion of subsidiarity. We should be very reluctant to think we are so right about any policy prescription that we should enforce it one everyone, everywhere, and for all time.
Seeing how homogenous the society of Sweden was in the 70s brougt tears to my eyes. Never to be seen again.
@Dan i I wish I could share your optimism. You could be right, because they all come to Germoney, after they've dried out Sweden.
Racist
@@White-lh3le Bla, bla, bla (Greta Thunberg)
So now Sweden and Denmark will pay our defense budget instead of the other way around?
I have not heard one happy thing about socialism in any country...
Your mom gave all her "abilities" to serve a room full of viking hatted studs and the "needs" and made everyone happy. There is that.
Exactly. That's why Fox news equates Social Democracy w/ Socialism. Too bad their viewers are too dumb to know the difference.
Check list of countries with the happiest people. All social democracies at the top and the US nowhere to be found until halfway down the entire list.
@@TheGalantir I just checked and we're 18th on the list of happiest country which is not even remotely "half way down".
@@adamrichardson5224 Lol the usual american response, they don't get the point you're making and have to find something to say that's wrong so it's not true. And that's exactly why the US is nr1 in nothing but military spending.
I love how people love to dance around the definition of the “socialism” to avoid lumping themselves up with failed socialist country
Well said
amity 150 maybe those people should argue for social democracy then and not for socialism. The definition of socialism is where the government would control the means of production. The reason why places like Sweden and Denmark are not socialist is because they can still have private schools and private healthcare. What most American politicians who claim to be Democratic Socialist argue for is removing all privatization, and giving the government control. That results in shortages and other problems. What we need is to have a completely free market to allow people to compete and prevent a lazy or even corrupt government from messing things up for everyone else.
@amity 150 SS and CMS are not socialism. They are examples of social democracies aka welfare state. Not socialism. Again, this is what they mean about dancing around the definition.
@amity 150 then you should know Democratic Socialism=/=Social Democracy
@amity 150 Define top 1%? I ask because everyone's definition is different. I ask because it changes my rebuttals data. However, the top 1% can never own 100% of the wealth in capitalism because it will bankrupt the top 1%. They would lose consumers and workers. However, in socialism the top .1% typically owns 100% of the wealth. Right now, by most sources the top 1% only holds about 9.5% of the wealth in the USA, but pays 85%-93% of the wages of the other 99% through the creation of products needed by the country. Top 1%=$835 Billion. 99%=$7.919 Trillion
You're really going to go down the route that ancient economies that relied heavily on feudalism and and slavery as examples of socialism? Not doing yourself any favors.
SS and Medicare are not examples of classical, historical or grammatical socialism as they did not take over the means of production for any company, organization or industry. They are all a simple, and failing, forms of safety nets. Organizations created as a subset of an industry. In fact neither "produce" anything. Only steal from one to give to another. Not socialism. Social Democracy. Big difference.
Bernie's brand was tried in 1970s-1990s nordic nations. It failed and they have been reducing the taxes, programs and freeing the market ever since with plans to reduce their nets over the next 5-10 years.
Socialism, by your very special definition, creates and propagates slavery. Its the only way it works.
In scandinavia they don't practice Democratic Socialism, they practice a Social Democracy. They are very different things
I cannot believe how much we're lied to in the US. This is incredible. smh
"Scandinavia isn't socialist."
"ok cool can we have their health and education system?"
"NO THATS SOCIALISM."
Yeah, this entire video is... Kinda based on a strawman argument. People don't WANT socialism like Cuba or Venezuela or the USSR, and pretending they do is intellectually dishonest. What people want is the consumerist lifestyle provided by capitalist economic systems coupled with a strong governmental safety net, including protections against corporatist abuse of the environment, labour rights, and democracy itself.
@@dylanv7668 It was free market reforms that brought Sweden out of the ditch it was in. They would be doing even better if they didn't have these ridiculous government programs that they still do have. It just so happens that the free market can manage the amount of government Sweden currently has. That is not to be confused with thinking those programs are actually a net positive because they're far from it. However I'd gladly take a trade where half the country can be like Sweden and the other half can actually be a free economy. I just think most of your population would be moving to my side after the first few years.
