Very happy to pay my taxes here in Norway 😊 it's not only paying for healthcare, but education (even university, med school etc is free), a year 100% paid parental leave, child care is very cheap, like daycare etc (300$ a month, soon 200$, included 2 meals a day), and you get 170-250$ paid each month per child until they turn 18, 5 weeks (6 if you're above 60) paid holiday + national and public holidays and paid pension for when you retire at appx 65-67 and much more. We don't actually pay that much more taxes than you in the US (depending on where) but I pay 22% income tax with a 90.000$ salary, less because I'm married and have young kids and each year you get money back if you have paid too much tax. Best part is that it's done for you for the most part, you don't have to write a tax report, you just have to check that the information they have regards to your income and life situation is correct. Easy peasy 😊
As a Dutch I am always been truly interested in your country, my brother lived a few years in Stavanger, but I have never been able to visit him. But since that time I have always been interested in Norway..
@@Helge_Torptax is way to expensive, because we we are one of the world's most bureaucratic countries, and we have a socialist system. We have freedom of speech and we are allowed to say what we think, but we cannot do what we want, but we can say what we want with our mouth. The high tax means that there is little left of my income after my tax is paid, even though we have a high income, we still have more expensive living costs than most other western countries, so you have to take that into account. I would say that Norway is rich in resources, but people mostly belong to the working class. The majority are working class. In many countries, the working class is the minority while the other classes are the majority, which means that there are not that big differences in Norway I don't feel I get much value for my tax. It is also free to sleep in hospital, admission is free. But outpatient treatment is not free, you pay a deductible. Dental health is not part of the Norwegian health care system, in contrast to health care which is partially subsidized by the state, dentistry is 0% subsidized, here you pay 100% of the price yourself. Nor can you buy health insurance that covers a dentist, because a dentist is not part of the health system after you turn 18. I haven't been to the dentist since 2018, because I can't afford it. Most Norwegians have mortgages for 25 - 35 years, those with higher education also have student loans for many years after their studies have been completed and finally.... free admission to hospital, and partially subsidized outpatient treatment applies to most countries in Europe, not unique to Norway
As a Norwegian, I can tell you that Sweden and us have a very brotherly relationship. On the outside we hate each other, but on the inside we both know that we love each other dearly (but don't let any Swede know I said that).
The UK has the same "oil" from the North Sea - but keep in mind that the UK have more than 10x the population of Norway. However the UK did exactly what you suggested. Slash taxes. And that does not pay off in the long run.
I believe Norways continental shelf is a lot bigger than the UKs, with bigger reservoirs of oil and gas not only in the North Sea but also the Barents Ocean. Furthermore, the UK didn't do a good enough job of making sure the profits from the private industry ends up in public hands. I think Norway taxes oil companies like 78%?
@@kossakken Yep. What you are saying is pretty much correct. Norway company tax is 22% and then oil is taxed 56% on top of that - so a total of 76%. UK oil reserves are estimated to be about 2.7 billion barrels. Gas reserves at 8.5 million, million cubic feet. Norways reserves are approx 5.2 billion barrels. Gas reserves at 72.3 million, million cubic feet.
In Norway, we only use about 3% of the oil surplus to help cover the expenses. Hospitals and schools are covered by the taxes we pay into the state. The reason is that we must save for hard times. Ex, in hard times is under corona. I, who am privately employed and do not work for the state, received 100% salary to stay at home paid by Norway for 1 1/2 years and they covered the expenses of the company I worked for, so when we were all vaccinated I could go back to my job without losing my job. Just the extraordinary crisis measures in response to the pandemic have cost at least NOK 221 billion since the pandemic came,( on 5,3 million people) this was estimated in January 2022. Since we have such a large fund, we did not go bankrupt. If we had spent the money on low taxes, we would not have had money when there was a big crisis. Norway is a country of survival preppers. We save money, we have a seed bank in case the world ends and the authorities release information about how much food we need at home to survive until they can come in with help. Not all Norwegians are equally good at prepping, but the mentality of living in a harsh landscape where access to food is only in the summer/autumn without fishing has made us extreme preppers (now we import food but the access is not similar to the American one) We save and save because one day the accident will come and we will have money to get through. If a crisis came right now, I can close the door and stay at home for at least 1 month without needing to go to the store
@@Valfodr_jr Whilst it's not codified in an act, it is law, because it's a principle followed by parliament when the national budget is approved. Remember that the English definition of "law" is broader than the Norwegian "lov".
Sorry for laughing, but it is exactly because Norway has invested it's oil revenue in stocks abroad the country has become so wealthy. Had it instead lowered the taxes and used the oil revenue to support the wellfare state (free health care, subsidied childcare, free schools and subsidied higher education, infrastructure investments - roads, railways, airports, 5g telecommunication and more - sports venues, cultural buildings and more), not only would the well fare state have ended when the oil did, the entire economy would have depended on the price of oil. But with the pensionfund, because most businesses profits from low oil prices, what Norway loses in oil revenue if oil prices are low, the country gets back cause the value of the pensionfund's foreign stocks rise. It is called well balanced risk diversification.
Dutch disease is a well-known term in Europe, the Dutch found lots of gas in the north and at the end of the 70s in the last century our economic situation was depending almost totally on selling gas and that was a huge mistake by the government because the rest of the businesses stayed behind in our total economic situation and was thereby bad for the total grow of the economy in our country..Norway will never lose their status because Norway owns almost 1.5% of all company shares in the world. With only 5.5 million inhabitants, that is the success of the government of Norway.
Owning 1.5% of all company shares in the world doesn't help Norway when that kind of economic ideology (accumulating artificial wealth not adding any tangible value to the real economy) has already failed and promoted massively unsustainable environmental and social impacts due to corporatism and shareholder 'value' at any cost. Norway has one of the worst economies in Europe, in reality. It remains one of Europe's poorest nations. Defending the economic ideology only leads to more inequity, poverty and suffering then, ultimately, international conflict. When the 'impossible' crisis unfolds, artificial currencies (money, which has no inherent value, btw) and international supply chains cease, Norway becomes a humanitarian problem within months. One other nations will be far too busy to help with. Perspective and a sense of what real economics is all about helps.
@@VENO5407 LOL! Norway has by far the worst economy in Europe. It has to import almost everything, because its crude, resource-poor extractive economy (comparable to a 3rd world economy) fails to produce enough tangible value for Norway to exist on. Your naive, one-dimensional view of economics exposes your economics illiteracy, ironically. Must try harder.
@15.22 that view looks like a model, but it’s called ‘Tilt-shift photography’… photo /film shots from above, blurred and sharpen in the center … so that it looks like a miniature model
Lowering taxes has, economically, the same effect as spending the oil revenue - see inflation, the Dutch disease, Britain... Paying the taxes to fund the domestic public services secures a level of control of the domestic economy and avoids (gross) overspending and forces industry and services to remaIn competitive, and more predictability and less fluctuation. By not relying on one non-renuewable resource like that, the resource paradox (that is, after you find one huge resource, you end up poorer after that resource has gone than you were before) can be avoided.
Tax in Norway has actually been greatly reduced. Down 7% since 2013. Norway no longer has high taxes - we were in 3rd place after Denmark and Sweden - but are now slightly below the average in Europe.
After adding the arbeidsgiveravgift, wealth tax and VAT Norway has, this is probably not entirely accurate, but I guess the numbers add up when looking specifically at the personal income tax itself and nothing else.
"Is that a model?" This is the Diorama effect, or "miniature faking", achieved by blurring foreground and background, creating a narrow depth of field.
I hate when every one think that we Norwegian are rich too. That’s not the case! Many can’t keep their homes warm in the winter cause everything is so expencive. Our Government throws our money out of the country. If they gave us the money, yes we could be millionares, but they don’t. So quit say we are so happy and rich - it’s not thrue.
Why 🇳🇴got a large part of the north sea is because we adopted the Denmarks solution with the Germany discussions of coastline. Since we have a lot of island outside the coastline of mainland in the vest and England don’t therefore we in Norway got a huge part of the Northern sea area when you split the part in half.
Its a bit of misunderstanding going around. Norway was already rich (or at very least wealthy) before we got the oil, mainly tanks to shipping (whaling, fish, transports) and exports. And we gained lots of experience and technological advances from this. This video do a pretty good deep dive into the whole thing: ruclips.net/video/RO8vWJfmY88/видео.html
No that is Bergen, I can see my previous apartment there. But they have a model of it at Legoland, Denmark. 😄 We pay around 32% in taxes off our salaries. Compared to what I'd pay in insurance in the US - for a lesser public system, 32% is peanuts. Remember that all education is free. All health-care, dental and glasses are free until you are 18. As an adult all you pay for any health-care needs is approx USD 250,- per year. After that, all medication, doctors appointments, surgery, transport to hospital, etc. etc. etc. is covered and free for the rest of the calendar year. I had almost a year payed paternity leave when both my kids were born, and I have six weeks payed vacation every year, not counting the holidays. Our politicians don't use more than +/-3% of the profit from oil production each year, securing a continous growth at least as long as we have oil, and the welfare of generations to come. The best part however, is the peace of mind our system provides. I'll never have to worry if my children or grandchildren have access to some of the best health-care in the world should they need it, or wonder if I'll be able to send my kids to University.
