I just returned Tuesday from my seventh trip to Finland, my first was 36 years ago as a 17-year-old exchange student. This last time for the funeral of my beloved host father. What I noticed in the small village in the NW region I know best was the new eco-friendly construction, late-model cars and ethnic restaurants. Immigrants abound in Helsinki speaking the near-impossible language. The necessity to save for the future and all the incumbent worries is anathema to Finns, therefore their purchases are of sturdy, fine quality. Why scrimp? But never waste. All thanks to good planning by trustworthy public servants with enough resources to truly care for a nation.
344
@Concerned Citizen (rolling my eyes) I was comparing Finland to Finland of 1983 and because Finnish is more closely related to Estonian. Nice try though.
14
I read the article and comments. I find most of the arguments against having the US adopt a more Finnish-style socialism to be without merit. Here are some, and rebuttals.
Our larger land area, and our much larger and much more diverse population than small, homogeneous Finland, make adopting its solutions unfeasible.
Those who are assert this do so without any supporting evidence. Our land area, larger population, and greater diversity are our strengths. Only when considering a more equal economic regime are they considered liabilities. I suggest that those who who argue this want to preserve the status quo.
The Finns don't need to spend on defense like we do.
Wrong. Unlike us, the Finns fought the Russians directly, and won. Like us, they also had a civil war among themselves. I think the real issue is that we -don't- need to spend on defense as we do. The Finns, bordering Russia, spend 1.3% of GDP on defense. We spend over 3% of a much larger GDP, despite our much larger land mass, and protective oceans east and west, and friendly Canada and Mexico north and south.
They have lower incomes.
True. 2017 per capita GDP, thousands of US$: Finland: 46. Sweden: 53. US: 60. Norway: 75. Per capita incomes are similar. But even relatively poor Finland is more equal than us, has less poverty and crime, has greater longevity by about 3 years, and has less than half our per capita national debt.
For what they pay and what they get, the Finns have a much better deal.
378
@Aram Hollman Aram, Thank you for taking the time to clearly lay out your arguments. We need to be brave enough to advocate for positive change in this country.
52
@Aram Hollman
Deduct 20 from the US for healthcare now you are lower than the rest. 100 for each child’s education, 8 - for child care when they are young, and that number gets smaller.
35
Here are my favorites passages in the article:
Paying taxes is a convenient way for capitalists to outsource to the government the work of keeping workers healthy and educated.
While companies in the United States struggle to administer health plans and to find workers who are sufficiently educated, Nordic societies have demanded that their governments provide high-quality public services for all citizens. This liberates businesses to focus on what they do best: business. It’s convenient for everyone else, too.
473
@Jean-Pierre yes, this has always puzzled me...why wouldn't businesses clamor for some sort of universal health care (even with insurance companies involved as non-profits)...it seems that they would be delighted to get out of the health care/insurance business...
66
@Jean-Pierre ...yes, why isn't this an issue in our 2020 campaign? Why don't both corporations and politicians talk about the burdens of business providing health care?
Does business think if they give this to the govt to administer and fund with taxes, then the govt will become too 'powerful', and then with public approval start to regulate and tax business more than it does now?
So they may figure it isn't worth it to get rid of the health care burden. They want to keep govt small---for we the people. What do you think of this? I haven't seen much in the news media about it. Why do they avoid it?
13
@Jim
They like slaves. I've never seen a supervisor who didn't smile when an employee bought a new house or car - especially an expensive one. That employee is really depending on their paycheck and is likely to stick around for a while.
26
Man, these comments are amazing.
So many commenters from the supposedly 'can-do' USA presenting all kinds of reasons as to why a more Nordic system would be impossible in the USA. Too large, too diverse, too much military spending, even too religious. LOL.
All this goes to show is that once you've become used to living a certain way - no matter how rotten - the biggest threat is the idea of changing it.
665
@Vin Right on. The irony of the arrogant, American exceptionalism capitulating before the Finns' ability to pull off what they have is almost humorous, were it not so tragic and self-defeating.
41
@Vin Yes the comments remind me of Homer Simpson's life advice to his son: " can't succeed, don't try."
32
@Vin just people living in the real world. Does Finland have an endless stream of legal immigrants? Adults realize this story is silly.