@@dylanv7668 Sweden is not a socialist country, though. "Socialism like Cuba or Venezuela" is just socialism. Socialism is an economic system under which the government owns a monopoly on industry. Communism is a system under which there is no private industry or property. Capitalism is an economic system under which industry and companies are owned and operated privately. Providing welfare safety net is not the same thing as monopolizing industry or the production of goods. Thus, it has nothing to do with whether the country has a private or governmentally-run corporate economy; it is a social service provided by the government, funded by the taxpayers. Not dissimilar to the judicial and prison systems.
@@Georgejackson711 I never said Sweden was particular socialist (though like all countries it has a mix of influences on its economy), and don't much care. My point was that it has a state-provided social safety net that includes quality accessible healthcare, a supportive welfare system, good public education, and strong regulatory protections for workers, consumers, and the environment. The government providing these safeguards of social and economic freedom is not unduly controlled by companies primarily driven to maximize owners' profits - as is the case, I'd argue, in the US.
I said 'like Cuba or Venezuela' to use them as examples of countries operating with economies heavily influenced by socialist principles - but do note that they both have private sectors, and are therefore No True Socialists by an absolutist definition :P
You can have that but you will be taxed at 60%
Swedens population is a fraction of the US. Tough to compare government spending between the 2 countries.
No it's not. Just adjust per-capita. Done. Not difficult.
I agree with the intent of this video, to educate people on the benefits of a capitalist society, compared to a socialist one. But the policies or governmental programs of a small country like Sweden, may not have the same results needed for the maintenance and redemption of the USA, which is almost 40 times bigger. Anymore than the methods of a baby sitter of 1, could be utilized for a daycare of 50.
Not really. Adjust things per-capita and it shouldn’t be hard.
I have worked with alot of people, whom have fled countries, and gone to another. there are lots of reasons, but one of the shocking reasons, is ambition that is squashed by taxation. No one wants to work 60 hours a week, and give most of the results of their labor in taxes.
That's why many of the best and brightest flee Canada for greener pastures.
i taught in a voucher school in sweden (i am from canada) and for working approx 9 months in one schol year and I made (gross) $38224.92 USD and was taxed at an avg rate of 20%.
health care i would say is not as good as canada but the infrastructure the govt provides is probably better (parks, bike lanes, roads) and they have a WAY BETTER childcare system (free day care, maternity leave and automatic child benefits etc)
19,000 likes
1,000 people admitting that they don't want to fix anything, they just want control
I disliked, the video does not lie about anyting BUT... and a very big BUT, it gives a total messed up image of Sweden. The USA should stay with capitalism, not because it's good but because you first have to know what social democrasy is, and the image this video gives is simpely not true. Sweden is a mixed economy which gives both capitalism and socialism, but for god sake the privataisations wasn't so good, as many have alrady pointed out the school reform was a total failiure and the postal office, well... it has worse raitings than US airlines.
@@gaffalstudios3617 I don't think anyone is saying Sweden is a purely capitalist country. It's simply taking note that, by and large, the more control it gave to the government the worse things got. Similarly, I think it's hilarious when a socialist (or "democratic socialist") looks at the failings in the U.S. and says, "See? That's what capitalism gets you." In reality, our shortcomings are primarily due to gradual distancing from a free market. And even today we're making the same mistakes Sweden made; we just haven't had the sense yet to reverse course.
@@Vic2point0 Yes, I almost totally agree with your opinion and I should probably been a little more clear what I think is the problem. Both socialism and capitalism have big flaws in their pure forms but what I really see as the problem is that some people ( as i've seen in the comments ) may and will se this as: A Sweden get's socialism, B the people get unhappy, C they get a little more capitalist and make huge national proffit, derfore socialism bad capitalism good.