We wanna say thank you for your video's. And wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy new year. And we hope one day you come to the Netherlands. Amd than we welcome youbon the airport🙂
The Norwegian oil fund is NOT in the national economy and we spend about 4% of the profit from the fund, the reason we dont spend more is that if the money is released the economy would crash causing a HUGE inflation.
It is not so much about taxes, but putchasing power, which is generally spoken very good. Spain eg. has higher taxes than Norway. As of today Norway is the 6th most expensive country in Europe, and Switzerland the most expensive. But many people like to think that Norway is sooo expensive, which it isn’t anymore. The exeption is alcohol and cigarettes and a few other things. The recent discovery of phosfate in the south west will change the economy a lot. It is worth trillions, so the future looks bright.
As a matter of fact Norway was industrialized very early compared to many other European countries. This was due to the lots of rivers and waterfalls that could power industry even before hydroelectric power came into play. When i was born 60 years ago the "oil age" was about to start, but Norway was highly industrialized. We "made everything" from scoelazes to trains. And had a good export industry. Also natural recourses like fish and timber. Not to mention revenues and profits from a major merchant fleet. Ever heard about "Norwegian wood"?. That is not just a song but was a major export commodity. Like dried cod have been since the Middle Ages. Also coal from Svalbard. Norwegians are both typical expats and innovative. When plundering and raping Europe became to difficult we became traders and industrialists. Today we are known as "The arabs of Scandinavia," Norway as a country might be wealthy. But Norwegians in common are just normal westernes. Some are rich, som are poor, and most Norwegians are nidfle class.
14:20 The money we spend on social welfare (sickpay, unemployment, disability, pensions) end up back in the tax wallet in about 4 months. So because of the high taxes (mostly 25% VAT, as an example), we can spend each kroner we have THRICE each year. Meanwhile the US currency velocity is so laboriously slow (checks are still used while 99.9% of Norwgians have never seen a check, we get money direct into our bank account. Denmark even made checks illegal a few years ago. US social spending is incredibly low, VAT is incredibly low), that the US government would struggle to spend each dollar they have one and a half times each year.
Never ever forget the divers that maid this posible :) dont forget the hard working people in general!!! we work hard and good :) under our bed we have a tool box etc
Taxes are not just to pay for services, but also for redistribution of money. it is also used to make up for the imbalance in resources created by business contracts in the big picture. If you used the oil money for that you would in practice only be subsidising this imbalance with oil money, which in result only will benefit the rich most until the oil money run out. Norway try to be independent of oil in principle. If oil stopped tomorrow we'd still be doing ok. Then the redistribution from the rich back to the poor needs to happen through taxes. It is a two way stream. Business contracts funnel money to get rich, often those who are already rich. Taxes is a way to take enough back to cover everybodys needs. This is also an "investent" for the rich, since much of this money goes towards improving the workforce (workprograms/education/rehabilitation), and keeping them healthy, not to forget a good upbringing of children to create stable and motivated workers as adults. Norwegian rich people in general understand these dynamics, and as long as the rules set by the state is the same for all rich people, they mostly accept the playing field as it has been layed out. A few of them try to avoid taxes through other countries, but it usually means their social circels dwindle in Norway. Lastly, don't forget about the high organization level of norwegian workers. Unions are unified up to the national level and wage increases are usually set at a very hight level. The priorities favor equality, which means that highly educated people in norway earn less than in other countries in loyalty with low paying jobs. In Norway we don't think low paying jobs are less important jobs, like teachers, nurses, trash collectors, office cleaners. The truth is that society would stop without those workers, but the market makes is possible to keep their wage level low. The high level negotiations between workers unions and employers unions often involve balancing this out to some degree so that low wage workers don't get too poor, and high wage workers have to accept contributing to that. It is a system with a certain amount of lojalty to society as a whole for coherence and safety. Few this are so destabilizing for a society as huge inequalities, and lojalty also means responsibility for a decent life for all. Maybe countries can get too big to maintain such lojalty and decency, and it needs a fundamental force is to not accept any corruption. Heads have rolled in Norway recently just on suspicion of corruption, and possibility for corruption. Any form of corruption undermines the stability and trust of the system, so it must be killed quickly and harshly. Is there forms of corruption in Norway? Probably some, but journalists are quite good at sniffing it out, and as far as i know no journalists have been killed in Norway yet for doing their job like this, and it would be an immense scandal if it happened, not forgotten for generations, and probably taught in school forever.
if you put a peripheral blur filter on any picture you make it look like a model because you imitate the focus experience of things that are close, so the brain interpret what you see as small.
I think it was Ålesund taken from the mountain, it would be small that way. I think the biggest issue was the lack of grunge in the picture, maybe a filter of some kind.
9:10 A bad choice of words "first north sea oil" the British were 4 years ahead of them. _Core sample in the Dukes Wood Oil museum from Britain's first North Sea discovery at BPs West Sole drilled by the Sea Gem in _*_September 1965_*_ ._ There are huge oil reserves around the UK, and a block on new disvovery. So there's assumed to be a lot more that theyre just not allowed to look for... Which is why Fracking here is so qurstionsble when convention resources aren't being tapped first.
As he pointed out in the video .. oil money are not used to pamp the economy and relieve taxes. Low taxes is NOT a good thing for a countrys resource management.
I am Norwegian. The taxes is not that high if you include what we don't pay for. We do not have to worry about healthcare. Or pay for education. We get a full year maternity leave payed for to raise out children. The taxes are there to pay for those things. In return we get a highly skilled educated workforce. The salaries are high and that makes the population able to pay the tax. To just lower the taxes is the opposite of whats been working for Norway. Because then you will have to spend more of the revenue from the fund to pay for the social benefits. It is this balance that keeps Norway rich. We dont eat unnecessary from the oilfund. High taxes is a problem if u have a poor population. Here, taxes and income is well balanced. Its not perfect, but nothing are.
It's really an essential part of the Norwegian plan to have high taxes. Imagine if a central bank would just print money -- more money, everyone rich! Sounds like such a foolproof plan, right? But you can't eat money, it doesn't keep you warm in the winter, it doesn't keep your kids safe from childhood disease, etc. That's the difference between money supply and what economists call "the real economy". If Norway had had low taxes, but still had a high level of profit from the oil sector, then it would for all practical purposes be the same as injecting a bunch of money into the economy with nothing real to spend that money on, not benefiting anyone. Since Norway is a small country, with its own currency called NOK, and the NOK has a floating exchange rate with others -- and most importantly with USD, which is used for oil sales -- it means Norway would end up with huge amounts of "hard currency" to back up the NOK. This would mean the NOK would become increasingly expensive, which would hurt the export sector in all other areas than oil -- such as fisheries and tourism. There is an additional effect that jobs connected to the oil sector would have access to more money than other jobs, meaning higher salaries, not just for oil workers, but for other workers, but that would make other sectors uncompetitive against foreign competitors, leading to an economy that becomes increasingly reliant on _one_ dominating industry -- oil. An industry that has an expiration date as well, so it's a dangerous situation to be in. It's not fully spelled out in the video, but the Norwegian plan is basically to _pretend_ that the _onshore_ economy (i.e. everything not involved in oil extraction) is mostly that of a normal country that doesn't have oil. That way, different sectors of the economy can develop in balance with each other, there is still the normal commercial pressure of competition for success for private companies, and housing prices as well as salary levels develop mostly like they would have done without the oil money.
The incomes are very high. The medical healthcare are practically free, and so are the universities. When having a child there is one year fully pais leave, of witch the dad must take at least three months. Etc.
We pay hi taxes so we get free education and healthcare etc etc and the fund can grow until we need it. We also get high salaries so the tax is not that big of an issue compared to like the US where your taxes don’t seem to benefit your population as much, and you pay a lot for what we get free. If that makes sense.
The VAT is so high. So that there is a good school system and you are not devastated by healthcare costs. Me as a Dutchman. Wish! That I had to pay a million euros in taxes every year. Then they also received a bouquet of flowers. Why? Then you have made more than 3.
The taxes is so “high” because even the richest must pay taxes. The taxes for a “normal” income is between 25 and 30 percent. It depends on your income. Higher income means higher taxes. Taxes in the Nordic countries is more looked at as investments in the countries, and not a waste. If Norway lowered the taxes it would not be able to continue the welfare system we have today. The benefits in the found would be gone in few years, and it would be hard to get back and establish higher taxes.
This will be a generalization of Norway, but think about Norway as a smalll USA. Instead of states we have counties. Each county has its own tax law. Kinda like USA.The tax goes for goverment spending like health care, police, fire and hospital. So the oil money goes to a different pool. Not subsidicing these things so our economy evolves around taxes. the oil money goes more towards funing our currency. The higher oil price get the richer we get. Again. Its dumbed down because its more complicated then this.