I have an EU passport and was born in Europe but am a US citizen for over 50 years. This place was wonderful when I first came here. Everything worked and I felt secure in my future here. This country changed in the last thirty or so years. It became more selfish, greedy and self centered. I never felt the vile hate, racism, violence and anger I see and hear now everywhere. Healthcare and education costs are prohibitive except for the very rich. I considered returning to my home country in the past. Unfortunately I’m too old to start anew. I still love this country but it’s not the one I fell in love with.
The authors of this article did the correct thing. They left when they were still able physically and I wish them the best for their future.
1148
@Belle Poitrine
For me a turning point was Reagan.
Dog whistle politics and trickle-down Reaganomics.
247
@Belle Poitrine
I have the same experience of the USA, but from the other direction. I'm a US citizen who moved to Europe 25 years ago.
I fell out of love with my home country during the Reagan years, when the Republicans began dismantling the social contract (including labor unions), put democracy up for sale to the wealthiest in the private sector, and started getting their support by appealing to racists and religious fundamentalists. Living in Europe, I was able to pursue a career as a self-employed writer without constant anxiety about affordable health insurance (I had none in the USA), affordable public transport, and many other requisites of a healthy society.
I've regularly returned to the USA for visits with family and friends, and have seen a steady decline in the quality of life there. The rich are much richer, the middle class and poor or worse off. I've seen a dramatic increase in hate, rage, and religious and political extremism. The culture feels unhealthy, and is. The culture here in central Europe, where I presently live, feels more stable and secure and just.
Thanks to the Times for publishing this piece by Ms. Partanen and Mr. Corson. It is well done, and it's true.
219
You can thank the Reagan revolution for the changes.
54
If you can’t leave your job because of a fear of losing health benefits, then you are not free.
1499
@Rob ….and you aren't free if you fear being laid off from your job, after it was sent out of the US to a low wage country, and you lose your health benefits.
Esp if you're a middle aged person, and have a family to support. The negative consequences can be devastating. If an uninsured person has an accident, or gets hospitalized from a bullet wound, as we see happening so often---big bills result.
In other countries people can quit a job to start their own business, or go back to school to train for another occupation without such worries about such hazards. Americans are stuck, thus less free.
Americans are told how free and independent they are compared to the rest of the world. Other countries look at us with pity.
136
@Rob
This is how it was in Europe 150 years ago: you could not leave your employer, because he also owned the house you rented, because he owned the local store where you had debts, because your kid would be kicked out of the primary school he subsidised...
This provided the fuel for the socialist revolutions that followed.
29
@Rob
and you certainly are far less likely to leave your job to start a business. The costs of failure in the US are far too high
32
Finland is a country. America is an idea.
44
The article demonstrates the history that encourages social cohesion within Finland: Small population, next to Soviet Union/Putin's expansionist Russia, needing to get everyone to support success; rather like Singapore, and its similar looking population is also important.
The US is in the opposite situation: powerful, with a diverse population, where demographics are working against the Republican strategies and power of their wealthy elites. So seems unlikely that the Finish solution would deploy in the US just as the Singapore healthcare strategy integrated into the ACA did not (http://www.adaptivewebframework.com/healthcarepp/en/demodwbp/awffwpwanhp.htm#Singapore_as_a_vision_of_a).
11
OK, so what are we waiting for then? No need to reinvent the wheel already rolling in the Nordic countries. We already have Medicare, just make it for all. Check. Then free education. Check. Increase corporate taxes so they pay their fair share. Check. Done, simple. As a bonus, we may not even need gun-control as there won’t be so many insanely frustrated and angry people in the nation. We have a lot to look forward to in the coming post-Trumpian world. If we manage to get there in one piece, that is.
98
Just as I thought. This article will bring out every Fox News troll spewing their usual panic stricken misinformed drivel ....
47
We should acknowledge the century-old political tradition of social democracy, which is at the core of the Finland/Nordic model. Social democracy may need to be updated for the 21st century, but it has surely resulted in more livable societies, for a longer period of time, than any other alternative.