Well there are litturally hundreds of examples and arguments agianst socialism that are totally true and vallid (such as the almost extreme goverment controll in some cases) this is not one of them. What I'm saying is that everyting in this video is totally true but it can be a bit missleading. For example the statement about Astrid Lindgren, many in the commentsection mistook her imaginary story of paying 105% marginal tax as true fact wich would understandebly be outragues.
Agian the video is good but I feel it has a hidden agenda. Ps: I'm glad we can have open discoution
@@gaffalstudios3617 What would be an example of "pure capitalism" being bad?
@@Vic2point0 Of cource capitalism can be good to have in many cases but it also holds flaws, for example it can easily create gaps betwen (and create) the classes, because what often happens is that the richer classes can go to the better colleges, hospitals etc. and thus they get the better jobs and in the end better status, in Sweden since all of this is free it's not uncommon for poor imigrants to become super rich from basically nothing but a smart buisnessmodel.
Of cource I don't really jnow the situation in america and I could be wrong but this is at least what iv'e heard about the american welfarestate.
I'd like to see Swedens system work for $350 million people. Sweden is smaller than most of our states. It's a lot easier to control a small population vs a massive one.
Exactly
That's the point... it is better when you don't control them... and it works at all scales.
Sweden isnt socialist. This whole discussion is just nonsense 😂
Stossel is a national treasure.
Indeed he is along with Thomas Sowell and the later Walter E. Williams.
I gotta say: THANK GOD for John Stossel.
Yes!
He's a Libertardian idiot.
@@titusmccarthy calling someone an idiot proves nothing
Stossel is being deceptive and a liar. We have redistribution of wealth in Sweden to pay for healthcare. How is that not socialist? That's all that Bernie Sanders is referring to. This is such a stupid "gotcha" video.
@@otakurocklee dude they are as far from socialism as they can be. They has even say so themselves, stop lying.
Russian socialism? I think you are 28 years late
Putin is as capitalist as they come.
@@SeraphoftheRoundTable Not really. Cronyism isn't really capitalism.
Sweden did not privatize their pension system.
They still have a public pension program like Social Security. They just expanded on it by adding an additional individual market plan that still makes up a very SMALL percentage of pension spending.
India has some of socialism, like our transportation, railways , hospitals and many run by government. This miserably failed India because of corruption. While privatisation give better facilities
Yup, privatizing things automatically increases the quality because people CHOOSE to support it, and therefore are actually inclined to pay instead of scraping by with the bare minimum. Example. Detroit. Detroit Police Department friggin sucks and everyone hates em, Detroit neighborhoods are hiring Private Security firms to patrol and they are held to a MUCH higher standard then police. Private Sec doesn't pull out guns on kids, Private Sec doesn't slam old ladies on the ground. Because if they did no one would hired them.
American Police are terrible at deescalation in so many situations. Whereas Private Sec is ALL ABOUT deescalating at ANY point. They NEVER shoot unless they know that person has a gun and is going to shoot them. And even then they won't just stand there they'll be more tactical and take cover first and shout from behind cover to throw the gun away.
I'd much rather have private business drive infrastructure and services. If one business fails, it's just one business. But if a socialist nation fails, it takes everyone with it.
India is capitalist af
$37k/year is still almost double what I make. If we we're making a living wage we would have a much different economy, but wages haven't increased since the 70s. In fact, when adjusted for inflation, wages are down. How can we be expected to pay any taxes when some of us make $20k/year or even less?
The Unhappiness with our system reflects an unhappiness in the heart of man, politics, economics etc will never fill the void.
Yes! They have left God and His ways aside and now they're all pretty depressed trying to fix this by all means but the one they should return to! Sad!
Not in a capitalist country thats why we have to fight for communism and ultimately start a revolution with the backing of the people.
I think absolutely everyone needs to see this in 2023
Volvo is now Chinese-owned, and IKEA is based out of the Netherlands to survive. Also, in the United States, a person who earns UNDER $24000 per year pays 0% Federal Income Tax.
The uncontrolled imigration is theee major problem in Sweden.
Xenophopia is a good word to look up.