His comments about vikings are just glib comments. If you are interested in knowing if raids was important for survival you have to get into the medieval history. As far as I know the vikings did not depend on raids, but the structure of law and power was very different at that time, and the struggle for power, and the efforts in trading is about the dynamic and unstable organizing of the societies. With no laws whatsoever, and nobody had heard about police to enforce it, the order of society was based on who could take and hold control by any means possible. Power and trade has been going on for thousands of years, and trade routes and trade partners were how they improved their living standards. But did they "have to"? probably not, but you know, who does not want improvement? The "Vikings" also did not appear out of a vacuum. Some historians think an important reason for raids was that the church and kings related to the church tried to exclude them from their traditional trading partners. Some were probably bandits, but don't think that Vikings somehow was a different species or coming from an unknown place. What other society or kingdoms at the time did not wage wars and raid their neighbors. Kings were in constant fight with each other and nothing lasted very long. Why do you think peole got sick of it, and developed philosophies to organize the world better? Comments like he made about vikings in this video is not serious, just a glib kick based on stereotypes and hollywood fairy tales. There are not pop culture presentation of Vikings today that are realistic, and the reason is that our frame of reference is so far removed that it just becomes fantasy stories. It takes a long time to understand how reality were perceived by people at this time, and the logic that follows. Maybe quite impossible since you can't erase all that you know, in order to just see the world as they did. Since modern viewers of historical shows have very different mental structures, and knowledge you don't even think about that you have, it is impossible to portray Vikings and other Europeans the way they really were, because you can't imagine what went on in their heads. Actually you can to some degree, but there are not direct written sources from the era. All text and writing we have is from christians that were already far removed from the mindset of the Vikings. They were also looking towards a culture that only their great grandfathers knew. You see how there is already a filter on the earliest sources? So the bottom line is that the vikings probably knew very well to survive on their own in the north, but you know how humans are. Always trying to improve their lives.
You are right. The government could cut the tax ratio, but then we would have much lower oilfund because the budget deficit for Norway would be much higher and would have too take out more money from the oilfund every year. That would be making less money for invest the money into the stocks and other things. It would also be making the economic situation even more unstable during a financial crisis year for example during 2008 or pandemic years. Because we had the huge oilfund we could seriosly shut down the whole country without worry about anything. If we had much lower oilfund because the lower tax ratio and higher deficit during the budget we would have too be thinking two and three times about it. That's the luxury we appreciate! And that's after my opinion the state are for. For the people. Other countries would have too be borrowing more money or print more money during pandemic year. We didn't. We took out more money. Yes. But that was for protecting the economy and the people. The whole situation could be much worse if we had lower tax ratio. I know some people hate the tax ratio, but nobody complaining about the good system we have. Something else we appreciate is that we wan't too keep the good services "free". Free education Free hospital (free pregnancy, free ambulance, free helicopter, free hospital stay, pretty low deductible visiting doctors like $20?) We wan't very good wellfare. Safety net. We wan't too keep them. No matter what. No matter if the oil will be empty one day. Many other countries will struggle too keep the purchasing power and happiness when the oil are gone or more countries have too stop producing it.
I pay my taxes gladly ❤ Free healthcare, security and a beautiful country ❤ And by the way i love my nordic Brothers And sisters 😊 Greetings from Norway
The reason we don't lower our taxes is to avoid the problems any other oil rich nations experienced. How me manage the revenue from oil makes our economy strong for the future, not easy in the present. In reality though, we don't really pay all that much in taxes compared to what we gain on a population wide basis. It was explained in the video actually, but I think perhaps the US way of thinking economics in socioeconomic terms are so vastly different you actually failed to grasp the point. It requires a different mindset.
Not every Norwegian have a quarter of a million lol. I for sure don't :D haha. BUT - we have a pension fund that if given to the people, would amount to every Norwegian actually being a millionaire. But it is saved for the elder boom and the pensions that need to be paid in the future + it boosts the budget by up to 3% every year. We also more or less do not have debt. But the PEOPLE have a lot of debt. So much it might be a big problem when a crisis comes. And now we are in a semi crisis, with the inflation and the electricity prices soaring due to the bad descision to enter the EU Acer grid. We used to keep our water in the dams to when we needed it. Now we export and buy and people are poorer for it. But the state and the el. companies earn a lot though.. Not everything in Norway is so rosy red. But of course, one needs to compare to other places and then we are better. But not all people in Norway get the help they need. We have queues for free food help here too. We have poor people. And a growing amount of millionaires and billionaires. the differences is increasing.
These videos always try to portray Norway as if its in the northpole with only snow and darkness, its important to note that this is only partly true from the middle part and north. The south part is temperent climate with all four seasons and normal day/night cycle.
These kind of videos suffer from a lot of inaccuracies. For one, the population of Norway was not really poorly educated. In fact, more people could read and write than the average population in most of Europe. The video mentions the stong parlamentary system. Historians point to the relatively high educational level of common people as a reason for the success of and the quick implementation of parlamentarism in Norway.
The taxes is ok. But even if you really mess up. You have a the safety to have a proper place to live. And if not much, but enough to live by. Not high by Norwegien living standards. But right now about £700 a month after rent and electricity is payed. They provide so you can live decent life. If you Drink and smoke.. that sucks. But Can you imagine what would happen if people that drink too much and smoke, got MORE money ? I would love to see the comments on that anywhere in the world. :)
We keep the high taxes, so we can save even more. If people get to much money they get gready. We have seen that sooo many times.......Save, save, save....Until we have so much money that we can control the economy on the hole planet. It would actually be the best for the world's economy....It would stabilize everything.. ( But then we talk about 1000 of trillions of money) .. And that Even I don't believe
Why lower taxes when they are not a burden? Also, a progressive income tax makes it so that those that earn more (and therefor can pay more in taxes), will pay more so that those with a lot lower income can pay less. It evens out the playingfield somewhat. And those that earn more will still earn more. Just not as much as they would in other places. (That being said. Those that earn more also gain from the wellfare state. With affordable education and the like)
If you use the oilfond, it like you spending your savings. That you will use when the time comes . Taxe keep foimd im peace and let it grow ok think u get the point
As of yet is very true. The 1st efforts to preserve the wearlth has kept things in check so far. But cracks are starting to show. Definitely very well done but not perfect. Nothing ever is.
If you lower taxes and increase spending you will fast enter hyper inflation. Hence the value of money will decrease. And evrybody will get poor. Hence norway just save the oil revenues for a rainy day. Denmark, Sweden and all nordic countries have a top standard of living trough the fact we all work. And share trough high taxes. If a catastrophe hits Norway. We can buy what we need. Not asking for handouts from the rest of the world. Like unfortunately Ukraine has to do right now.
Norway is rich in resources. But the majority of the population belongs to the working class. Rich country, working class people. Although the salary is very high in amount compared to many other countries in Europe, we have 35 - 40% more expensive living costs than many other western countries Most people with higher education have student loans for several years after they finish their studies, most people have mortgages for 25 - 35 years. And everything, absolutely everything in Norway is CRAZY expensive. The healthcare system is not free either, it is only partially subsidized, which is certainly good, but not unique to Norway, it applies to most countries in Europe. Admission to hospital is free, but all outpatient treatment costs money, you pay a deductible. Dentists, on the other hand, do not belong to the health care system in Norway, they are excluded, they are 0% subsidized by the state after you turn 18, so you have to pay everything yourself. I haven't been to the dentist since 2018, why? Because I can't afford it. Dental health has exactly the same system as the US, maybe worse? I don't know if health insurance covers dentistry in the US? At least it doesn't in Norway, because the dental system is not part of the health system in Norway after you turn 18
It is said in the video that most of them are quarter millionaires. Well, I don't know if that's true, maybe. But regardless, one must take into account that Norway is one of the world's most expensive countries. We have insanely expensive living costs. We are 35 - 40% more expensive than many other Western countries. And most of us are working class. A quarter of a million in Norway does not make you rich, you do not become a middle-class person with such a sum in a country with such high living costs, you become a working-class person with such an income. If you earn a million or more a year, then you can call yourself a middle-class person. And it's not about dollars, it's about Norwegian kroner. And a large part of the income goes to taxes
I don't know which country you're talking about, but it's certainly not Norway. The fact that we have higher living costs means nothing as long as incomes are correspondingly high. And in Norway they are. It's the % of income that matters when comparing living costs, not how expensive something is. Other western countries that you say are "30-40%" cheaper than us also have 30-40%, often more, lower wage levels than us. In Norway, you do not pay a larger % of your income for housing costs than in other comparable countries. We are actually cheaper than the US, e.g. Nor is the tax level in Norway higher than in many other countries with which we can compare ourselves. I paid 22.4% tax last year. It is actually in line with the tax level in the USA and Sweden, and far lower than in, for example, Denmark. However, what we get back for our tax money is more than most other countries give back. In sum, we are better off than the vast majority of countries in the world. When it comes to the fact that Norwegians are quarter millionaires because of the oil fund, it is in dollars, not in kroner. And since this video was made, it has increased to about $340,000 per capita. This means that every Norwegian has approximately NOK 3.5 million in the fund as of today. And yes, then you are rich! So stop whining and be grateful, being a Norwegian you've actually won the world lottery!