@Emily Villamil No we should just lock them out of our beautiful country so they can’t fuck it up anymore. If we locked them in prison we’d still have to pay for their lives. Fuck that.
Drop the word "uncontrolled" and it still applies. Only Europeans should be allowed to live in Europe. Desert ppl need to move back to their desert countries.
@@VexylObby We do have a problem with immigration, half of our municipalities are going bankrupt, and you worry about fabricated xenophobia "issues". Well, you are what's wrong with Sweden.
@@OzoProduction ahahahahaha look theres an idiot everyone and he thinks he is right ''i VoTEd Sd iN 2014 HRUR duRR''
The thing you have to ask yourself, do the poor and less talented have a right to be treated as a "humans" to. That is the question! Western Europe says yes.
No system is perfect. But some systems are more humane.
Greetings from Western Europe 🇳🇱🇪🇺
They have a responsibility to act like humans as well and that involves alot of training that starts at birth.
Being treated as "human" means nothing. You can't legislate a standard of living.
Thanks John... Great preview video. I'm going over to watch the full video now.
I'm a 100 percent disabled Vietnam veterans. I have free health care through the USA Veterans Administration. I went to the emergency room of the VA because of pain in my lower abdomen. They found out I had an obstructed bowel hernia. I had surgery 8 hours later. I have had several surgeries through the VA. I always get excellent care and treatment at the VA.
VA is a form of socialized healthcare.
Yes let me pay more so people on welfare can have it better and I can have it worse
And on top of that you should also be happy with this opportunity that you are being given. Or else... oppressed, shamed, fired, imprisoned(?)...
Our corrupt politicians do not want reform. Apathy and ignorance, along with food stamps, keep change from happening. One day change will come roaring in like a mudslide.
"102% Percent in taxes" WTF!? How is that possible?! You Give away everything you own and then you still owe more!?!
With a wealth tax, for example (terrible idea).
We have several problems.
Like when we run out of fuel
Just Go To The Projects... Government Housing, Government Cheese, Government Health Care.. People who don’t want to work!!!
Walk, don’t drive and see if you want SOCIALISM!
I know I don't want the Medicare that my retired parents are now on.
I live in Sweden. Let me see we have one of the highest taxes in the World. Despite that we have longest ques for Healthcare in Europé, people literly dying in cancer waiting to start geting a cue. If you have the money you travel to Finland or any other European countrys to get treatment faster. We have amung europes highest amount of shooting in europé and the highest of bombings even tho we have a much smaller population than lets say german, italy and so on.
Out state television and radio is socialist political bias, for example 80% of radio workers is bias to MP wich is the socialist party ally who wants free immigration for example.
Recently we had a doctor proffesor on the radio who criticised the socialist goverment handling av the Corona in Sweden who almost killed 6000 people, among the hingest in the Word if you look at the swedens population.
The main critism from the proffesor was for example that elder people was given morfine instead of treatment, morfine as we know reduce the breathing capacity, and few other stuff that thousands of elders have died in vain due to poor policys.
Anyway that proffesor got censored by the raido before hes program was aired.
Recently Sweden was also convicted by cheating in European school test by removing immigrants from doing the tests... Ofc to make the numbers look beter than they was.
The schools have been given ''orders'' from the topp to make the results look beter...
What part of Sweden do you live in! and don's say Stockholm or Uppsala -
Most of these facts r BS so I’m not sure why u even wrote this comment
I read the whole text and you don’t live in Sweden lol...!
@@Mejeristen. What fact are BS?
Kalle Also you can’t spell shit...
In NJ we privatized the DMV years ago. Is was a total disaster! To get your car inspected at say 9 AM, you may be able to get in around 3PM. To get say a DL, it would take all day. Hours and hours of just waiting for nothing. Long lines, too many customers and not enough workers after the private company laid off over 75% of their workforce. Said the computes would save time. But the computers were the cheapest and slowest they bought and would crash almost every single day. Could not handle the load of people daily.
Social Democracy, Public Welfare and Social Justice may live long 🌹
one of the biggest things America can do to benefit Americans is to privatize the education system!!
to benefit the millionaire families, sure. Then they could stop having to attend classes with any working class families’ kids. Only a dumb fuck would say to privatize education.