@@Valfodr_jr may I Ask you ??? Have you live here, been here?? Or only read about it on internet, or just been here as a tourist. I have what I need, not much more. After tax I have about 24 000 kroner (or 2 360,49 dollars) a month, and mortage for 30 years for an apartment on the countryside . I bought it in 2016 for 1,250 million kroner ( or 122 941,96 dollars) , I buy the cheapest food I can find in supermarked, and I don’t use tobacco or alcohol and I pay food for one person for 7 - 8 thousand kroner a month ( or 800 dollars), for electricity I pay around 2.000 kroner a month (or 200 dollars), and I have low temperatur in the apartment and shower 5 minutts a day, and after all this I also have many other expences to pay. And dentist is not subsidies from the state. Dental Health is not part of the public health care system, you pay 100% of the dentist price yourself. I don’t complane, I have what I need, but I don’t have a luxary life, and I like the health care system, but its not unique for Norway, it apply for all the EU countries. It not a human right to buy a new TV and a new phone all the time, and one should not do either, its not good for the environment, so I don’t buy one before my old one is out of order. But some people THINK we are ABLE to buy such things whenever we want and as often we want, most people don’t have economic freedom in any countries , and most people have mortage. When I am abroad people always seems so surprised when I say that I have mortage, they believe that Norwegians don’t have so, but we have, and that okey, most people in the world either rent a place to live or own a place to live (after 30 years of mortage) but people THINK we can do WHATEVER we WANT whenever we want. And some Norwegians actually have a reason to complane, some struggle to pay bills, you will NOT FIND ANY COUNTRY in the world where EVERYONE have EVERYTHING they need , you will always find SOME people who suffers anywhere. I don’t know any person who go to cinema or teather or travle as much as they want, or buy new things all the time, because thouse kind of people belong to a minority of the people in Norway, they are not part of the majority. Do I know any Norwegian who earn 1 million kroner a year? (100 000 dollars a year) No because there are very few of them
@@Valfodr_jr And I cheked on internet the avarage salary a year before tax is 634 700 kroner ( or 62 425 dollars) , and I am under avarage, I am at the end of the range of average salary, so I earn some less It also concerns a financial crisis, I don't know if they use this word anymore. But in a time where everything just goes up and up, and money loses value (inflation), and nothing is index-regulated with salaries that are the same now as two years ago, even though everything else has become much more expensive in two years, and interest rates are increasing and increases. Clothes, food and petrol and deductibles in healthcare are increasing, which words can you use? I would call it a financial crisis. We have always had a low poverty rate in Norway, and fortunately we have continued to do so, but it has also increased. Before it was 7% of the population, now it is 10% of the population. More and more people are collecting food from voluntary organisations And why should it be dollars as you say? We don’t use dollars in Norway, kroner is our currency. It make no sence the person who made this movie would have use dollar in the definition when we use kroner as our currency
@@kk440635NORWAY From your response, I get the impression that you are not among the sharpest tools in the shed. You ask me if I am Norwegian or have only read about it on the internet, been a tourist or been there at all. Seriously? The fact that I constantly refer to Norwegians as "us", "we", and that I told you what I paid in taxes last year in Norway and compared us to other countries outside Norway should at least give you a hint as to where I am from. SMH. Your income is what I expect from someone who has clearly not taken advantage of the free education that all Norwegians have access to, which is strongly reflected in your poor English skills. The fact that you do not earn more than you do is therefore solely your own fault, unless you are on disability benefits. Then you have a decent income according to what it is possible to get. In any case, you cannot complain on behalf of other Norwegians who both earn more and, not least, spend less, especially on food. NOK 8,000 per month? And you claim that you only buy the cheapest brands? I call BS!!! I myself spend an average of NOK 5,000 a month on me and my dog, and I also smoke. Personally, I have living expenses of NOK 8,600, including electricity, TV and internet. I rent a 3-room apartment outside Haugesund of approx. 90 m2/960 sqf. When my expenses are paid, I save a minimum of NOK 10,000 every month and have a NOK 300 000 buffer account in case of unforeseen expenses, my photography hobby and for my pension which will arrive in 17 years. And I receive disability benefits of NOK 26 000 after tax! The fact that you have a mortgage that you can barely service is your choice and you must then take the consequences for it. And a 30-YEAR mortgage repayment of NOK 1.25 million? It is so rare that it almost does not exist in Norway. You have no right to complain about the consequences of your own choice! Dental services only become expensive if you DO NOT GO TO THE DENTIST REGULARLY and take care of your own dental health. If you can't spend NOK 1,000 a year on the dentist, it's your own fault when you end up with a bill of NOK 100,000! If you have dental health problems/illnesses and a low income, there are also many support schemes for such cases. Stop complaining! I find it hard to believe that people abroad think Norwegians don't have mortgages to service. Personally, I have never met anyone who believes that. How do they think we buy our homes in this country? I call BS again! At the same time, you reveal better finances than you claim when you say "When I am abroad". So you can afford to travel abroad, but complain about poor finances, lol. An entitlement also reveals itself when you manage to blurt out that "I have what I need but I don't have a luxary (it's luxurious, BTW) life". Oh, delusional one, very few have. I mean, you say it yourself, "I have what I need"!!! SO STOP THE COMPLAINING!!! Besides, you can't BOTH claim to be environmentally conscious (just because you don't buy a new phone every month) and at the same time claim to want a luxury life! SMH. No one has claimed that no Norwegians have reason to complain, you're just not one of them. You are the victim of no one but yourself, your delusions and your own choices. Nor has anyone claimed that there are countries where everyone gets everything they need/want. What I CLEARLY said is that Norwegians are better off than most people in the world! And if you hadn't been so incredibly navel-gazing you would have seen it too! Absolutely all claims you have made here are anecdotal. Not one of them is based on the actual realities of Norway and our society. In these times, many Norwegians have it much tighter than we are used to, true. But it is NOT because of Norway and how we govern the country. I don't know if you've caught on, but we've been going through a worldwide recession/inflation as a result of events beyond our control. The WHOLE WORLD is having a hard time right now. But Norway has coped/tolerated it better than many other nations precisely because we have taken our precautions to deal with such situations when they arise. You know, the oil fund and stuff like that... I know SEVERAL people who earn NOK 1,000,000 a year, there are quite a few of them. You know, Rogaland and Vestland = oil and fishing! Oslo and Eastern Norway = finance, IT and industry. Central Norway and Northern Norway = fishing and oil. That you don't, only says something about who you know, not who exists! The next time you want to complain about your own mistakes on the internet, get your uneducated head out of your oversized butt, (8,000 kroner in cheap food a month, you MUST be overweight) before you make a complete fool of yourself! Jeeez...
I'm guessing that quarter million isn't money on your bank account but what you own in total, so that includes your house or apartment. I'm from Belgium and with the house prices being what they are nowadays everyone that is a house owner is a quarter millionair (there are row houses that are a bit cheaper so maybe a fifth millionair is more realistic). I know houses in the Scandinavian countries used to be more expensive than here (no idea if that is still the case) so that quarter millionair things sounds about right.
I don't know anyone in Norway who can do exactly what they want. Most are not financially independent. Most of them have mortgages, high interest rates, exorbitant living costs, do not travel more on holiday than other Western citizens do, do not live more lucratively than what other Western countries in Europe do. We are rich in resources. The people, on the other hand, belong to the working class. But money is not the main key to happiness. Traveling, buying new expensive things, indulging in luxury are not human rights. But I want to debunk the myth that people think we who live here are so much richer than other Western countries. People abroad google the sum of the income of Norwegians, and think "WOW they are rich", but they don't google the cost of living, which is ridiculously much more expensive than in most other western countries. They don't google fees and interest. Norwegians have perhaps 35% higher income than many other European countries, but in return we also have perhaps 35% higher living costs, this must be taken into account before you can form an opinion about "how rich" we are
I bought an apartment in 2016, I have a mortgage that is estimated to be finished in 2046, but since interest rates have skyrocketed it will probably take longer. I live as a working-class Norwegian in a rural area. The standard of my apartment is similar to a working-class apartment in Spain and England, which most working-class Norwegians live in. No luxury, just ordinary European standard, but of course luxury if you compare it to non-Western countries. I can afford to travel abroad every two years if I save money, then I can afford 2-3 star accommodation for 7 days. It takes a long time to save money in such an expensive country if you live alone with a working-class income (average income). I need a new mobile phone, the one I have now is soon broken. I need a buffer. I can save for 6 months and afford to buy one, or I can buy in installments and pay credit installments. But as mentioned, luxury is not a human right, having what you need, food, access to hygiene, a roof over your head, those are human rights, but luxury is not a human right. I don't care that I can't afford luxuries, but I still find it annoying to be called GREED when I meet foreign tourists or when I'm abroad myself, because they take for granted that I'm RICH, which is not is true
Very happy to pay my taxes here in Norway 😊 it's not only paying for healthcare, but education (even university, med school etc is free), a year 100% paid parental leave, child care is very cheap, like daycare etc (300$ a month, soon 200$, included 2 meals a day), and you get 170-250$ paid each month per child until they turn 18, 5 weeks (6 if you're above 60) paid holiday + national and public holidays and paid pension for when you retire at appx 65-67 and much more. We don't actually pay that much more taxes than you in the US (depending on where) but I pay 22% income tax with a 90.000$ salary, less because I'm married and have young kids and each year you get money back if you have paid too much tax. Best part is that it's done for you for the most part, you don't have to write a tax report, you just have to check that the information they have regards to your income and life situation is correct. Easy peasy 😊
As a Dutch I am always been truly interested in your country, my brother lived a few years in Stavanger, but I have never been able to visit him. But since that time I have always been interested in Norway..
We have to much tax on tax
@@philip4588 there are a few weird ones, that's true.
@@philip4588 We in the Netherlands to but we get so much back so I do not mind.