ScootMagoot46 name me one government program that is successful. DMV, police, welfare, Veterans hospitals??
@@blackout07blue why are millionare kids obligated to associate with working class kids? name me one moral or practical reason.
ScootMagoot, millionaire families are already sending their children to private schools. Do you think Donald Trump went to a school with working class children?
I think scott magot was trying to be edgy like all the cool kids.
Remember PRESIDENT: Donald J. Trump in the: NATO summit having to tell these countries to start paying for the NATO protection dues?
Even stating that the United States pays more then all of them combined.
These countries are a bunch of free loaders, and why is the United States so rich, that it funds aid to so many countries?
The answer: BECAUSE WE ARE A CAPITALIST COUNTRY.
Lmfao Sweden isnt even in NATO. Nice try though.
@@Mikey-dh7qx yeah, cause they can't afford it
@@j.carlos146 lolno. You're ignorant. Theres been debate on this in Sweden for a long time and no one is talking about the lack of money. Sweden is rich for its size and population
What is “socialism”? There are about twenty different definitions, some of them completely contradictory. In the 19th century, socialism did not mean state ownership of the means of production. That’s a very Leninist notion. Very 20th century. But the original meaning of “socialism” simply meant that work wrong people should own and control the means of production. For instance, worker cooperatives. In fact, Lenin’s state ownership model may properly be regarded as state capitalism, not socialism. We should strive to recover the original meaning of socialism and reject the Stalinist notion altogether.
I remember the 70s. The whole world was in stagnation not just Sweden. The US had high inflation Unemployment Polutions etc etc and we did in Australia. We wernt socialist and we aren't now. Competition is great but Corporations dont want competition. They try and organise and collude to reduce competition.
And the answer to corporatist overreach is, of course, proper regulation by government (including regulation of corporate influence over government)
@@dylanv7668 Which, so far...never worked?
It's simple math, you have people who want money, and you have people who have the money.
Ones have the power, the other's have the money, so you can dance all you want with govercancerment, it always gets corrupted, and power is exchanged by money (bribes=donations, yadda yadda)
I never understood the idea that people have, about govercancerments can control corruption...
Aren't politicians the same kind of humans as the corporists?
Aren't they greedy and power hungry like the corporists?
Why do people still believe in this fantasy?
Short 'sight', i guess.
Yes and the fact that more people don't know. That these are monopolies that do not promote competition is insane.
I used to think when ppl said: “Sweden is a socialist success” they meant Sweden’s socialism is good, I now kno that’s not the reason, the REASON is Sweden isn’t even socialist!
As someone who lives in sweden, this video is bs. Do your own research.
@@zoroverse8358 I'm legitimately interested though, can you give me some of your sources?
Xi Jinping sweden is social democratic. Not capitalist, not socialist. We have high taxes, and more even wages. A professor in mathematics earn 6000 dollars a month and a lunch lady earns 3000 dollars a month (not exact but pretty accurate). Also education is free, healthcare is free, the state pays child support and many things like prisons etc. are owned by the government. Also if you have no money at all, no food etc. and are a swedish citizen the government pays for food and shelter while searching for a job you can do. Sure sweden doesn't own the production means but they are leaning heavily against the left economics than the right. Also when people think of socialism they think of free healthcare etc. so by their definition they are socialist, wich they are not.
1. Sweden has never been a socialist country
2. Sweden is a mixed economy
3. Swedes love capitalism
4. Swedes are the top creative inventors in the world
5. Swedes complain but work hard
Thank you for this! I lived there for two years after college and it just doesn't work.
What doesn't work?
You mean you didn't like the way of living life in Sweden??
There is a lot of criticism of this documentary in amazon reviews. It seems like the whole film was just made to push this perspective. I appreciate some of the points made here, but would like a little more nuance.
That's right. As a Swedish person living in Sweden, I can tell you it's not all fine and dandy like this documentary wants you to believe. I am utterly disappointed they were not more honest in this documentary on also bringing up the problems that have come up because of how Sweden is run.
@@AlexMaden That's good to know, do you know a documentary/channel which tells that side of Sweden?
@@javiermendoza5173 There are plenty of Swedish alternative news media and commentary channels that bring up the ugly side of Sweden. But if you're looking for English commentary specifically, only a few options comes to mind. There's a RUclipsr called "Angry Foreigner" who makes videos both in Swedish and English, but he often adds english subtitles to his swedish videos due to his mixed audience. Then there's another channel where a Swedish woman does political commentary in english. I'll link to a relevant video of theirs to check out, and if you want to hear more you can just browse their catalog.
Angry Foreigner - ruclips.net/video/0GWdWGGhULY/видео.html
Gen - ruclips.net/video/ReGNrweU9No/видео.html
@@javiermendoza5173 Oh, and let me also add this guy to the list. He's a great Swedish political commentator, but his videos are in Swedish. Though I believe you should be able to turn on Englsih subtitles for them.
Henrik Jönsson - ruclips.net/channel/UCQmwkvc1eVuIfxjIq6JvWtg
@@AlexMaden thank you so much, what a great surprise. Was not expecting such a detailed response. Have a nice day
Well that clears that argument up for me.
This video is basically raw info. Why dislike it?
- Students from private schools are on average less prepared for university than those of public schools (they get lower scores on national tests etc.)
- We don't have 60% income tax. It's actually around 30% and the rest is tax on consumption which obviously varies
- Privatization has generally led to worse healthcare, worse postal service and worse public transport options
The correct frase should be *"Now days people doesn't like to work..."*
You edited it and still spelt phrase wrong
Apparently you don't know what socialism is
@Stephen Hahaha you are funny man, that is why people who don't understand immigration dont decide immigration-related decisions. Bigot
@@andrewjensen8189 Hard to tell, but are you one of those people that don't get the term "Illegal Alien" as apposed to the immigrants that wait their turn and go through the proper channels? One of those people that don't understand that there are no western/developed countries with open borders and that ours shouldn't be either for reasons too numerous to list? It's not about being a bigot, it's about knowing who comes into your country and for what purpose. All nations do this in case you have never traveled out of the country.
Sweden and Denmark are not socialist or democratic socialist. They are both social democracies both are center left. Bernie Sanders says he is a democratic socialist but many of his policies align more with social democracy.
I love the analogy of; "Would you trust the DMV to manage your healthcare?" Didn't think so.
they also don't have to fund the world's #1 maritime military and criminal justice system either.
F-16 jet fighters, stealth bombers, aircraft carriers, M1 Abrams tanks, Navy Seals, Green Berets, FBI, state penitentiaries and SWAT teams aren't cheap
And they aren't needed.
@@Sun-Tzu- Hitler happened because post-WW1 Europeans wanted to believe weapons were no longer needed. Had they responded to Germany rearming by simply making equipment and demonstrating a will to respond, WW2 would not have happened. Europe has escaped WW3 because of those weapons you imagine to be unnecessary. Very naive.
@@sanniepstein4835 Post WW1 had one of the biggest arms races in history. They vastly developed rockets, tanks, flamethrowers, poison gas, and automatic infantry weapons during the inter-war period.
Uncontrolled immigration though is a big issue in Sweden rn
True
@@tanvikittur7352 its actually not, once again you dont really know. ^^
So lets be like Sweden is now.
How unregulated is the private sector? For example, is there anything stopping company X from discharging/venting toxic-but-expensive-to-dispose-properly materials, or company Y lying about revenues in order to cheat? I'm curious if it's a completely hands off laissez-faire environment or is there a firm but minimalist framework of regs? I loosely gather that Sweden has ministries who uphold established laws instead of the bureaucratic largesse of massive agencies making up new ones as they go?
I would attribute a key to the success of Sweden's system their workforce participation in proportion to their total population:
- Sweden labor participation, 2020: 72.8% out of 10,099,265 people = 2,747,000 people.