@@Helge_Torptax is way to expensive, because we we are one of the world's most bureaucratic countries, and we have a socialist system. We have freedom of speech and we are allowed to say what we think, but we cannot do what we want, but we can say what we want with our mouth. The high tax means that there is little left of my income after my tax is paid, even though we have a high income, we still have more expensive living costs than most other western countries, so you have to take that into account. I would say that Norway is rich in resources, but people mostly belong to the working class. The majority are working class. In many countries, the working class is the minority while the other classes are the majority, which means that there are not that big differences in Norway
I don't feel I get much value for my tax. It is also free to sleep in hospital, admission is free. But outpatient treatment is not free, you pay a deductible. Dental health is not part of the Norwegian health care system, in contrast to health care which is partially subsidized by the state, dentistry is 0% subsidized, here you pay 100% of the price yourself. Nor can you buy health insurance that covers a dentist, because a dentist is not part of the health system after you turn 18. I haven't been to the dentist since 2018, because I can't afford it. Most Norwegians have mortgages for 25 - 35 years, those with higher education also have student loans for many years after their studies have been completed
and finally.... free admission to hospital, and partially subsidized outpatient treatment applies to most countries in Europe, not unique to Norway
As a Norwegian, I can tell you that Sweden and us have a very brotherly relationship. On the outside we hate each other, but on the inside we both know that we love each other dearly (but don't let any Swede know I said that).
😂 So true 😊
(And don' let a Swede know !).
The UK has the same "oil" from the North Sea - but keep in mind that the UK have more than 10x the population of Norway. However the UK did exactly what you suggested. Slash taxes.
And that does not pay off in the long run.
I believe Norways continental shelf is a lot bigger than the UKs, with bigger reservoirs of oil and gas not only in the North Sea but also the Barents Ocean. Furthermore, the UK didn't do a good enough job of making sure the profits from the private industry ends up in public hands. I think Norway taxes oil companies like 78%?
@@kossakken Yep. What you are saying is pretty much correct. Norway company tax is 22% and then oil is taxed 56% on top of that - so a total of 76%.
UK oil reserves are estimated to be about 2.7 billion barrels. Gas reserves at 8.5 million, million cubic feet.
Norways reserves are approx 5.2 billion barrels. Gas reserves at 72.3 million, million cubic feet.
In Norway, we only use about 3% of the oil surplus to help cover the expenses. Hospitals and schools are covered by the taxes we pay into the state.
The reason is that we must save for hard times.
Ex, in hard times is under corona.
I, who am privately employed and do not work for the state, received 100% salary to stay at home paid by Norway for 1 1/2 years and they covered the expenses of the company I worked for, so when we were all vaccinated I could go back to my job without losing my job.
Just the extraordinary crisis measures in response to the pandemic have cost at least NOK 221 billion since the pandemic came,( on 5,3 million people) this was estimated in January 2022.
Since we have such a large fund, we did not go bankrupt.
If we had spent the money on low taxes, we would not have had money when there was a big crisis.
Norway is a country of survival preppers. We save money, we have a seed bank in case the world ends and the authorities release information about how much food we need at home to survive until they can come in with help.
Not all Norwegians are equally good at prepping, but the mentality of living in a harsh landscape where access to food is only in the summer/autumn without fishing has made us extreme preppers (now we import food but the access is not similar to the American one)
We save and save because one day the accident will come and we will have money to get through.
If a crisis came right now, I can close the door and stay at home for at least 1 month without needing to go to the store
The law actually limits the governmental use to 3%
@@Henoik Not the law, but "handlingsregelen". Which can be changed if necessary.
@@Valfodr_jr Whilst it's not codified in an act, it is law, because it's a principle followed by parliament when the national budget is approved. Remember that the English definition of "law" is broader than the Norwegian "lov".
@@Henoik Nope. As you say yourself, it's not codified in an act and it's just a principle. Which of course means it's not a law!
Sorry for laughing, but it is exactly because Norway has invested it's oil revenue in stocks abroad the country has become so wealthy. Had it instead lowered the taxes and used the oil revenue to support the wellfare state (free health care, subsidied childcare, free schools and subsidied higher education, infrastructure investments - roads, railways, airports, 5g telecommunication and more - sports venues, cultural buildings and more), not only would the well fare state have ended when the oil did, the entire economy would have depended on the price of oil. But with the pensionfund, because most businesses profits from low oil prices, what Norway loses in oil revenue if oil prices are low, the country gets back cause the value of the pensionfund's foreign stocks rise. It is called well balanced risk diversification.
The rivalry between Norway and Sweden nowadays is limited to sports. We consider the Swedes our brothers and sisters.
Not so much BIG brother anymore though🤭 but more like one that can provide to us cheep meat and alcohol🤗
Dutch disease is a well-known term in Europe, the Dutch found lots of gas in the north and at the end of the 70s in the last century our economic situation was depending almost totally on selling gas and that was a huge mistake by the government because the rest of the businesses stayed behind in our total economic situation and was thereby bad for the total grow of the economy in our country..Norway will never lose their status because Norway owns almost 1.5% of all company shares in the world. With only 5.5 million inhabitants, that is the success of the government of Norway.
Dutch disease is not from gastrade but from tulip trade in the 18th century.
Owning 1.5% of all company shares in the world doesn't help Norway when that kind of economic ideology (accumulating artificial wealth not adding any tangible value to the real economy) has already failed and promoted massively unsustainable environmental and social impacts due to corporatism and shareholder 'value' at any cost. Norway has one of the worst economies in Europe, in reality. It remains one of Europe's poorest nations. Defending the economic ideology only leads to more inequity, poverty and suffering then, ultimately, international conflict. When the 'impossible' crisis unfolds, artificial currencies (money, which has no inherent value, btw) and international supply chains cease, Norway becomes a humanitarian problem within months. One other nations will be far too busy to help with. Perspective and a sense of what real economics is all about helps.
@@johnmcmullan9741 still at it😂
you forgot the agricultural part
yes we norwegian will be dead in a decade or so
@@johnmcmullan9741 Wow.. Looks like someone has no clue how money, economics and investing works... Okay, you do you I guess.....
@@VENO5407 LOL! Norway has by far the worst economy in Europe. It has to import almost everything, because its crude, resource-poor extractive economy (comparable to a 3rd world economy) fails to produce enough tangible value for Norway to exist on. Your naive, one-dimensional view of economics exposes your economics illiteracy, ironically. Must try harder.
@15.22 that view looks like a model, but it’s called ‘Tilt-shift photography’… photo /film shots from above, blurred and sharpen in the center … so that it looks like a miniature model
What looks like a model @15:01 is made using the tilt-shift technique in photography.
Lowering taxes has, economically, the same effect as spending the oil revenue - see inflation, the Dutch disease, Britain...
Paying the taxes to fund the domestic public services secures a level of control of the domestic economy and avoids (gross) overspending and forces industry and services to remaIn competitive, and more predictability and less fluctuation.
By not relying on one non-renuewable resource like that, the resource paradox (that is, after you find one huge resource, you end up poorer after that resource has gone than you were before) can be avoided.
Tax in Norway has actually been greatly reduced. Down 7% since 2013. Norway no longer has high taxes - we were in 3rd place after Denmark and Sweden - but are now slightly below the average in Europe.
After adding the arbeidsgiveravgift, wealth tax and VAT Norway has, this is probably not entirely accurate, but I guess the numbers add up when looking specifically at the personal income tax itself and nothing else.
"Is that a model?" This is the Diorama effect, or "miniature faking", achieved by blurring foreground and background, creating a narrow depth of field.
I hate when every one think that we Norwegian are rich too. That’s not the case! Many can’t keep their homes warm in the winter cause everything is so expencive. Our Government throws our money out of the country. If they gave us the money, yes we could be millionares, but they don’t.
So quit say we are so happy and rich - it’s not thrue.
Why 🇳🇴got a large part of the north sea is because we adopted the Denmarks solution with the Germany discussions of coastline. Since we have a lot of island outside the coastline of mainland in the vest and England don’t therefore we in Norway got a huge part of the Northern sea area when you split the part in half.
England. Also has Oil. BP stands for British Petroleum. Just like SHELL is now in Dutch and British hands.
Its a bit of misunderstanding going around. Norway was already rich (or at very least wealthy) before we got the oil, mainly tanks to shipping (whaling, fish, transports) and exports. And we gained lots of experience and technological advances from this. This video do a pretty good deep dive into the whole thing: ruclips.net/video/RO8vWJfmY88/видео.html
No that is Bergen, I can see my previous apartment there. But they have a model of it at Legoland, Denmark. 😄
We pay around 32% in taxes off our salaries. Compared to what I'd pay in insurance in the US - for a lesser public system, 32% is peanuts.
Remember that all education is free. All health-care, dental and glasses are free until you are 18.
As an adult all you pay for any health-care needs is approx USD 250,- per year. After that, all medication, doctors appointments, surgery, transport to hospital, etc. etc. etc. is covered and free for the rest of the calendar year.
I had almost a year payed paternity leave when both my kids were born, and I have six weeks payed vacation every year, not counting the holidays.
Our politicians don't use more than +/-3% of the profit from oil production each year, securing a continous growth at least as long as we have oil, and the welfare of generations to come.
The best part however, is the peace of mind our system provides. I'll never have to worry if my children or grandchildren have access to some of the best health-care in the world should they need it, or wonder if I'll be able to send my kids to University.
We wanna say thank you for your video's.
And wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy new year.
And we hope one day you come to the Netherlands.
Amd than we welcome youbon the airport🙂
The Norwegian oil fund is NOT in the national economy and we spend about 4% of the profit from the fund, the reason we dont spend more is that if the money is released the economy would crash causing a HUGE inflation.
Gasfields were found in the Netherlands (largest in Europe I believe), not oil.
It is not so much about taxes, but putchasing power, which is generally spoken very good. Spain eg. has higher taxes than Norway. As of today Norway is the 6th most expensive country in Europe, and Switzerland the most expensive. But many people like to think that Norway is sooo expensive, which it isn’t anymore. The exeption is alcohol and cigarettes and a few other things. The recent discovery of phosfate in the south west will change the economy a lot. It is worth trillions, so the future looks bright.
From Norway, I like it here in old Norway. The last time I ended up in a car crash, I was repaired an kicked out within a week. For free
As a matter of fact Norway was industrialized very early compared to many other European countries. This was due to the lots of rivers and waterfalls that could power industry even before hydroelectric power came into play. When i was born 60 years ago the "oil age" was about to start, but Norway was highly industrialized. We "made everything" from scoelazes to trains. And had a good export industry. Also natural recourses like fish and timber. Not to mention revenues and profits from a major merchant fleet. Ever heard about "Norwegian wood"?. That is not just a song but was a major export commodity. Like dried cod have been since the Middle Ages. Also coal from Svalbard. Norwegians are both typical expats and innovative. When plundering and raping Europe became to difficult we became traders and industrialists. Today we are known as "The arabs of Scandinavia," Norway as a country might be wealthy. But Norwegians in common are just normal westernes. Some are rich, som are poor, and most Norwegians are nidfle class.
15:19 Thats Bergen, my hometown :)
14:20 The money we spend on social welfare (sickpay, unemployment, disability, pensions) end up back in the tax wallet in about 4 months. So because of the high taxes (mostly 25% VAT, as an example), we can spend each kroner we have THRICE each year. Meanwhile the US currency velocity is so laboriously slow (checks are still used while 99.9% of Norwgians have never seen a check, we get money direct into our bank account. Denmark even made checks illegal a few years ago. US social spending is incredibly low, VAT is incredibly low), that the US government would struggle to spend each dollar they have one and a half times each year.
Never ever forget the divers that maid this posible :) dont forget the hard working people in general!!! we work hard and good :) under our bed we have a tool box etc
Taxes are not just to pay for services, but also for redistribution of money. it is also used to make up for the imbalance in resources created by business contracts in the big picture. If you used the oil money for that you would in practice only be subsidising this imbalance with oil money, which in result only will benefit the rich most until the oil money run out. Norway try to be independent of oil in principle. If oil stopped tomorrow we'd still be doing ok. Then the redistribution from the rich back to the poor needs to happen through taxes. It is a two way stream. Business contracts funnel money to get rich, often those who are already rich. Taxes is a way to take enough back to cover everybodys needs. This is also an "investent" for the rich, since much of this money goes towards improving the workforce (workprograms/education/rehabilitation), and keeping them healthy, not to forget a good upbringing of children to create stable and motivated workers as adults. Norwegian rich people in general understand these dynamics, and as long as the rules set by the state is the same for all rich people, they mostly accept the playing field as it has been layed out. A few of them try to avoid taxes through other countries, but it usually means their social circels dwindle in Norway. Lastly, don't forget about the high organization level of norwegian workers. Unions are unified up to the national level and wage increases are usually set at a very hight level. The priorities favor equality, which means that highly educated people in norway earn less than in other countries in loyalty with low paying jobs. In Norway we don't think low paying jobs are less important jobs, like teachers, nurses, trash collectors, office cleaners. The truth is that society would stop without those workers, but the market makes is possible to keep their wage level low. The high level negotiations between workers unions and employers unions often involve balancing this out to some degree so that low wage workers don't get too poor, and high wage workers have to accept contributing to that. It is a system with a certain amount of lojalty to society as a whole for coherence and safety. Few this are so destabilizing for a society as huge inequalities, and lojalty also means responsibility for a decent life for all. Maybe countries can get too big to maintain such lojalty and decency, and it needs a fundamental force is to not accept any corruption. Heads have rolled in Norway recently just on suspicion of corruption, and possibility for corruption. Any form of corruption undermines the stability and trust of the system, so it must be killed quickly and harshly. Is there forms of corruption in Norway? Probably some, but journalists are quite good at sniffing it out, and as far as i know no journalists have been killed in Norway yet for doing their job like this, and it would be an immense scandal if it happened, not forgotten for generations, and probably taught in school forever.
if you put a peripheral blur filter on any picture you make it look like a model because you imitate the focus experience of things that are close, so the brain interpret what you see as small.
I think it was Ålesund taken from the mountain, it would be small that way. I think the biggest issue was the lack of grunge in the picture, maybe a filter of some kind.
9:10 A bad choice of words "first north sea oil" the British were 4 years ahead of them.
_Core sample in the Dukes Wood Oil museum from Britain's first North Sea discovery at BPs West Sole drilled by the Sea Gem in _*_September 1965_*_ ._
There are huge oil reserves around the UK, and a block on new disvovery. So there's assumed to be a lot more that theyre just not allowed to look for... Which is why Fracking here is so qurstionsble when convention resources aren't being tapped first.
As he pointed out in the video .. oil money are not used to pamp the economy and relieve taxes.
Low taxes is NOT a good thing for a countrys resource management.
I am Norwegian. The taxes is not that high if you include what we don't pay for. We do not have to worry about healthcare. Or pay for education. We get a full year maternity leave payed for to raise out children. The taxes are there to pay for those things. In return we get a highly skilled educated workforce. The salaries are high and that makes the population able to pay the tax. To just lower the taxes is the opposite of whats been working for Norway. Because then you will have to spend more of the revenue from the fund to pay for the social benefits. It is this balance that keeps Norway rich. We dont eat unnecessary from the oilfund. High taxes is a problem if u have a poor population. Here, taxes and income is well balanced. Its not perfect, but nothing are.
Viking conquests in the 18th and 19th century? We stopped with those before the Black Death.
It's really an essential part of the Norwegian plan to have high taxes. Imagine if a central bank would just print money -- more money, everyone rich! Sounds like such a foolproof plan, right? But you can't eat money, it doesn't keep you warm in the winter, it doesn't keep your kids safe from childhood disease, etc. That's the difference between money supply and what economists call "the real economy".
If Norway had had low taxes, but still had a high level of profit from the oil sector, then it would for all practical purposes be the same as injecting a bunch of money into the economy with nothing real to spend that money on, not benefiting anyone.
Since Norway is a small country, with its own currency called NOK, and the NOK has a floating exchange rate with others -- and most importantly with USD, which is used for oil sales -- it means Norway would end up with huge amounts of "hard currency" to back up the NOK. This would mean the NOK would become increasingly expensive, which would hurt the export sector in all other areas than oil -- such as fisheries and tourism. There is an additional effect that jobs connected to the oil sector would have access to more money than other jobs, meaning higher salaries, not just for oil workers, but for other workers, but that would make other sectors uncompetitive against foreign competitors, leading to an economy that becomes increasingly reliant on _one_ dominating industry -- oil. An industry that has an expiration date as well, so it's a dangerous situation to be in.
It's not fully spelled out in the video, but the Norwegian plan is basically to _pretend_ that the _onshore_ economy (i.e. everything not involved in oil extraction) is mostly that of a normal country that doesn't have oil. That way, different sectors of the economy can develop in balance with each other, there is still the normal commercial pressure of competition for success for private companies, and housing prices as well as salary levels develop mostly like they would have done without the oil money.
Norway was one of the richest before oil. Largest merchant fleet in the world. The oil just bumped it to the extreme. Oil can also be a bitch.
The incomes are very high. The medical healthcare are practically free, and so are the universities. When having a child there is one year fully pais leave, of witch the dad must take at least three months. Etc.
We pay hi taxes so we get free education and healthcare etc etc and the fund can grow until we need it.
We also get high salaries so the tax is not that big of an issue compared to like the US where your taxes don’t seem to benefit your population as much, and you pay a lot for what we get free. If that makes sense.
The VAT is so high. So that there is a good school system and you are not devastated by healthcare costs. Me as a Dutchman. Wish! That I had to pay a million euros in taxes every year. Then they also received a bouquet of flowers. Why? Then you have made more than 3.
The taxes is so “high” because even the richest must pay taxes. The taxes for a “normal” income is between 25 and 30 percent. It depends on your income. Higher income means higher taxes.
Taxes in the Nordic countries is more looked at as investments in the countries, and not a waste.
If Norway lowered the taxes it would not be able to continue the welfare system we have today. The benefits in the found would be gone in few years, and it would be hard to get back and establish higher taxes.
This will be a generalization of Norway, but think about Norway as a smalll USA. Instead of states we have counties. Each county has its own tax law. Kinda like USA.The tax goes for goverment spending like health care, police, fire and hospital. So the oil money goes to a different pool. Not subsidicing these things so our economy evolves around taxes. the oil money goes more towards funing our currency. The higher oil price get the richer we get. Again. Its dumbed down because its more complicated then this.