- US labor participation, 2020: 61.5% out of 331,002,651 people = 127,436,021 people.
Sweden only has 2 3/4 million people not working, while the US has 127 million people not participating in the workforce (46X as much as Sweden). Would this even be possible to roll out in the US with such a huge difference in non working individuals? I'm all for it if we can replicate it. We could start by adopting a zero tolerance policy for those who are perfectly able to work yet choose not to.
Last question: Low wage Swedish worker being taxed at 60%; what must they face in terms of rents and healthcare costs? I know in all but the most miserable, economically depressed US states, having only 40% of your 37k a year will in no scenario be enough to cover the food, rent, and healthcare trinity without some kind of assistance.
Oh yeah, and fuck socialism.
Sweden is not socialist! It’s social democraic capitalism.
Also people forget the huge amounts of money Sweden makes from the government licencing of natural gas and other resources, which brings in a lot of revenue (same for Norway and Denmark).
Also take into account Sweden only has 10 million people for the social service programs to work with as opposed to the 330 million here in the US, not to mention many other factors and you have also a very different system that cant be copy and pasted to the US
We don't have 5 times more people than Germany, our economy is nearly 5 times bigger than theirs yet they have all these social programs too. Typical dumbfuck libertarian argument debunked. God you people are so fucking stupid.You wanna go bigger than Germany Japan has socialised medicine with 133 million people. Good job being a dumbfuck parasite. Ha ha you probably never even went to college. Otherwise you wouldn't be such a dumbass, I guess that's not true though since some dumbfuck libertarians do go to college.
@@skylertaylor7283 Japan Is an oriental ethnostate. USA is a multiracial Occidental federation. The two are too different
@@skylertaylor7283 Why so triggered?
And US is not even on planet earth, and we don't even have humans living here, we have lizards, and also many retarted lizards who will just fuck everything up everytime.
@@skylertaylor7283 we live in capitalism yo! Take ur socialism shit to Venezuela. We gonna make this country a libertarian paradise with pure capitalism. Wal-Mart will build roads, children will have money for healthcare from their coal mining jobs, and without social security old folks who didn't save up will just die from starvation so we won't even need Medicare either! Kumbaya and hallelujah you socialist libtard rat!
;)
As a Swede, I can say that this is a very skewed description. The privitizations had a very varying degree of success, and the school reform was an utter failure. We have plumetted in PISA scores since it happened.
Nah the reason we went down in tje scores are becsuse of the 1 million africans who cant read... ;) Sweden was 100% literate at one point. Its down now becsuse of immegration
The Cato Institute made a seemingly decent article about the effects of privatization in Swedish schools. Can you debunk it? If you just type "Sweden School Choice Cato Institute," I am sure you will be able to find it. The article defends school privatization, and says that those charter schools are better than public ones
@@person3070 The more ambitious students go to the private schools and thus private schools look better. The averages go down. It's a failure. Super simple.
@@midimusicforever
Intriguing. Why do the more ambitious choose charter schools? And why have PISA scores plummeted when a grand majority (about 86% according to CATO) attend public schools? Does this 14% really make that huge of a difference? And why does a place like South Korea, which apparently has around half of their students attending privatized schools, have good education scores?
Its almost like after decades of labeling any increase in government spending as socialist Americans have no idea what socialism actually is. The most prominent socialist in America doesn't want to abolish private ownership.
Americans just have really weird ideas on what socialism is
How the heck does one pay 102% of taxes? That is screwed up.
@thesparitan The only one who's making bullshit propaganda is you.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomperipossa_in_Monismania
Because over 100% fulfills "the plan"... forget logic.
44% income tax, $10000 tax on a new Toyota 86 , $10000 tax on fuel = low wage earners are paying $40000 to government yearly
She was supposed to pay 102% in taxes, during the 70s we had the highest taxation we've ever had and there were more added due to her being sef-employed etc. She never had to actually pay it though, taxes were reformed shortly after this was brought the light.
Democratic socialism works really good in Sweden
I broke my leg and had to wait eight hours in a hospital
High taxes works 100%