His comments about vikings are just glib comments. If you are interested in knowing if raids was important for survival you have to get into the medieval history. As far as I know the vikings did not depend on raids, but the structure of law and power was very different at that time, and the struggle for power, and the efforts in trading is about the dynamic and unstable organizing of the societies. With no laws whatsoever, and nobody had heard about police to enforce it, the order of society was based on who could take and hold control by any means possible. Power and trade has been going on for thousands of years, and trade routes and trade partners were how they improved their living standards. But did they "have to"? probably not, but you know, who does not want improvement? The "Vikings" also did not appear out of a vacuum. Some historians think an important reason for raids was that the church and kings related to the church tried to exclude them from their traditional trading partners. Some were probably bandits, but don't think that Vikings somehow was a different species or coming from an unknown place. What other society or kingdoms at the time did not wage wars and raid their neighbors. Kings were in constant fight with each other and nothing lasted very long. Why do you think peole got sick of it, and developed philosophies to organize the world better? Comments like he made about vikings in this video is not serious, just a glib kick based on stereotypes and hollywood fairy tales. There are not pop culture presentation of Vikings today that are realistic, and the reason is that our frame of reference is so far removed that it just becomes fantasy stories. It takes a long time to understand how reality were perceived by people at this time, and the logic that follows. Maybe quite impossible since you can't erase all that you know, in order to just see the world as they did. Since modern viewers of historical shows have very different mental structures, and knowledge you don't even think about that you have, it is impossible to portray Vikings and other Europeans the way they really were, because you can't imagine what went on in their heads. Actually you can to some degree, but there are not direct written sources from the era. All text and writing we have is from christians that were already far removed from the mindset of the Vikings. They were also looking towards a culture that only their great grandfathers knew. You see how there is already a filter on the earliest sources? So the bottom line is that the vikings probably knew very well to survive on their own in the north, but you know how humans are. Always trying to improve their lives.
You are right. The government could cut the tax ratio, but then we would have much lower oilfund because the budget deficit for Norway would be much higher and would have too take out more money from the oilfund every year. That would be making less money for invest the money into the stocks and other things.
It would also be making the economic situation even more unstable during a financial crisis year for example during 2008 or pandemic years.
Because we had the huge oilfund we could seriosly shut down the whole country without worry about anything.
If we had much lower oilfund because the lower tax ratio and higher deficit during the budget we would have too be thinking two and three times about it.
That's the luxury we appreciate!
And that's after my opinion the state are for. For the people.
Other countries would have too be borrowing more money or print more money during pandemic year. We didn't.
We took out more money. Yes. But that was for protecting the economy and the people. The whole situation could be much worse if we had lower tax ratio.
I know some people hate the tax ratio, but nobody complaining about the good system we have.
Something else we appreciate is that we wan't too keep the good services "free".
Free education
Free hospital (free pregnancy, free ambulance, free helicopter, free hospital stay, pretty low deductible visiting doctors like $20?)
We wan't very good wellfare. Safety net.
We wan't too keep them. No matter what. No matter if the oil will be empty one day.
Many other countries will struggle too keep the purchasing power and happiness when the oil are gone or more countries have too stop producing it.
I pay my taxes gladly ❤ Free healthcare, security and a beautiful country ❤ And by the way i love my nordic Brothers And sisters 😊 Greetings from Norway
The reason we don't lower our taxes is to avoid the problems any other oil rich nations experienced. How me manage the revenue from oil makes our economy strong for the future, not easy in the present.
In reality though, we don't really pay all that much in taxes compared to what we gain on a population wide basis.
It was explained in the video actually, but I think perhaps the US way of thinking economics in socioeconomic terms are so vastly different you actually failed to grasp the point. It requires a different mindset.
We dont pay that so much in taxes.
Not every Norwegian have a quarter of a million lol. I for sure don't :D haha. BUT - we have a pension fund that if given to the people, would amount to every Norwegian actually being a millionaire. But it is saved for the elder boom and the pensions that need to be paid in the future + it boosts the budget by up to 3% every year. We also more or less do not have debt. But the PEOPLE have a lot of debt. So much it might be a big problem when a crisis comes. And now we are in a semi crisis, with the inflation and the electricity prices soaring due to the bad descision to enter the EU Acer grid. We used to keep our water in the dams to when we needed it. Now we export and buy and people are poorer for it. But the state and the el. companies earn a lot though.. Not everything in Norway is so rosy red. But of course, one needs to compare to other places and then we are better. But not all people in Norway get the help they need. We have queues for free food help here too. We have poor people. And a growing amount of millionaires and billionaires. the differences is increasing.
These videos always try to portray Norway as if its in the northpole with only snow and darkness, its important to note that this is only partly true from the middle part and north. The south part is temperent climate with all four seasons and normal day/night cycle.
Norway had a solid democracy before the oil boom. Kinda made, and still makes, a huge difference...
Yes, Denm are has ❤a l😅ot of o😮il but goes green.😂
These kind of videos suffer from a lot of inaccuracies. For one, the population of Norway was not really poorly educated. In fact, more people could read and write than the average population in most of Europe. The video mentions the stong parlamentary system. Historians point to the relatively high educational level of common people as a reason for the success of and the quick implementation of parlamentarism in Norway.
The taxes is ok. But even if you really mess up. You have a the safety to have a proper place to live. And if not much, but enough to live by. Not high by Norwegien living standards. But right now about £700 a month after rent and electricity is payed. They provide so you can live decent life. If you Drink and smoke.. that sucks. But Can you imagine what would happen if people that drink too much and smoke, got MORE money ? I would love to see the comments on that anywhere in the world. :)
We keep the high taxes, so we can save even more. If people get to much money they get gready. We have seen that sooo many times.......Save, save, save....Until we have so much money that we can control the economy on the hole planet. It would actually be the best for the world's economy....It would stabilize everything.. ( But then we talk about 1000 of trillions of money) .. And that Even I don't believe
Disiplin AND RESPECT
14:14 I gladly pay taxes because it contributes to society. I guess some americans will never get this
Why lower taxes when they are not a burden? Also, a progressive income tax makes it so that those that earn more (and therefor can pay more in taxes), will pay more so that those with a lot lower income can pay less. It evens out the playingfield somewhat. And those that earn more will still earn more. Just not as much as they would in other places. (That being said. Those that earn more also gain from the wellfare state. With affordable education and the like)
If you use the oilfond, it like you spending your savings. That you will use when the time comes . Taxe keep foimd im peace and let it grow ok think u get the point
As of yet is very true. The 1st efforts to preserve the wearlth has kept things in check so far. But cracks are starting to show. Definitely very well done but not perfect. Nothing ever is.
If you lower taxes and increase spending you will fast enter hyper inflation. Hence the value of money will decrease. And evrybody will get poor. Hence norway just save the oil revenues for a rainy day. Denmark, Sweden and all nordic countries have a top standard of living trough the fact we all work. And share trough high taxes. If a catastrophe hits Norway. We can buy what we need. Not asking for handouts from the rest of the world. Like unfortunately Ukraine has to do right now.
Due to Infatuation!
Might be rich but we waste a ton of money on bs😂Looks great at first glance,but we are just a bunch of naive farmers with too much money.
Strange.
Norway is rich in resources. But the majority of the population belongs to the working class. Rich country, working class people. Although the salary is very high in amount compared to many other countries in Europe, we have 35 - 40% more expensive living costs than many other western countries
Most people with higher education have student loans for several years after they finish their studies, most people have mortgages for 25 - 35 years. And everything, absolutely everything in Norway is CRAZY expensive. The healthcare system is not free either, it is only partially subsidized, which is certainly good, but not unique to Norway, it applies to most countries in Europe.
Admission to hospital is free, but all outpatient treatment costs money, you pay a deductible. Dentists, on the other hand, do not belong to the health care system in Norway, they are excluded, they are 0% subsidized by the state after you turn 18, so you have to pay everything yourself. I haven't been to the dentist since 2018, why? Because I can't afford it.
Dental health has exactly the same system as the US, maybe worse? I don't know if health insurance covers dentistry in the US? At least it doesn't in Norway, because the dental system is not part of the health system in Norway after you turn 18
Norway is great, but let’s be honest, but it isn’t Demark. At least it isn’t Sweden. 😝
Norway ❤
🫡🇳🇴
What is a Denmark? Is it that flat little spec of landmass down south?
It is said in the video that most of them are quarter millionaires. Well, I don't know if that's true, maybe. But regardless, one must take into account that Norway is one of the world's most expensive countries. We have insanely expensive living costs. We are 35 - 40% more expensive than many other Western countries. And most of us are working class. A quarter of a million in Norway does not make you rich, you do not become a middle-class person with such a sum in a country with such high living costs, you become a working-class person with such an income. If you earn a million or more a year, then you can call yourself a middle-class person. And it's not about dollars, it's about Norwegian kroner. And a large part of the income goes to taxes
I don't know which country you're talking about, but it's certainly not Norway.
The fact that we have higher living costs means nothing as long as incomes are correspondingly high. And in Norway they are. It's the % of income that matters when comparing living costs, not how expensive something is. Other western countries that you say are "30-40%" cheaper than us also have 30-40%, often more, lower wage levels than us.
In Norway, you do not pay a larger % of your income for housing costs than in other comparable countries. We are actually cheaper than the US, e.g.
Nor is the tax level in Norway higher than in many other countries with which we can compare ourselves. I paid 22.4% tax last year. It is actually in line with the tax level in the USA and Sweden, and far lower than in, for example, Denmark.
However, what we get back for our tax money is more than most other countries give back. In sum, we are better off than the vast majority of countries in the world.
When it comes to the fact that Norwegians are quarter millionaires because of the oil fund, it is in dollars, not in kroner. And since this video was made, it has increased to about $340,000 per capita. This means that every Norwegian has approximately NOK 3.5 million in the fund as of today. And yes, then you are rich!
So stop whining and be grateful, being a Norwegian you've actually won the world lottery!
@@Valfodr_jr may I Ask you ??? Have you live here, been here?? Or only read about it on internet, or just been here as a tourist.
I have what I need, not much more. After tax I have about 24 000 kroner (or 2 360,49 dollars) a month, and mortage for 30 years for an apartment on the countryside . I bought it in 2016 for 1,250 million kroner ( or 122 941,96 dollars) , I buy the cheapest food I can find in supermarked, and I don’t use tobacco or alcohol and I pay food for one person for 7 - 8 thousand kroner a month ( or 800 dollars), for electricity I pay around 2.000 kroner a month (or 200 dollars), and I have low temperatur in the apartment and shower 5 minutts a day, and after all this I also have many other expences to pay. And dentist is not subsidies from the state.
Dental Health is not part of the public health care system, you pay 100% of the dentist price yourself. I don’t complane, I have what I need, but I don’t have a luxary life, and I like the health care system, but its not unique for Norway, it apply for all the EU countries. It not a human right to buy a new TV and a new phone all the time, and one should not do either, its not good for the environment, so I don’t buy one before my old one is out of order. But some people THINK we are ABLE to buy such things whenever we want and as often we want, most people don’t have economic freedom in any countries , and most people have mortage.
When I am abroad people always seems so surprised when I say that I have mortage, they believe that Norwegians don’t have so, but we have, and that okey, most people in the world either rent a place to live or own a place to live (after 30 years of mortage) but people THINK we can do WHATEVER we WANT whenever we want. And some Norwegians actually have a reason to complane, some struggle to pay bills, you will NOT FIND ANY COUNTRY in the world where EVERYONE have EVERYTHING they need , you will always find SOME people who suffers anywhere. I don’t know any person who go to cinema or teather or travle as much as they want, or buy new things all the time, because thouse kind of people belong to a minority of the people in Norway, they are not part of the majority. Do I know any Norwegian who earn 1 million kroner a year? (100 000 dollars a year) No because there are very few of them
@@Valfodr_jr And I cheked on internet the avarage salary a year before tax is 634 700 kroner ( or 62 425 dollars) , and I am under avarage, I am at the end of the range of average salary, so I earn some less
It also concerns a financial crisis, I don't know if they use this word anymore. But in a time where everything just goes up and up, and money loses value (inflation), and nothing is index-regulated with salaries that are the same now as two years ago, even though everything else has become much more expensive in two years, and interest rates are increasing and increases. Clothes, food and petrol and deductibles in healthcare are increasing, which words can you use? I would call it a financial crisis. We have always had a low poverty rate in Norway, and fortunately we have continued to do so, but it has also increased. Before it was 7% of the population, now it is 10% of the population. More and more people are collecting food from voluntary organisations
And why should it be dollars as you say? We don’t use dollars in Norway, kroner is our currency. It make no sence the person who made this movie would have use dollar in the definition when we use kroner as our currency
@@kk440635NORWAY From your response, I get the impression that you are not among the sharpest tools in the shed.
You ask me if I am Norwegian or have only read about it on the internet, been a tourist or been there at all. Seriously? The fact that I constantly refer to Norwegians as "us", "we", and that I told you what I paid in taxes last year in Norway and compared us to other countries outside Norway should at least give you a hint as to where I am from. SMH.
Your income is what I expect from someone who has clearly not taken advantage of the free education that all Norwegians have access to, which is strongly reflected in your poor English skills. The fact that you do not earn more than you do is therefore solely your own fault, unless you are on disability benefits. Then you have a decent income according to what it is possible to get.
In any case, you cannot complain on behalf of other Norwegians who both earn more and, not least, spend less, especially on food. NOK 8,000 per month? And you claim that you only buy the cheapest brands? I call BS!!! I myself spend an average of NOK 5,000 a month on me and my dog, and I also smoke.
Personally, I have living expenses of NOK 8,600, including electricity, TV and internet. I rent a 3-room apartment outside Haugesund of approx. 90 m2/960 sqf. When my expenses are paid, I save a minimum of NOK 10,000 every month and have a NOK 300 000 buffer account in case of unforeseen expenses, my photography hobby and for my pension which will arrive in 17 years. And I receive disability benefits of NOK 26 000 after tax!
The fact that you have a mortgage that you can barely service is your choice and you must then take the consequences for it. And a 30-YEAR mortgage repayment of NOK 1.25 million? It is so rare that it almost does not exist in Norway. You have no right to complain about the consequences of your own choice!
Dental services only become expensive if you DO NOT GO TO THE DENTIST REGULARLY and take care of your own dental health. If you can't spend NOK 1,000 a year on the dentist, it's your own fault when you end up with a bill of NOK 100,000! If you have dental health problems/illnesses and a low income, there are also many support schemes for such cases. Stop complaining!
I find it hard to believe that people abroad think Norwegians don't have mortgages to service. Personally, I have never met anyone who believes that. How do they think we buy our homes in this country? I call BS again! At the same time, you reveal better finances than you claim when you say "When I am abroad". So you can afford to travel abroad, but complain about poor finances, lol.
An entitlement also reveals itself when you manage to blurt out that "I have what I need but I don't have a luxary (it's luxurious, BTW) life". Oh, delusional one, very few have. I mean, you say it yourself, "I have what I need"!!! SO STOP THE COMPLAINING!!! Besides, you can't BOTH claim to be environmentally conscious (just because you don't buy a new phone every month) and at the same time claim to want a luxury life! SMH.
No one has claimed that no Norwegians have reason to complain, you're just not one of them. You are the victim of no one but yourself, your delusions and your own choices.
Nor has anyone claimed that there are countries where everyone gets everything they need/want. What I CLEARLY said is that Norwegians are better off than most people in the world! And if you hadn't been so incredibly navel-gazing you would have seen it too!
Absolutely all claims you have made here are anecdotal. Not one of them is based on the actual realities of Norway and our society. In these times, many Norwegians have it much tighter than we are used to, true. But it is NOT because of Norway and how we govern the country. I don't know if you've caught on, but we've been going through a worldwide recession/inflation as a result of events beyond our control. The WHOLE WORLD is having a hard time right now. But Norway has coped/tolerated it better than many other nations precisely because we have taken our precautions to deal with such situations when they arise. You know, the oil fund and stuff like that...
I know SEVERAL people who earn NOK 1,000,000 a year, there are quite a few of them. You know, Rogaland and Vestland = oil and fishing! Oslo and Eastern Norway = finance, IT and industry. Central Norway and Northern Norway = fishing and oil.
That you don't, only says something about who you know, not who exists!
The next time you want to complain about your own mistakes on the internet, get your uneducated head out of your oversized butt, (8,000 kroner in cheap food a month, you MUST be overweight) before you make a complete fool of yourself!
Jeeez...
I'm guessing that quarter million isn't money on your bank account but what you own in total, so that includes your house or apartment. I'm from Belgium and with the house prices being what they are nowadays everyone that is a house owner is a quarter millionair (there are row houses that are a bit cheaper so maybe a fifth millionair is more realistic). I know houses in the Scandinavian countries used to be more expensive than here (no idea if that is still the case) so that quarter millionair things sounds about right.
I don't know anyone in Norway who can do exactly what they want. Most are not financially independent. Most of them have mortgages, high interest rates, exorbitant living costs, do not travel more on holiday than other Western citizens do, do not live more lucratively than what other Western countries in Europe do. We are rich in resources. The people, on the other hand, belong to the working class. But money is not the main key to happiness. Traveling, buying new expensive things, indulging in luxury are not human rights. But I want to debunk the myth that people think we who live here are so much richer than other Western countries. People abroad google the sum of the income of Norwegians, and think "WOW they are rich", but they don't google the cost of living, which is ridiculously much more expensive than in most other western countries. They don't google fees and interest. Norwegians have perhaps 35% higher income than many other European countries, but in return we also have perhaps 35% higher living costs, this must be taken into account before you can form an opinion about "how rich" we are
I bought an apartment in 2016, I have a mortgage that is estimated to be finished in 2046, but since interest rates have skyrocketed it will probably take longer. I live as a working-class Norwegian in a rural area. The standard of my apartment is similar to a working-class apartment in Spain and England, which most working-class Norwegians live in. No luxury, just ordinary European standard, but of course luxury if you compare it to non-Western countries. I can afford to travel abroad every two years if I save money, then I can afford 2-3 star accommodation for 7 days. It takes a long time to save money in such an expensive country if you live alone with a working-class income (average income). I need a new mobile phone, the one I have now is soon broken. I need a buffer. I can save for 6 months and afford to buy one, or I can buy in installments and pay credit installments. But as mentioned, luxury is not a human right, having what you need, food, access to hygiene, a roof over your head, those are human rights, but luxury is not a human right. I don't care that I can't afford luxuries, but I still find it annoying to be called GREED when I meet foreign tourists or when I'm abroad myself, because they take for granted that I'm RICH, which is not is true