55
Would Finland be able to sustain these benefits if they had a population of over 325 million and growing? It is a relatively small country but they would be overwhelmed if suddenly they had an influx of immigrants. They would have to drastically increase their services and would probably not be able to keep up with the increased need of the people.
43
Nordic countries seem to have a more global, sustainable and wholistic approach as to what makes for a socially and economically stable population. They came to realize that there are social benefits that all their citizens should have, such as those outlined in the author’s article.
In the US, the ruling class believes that a decent education, health care, etc. are a privilege and not a human right. That ideology, promoted by the Republican party, is set up to ensure that there will never be parity and upward mobility. If you educate and improve the lives of the pour and lower middle class, who will comprise the minimum wage laborers on which the wealthy depend? Will the CEOs who make - not earn - hundreds of millions of dollars a year be content with less?
I am curious if the Nordic countries have the same income inequality and the Republican push to redistribute wealth, natural resources and land to our upper 1%.
Lastly, we’ve got elected officials that are dumber than dirt and have convinced their constituents to vote them into office. Does anyone really think these politicians are going to willingly give up their tax payer paid health insurance and salaries to help people on whose backs they road to be elected?
Economists who predict we are heading towards a civil war are correct, and the bunkers the ultra wealthy are building in the plains of the midwest are not going to protect them from the outrage that is beginning to swell. People know where they are.
40
"There’s a big lesson here: When capitalists perceive government as a logistical ally rather than an ideological foe and when all citizens have a stake in high-quality public institutions, it’s amazing how well government can get things done."
Since Reagan declared that government was the problem, not the solution, we Americans have heard this refrain over and over again. The rich have gotten obscenely richer, the poor, poorer, and the middle class on a train to nowhere. Any mention of the reforms this author proposes are decried as "socialism," which works because most people don't really understand socialism, or even mixed economies like Finland, to them it's all communism, gulags, starvation. Maybe we must hit bottom (Civil War 2, anyone) before we see the light. I keep praying it won't be so.
41
Just the other day I was thinking about the coming catastrophies that were coming to the country and the resources we had squandered because we let business influence the taxes collected from the rich.
My god, I thought that if we had collected taxes fairly from the rich we could have decent universal health care, child care, new high speed trains, free secondary education. And what happened to this fair taxed money, the rich got another tax cut-- another new house, new boat. So, we are now in another poverty-like human landscape.
I've been thinking too of the farce of all these school loans to college and the coming crash as more of them can't get decent jobs to pay back the loans. It should be noted that there is an increase of all these on-line courses that corresponds with the loans which cannot be settled by bankruptcy. When we've got a pool of these unpaid school loans, these post students aren't going to be buying anything. So what happens to our economy which is generated by customer purchases? BOOM!
We were given an opportunity where our whole population could thrive, instead too many have chosen GREED as their password.
It's probably going to take at least 50 years before all this washes through our system and hopefully by then, the 1% and the business community will look to the wise northern Europeans to copy the economic tools they have wisely chosen.
39
As a freelancer, I'm finding life in "socialist" Canada much more manageable that. in the U.S. no matter my employment status, my family's healthcare needs are covered, and they're just as good as in the States. Higher education is also affordable -- tuition at a top Canadian university is under $6,000 USD, vs. over $40k for a comparable U.S. institution. Canada has not gone as far as Finland, but it offers some valuable lessons for America.
70
Another benefit of the Nordic style government is that one's neighbors are likely to be less frightened, better educated, and in better economic condition. That makes for a happier and safer society.
42
I sing praises about the Nordic countries all the time. After this story, I’ll be singing louder. The rich in the United States have waged class warfare and they’ve won. The destroyed the middle class and instilled fear into everyone throughout our society. Do not vote for a Republican.
48
We Americans are fooled into believing that working together is better for us than striving alone.
Of course everyone chipping into a basket in return for common social necessities is smart. But we are duped into believing it is unfair.
One major reason for success in "homogenous" countries is that people are willing to share when it is among "family". Our nation as been plagued with hatred for the "inferiors" brought from Africa, and this hatred has been used to curtail cooperation.
15
Currently in the US wealthy high population states are propping up poor low population states with reactionary political, economic and social policies with disproportionately greater representation in Washington. By dramatically shifting the tax burden from federal to state taxes, say where each state pays federal taxes based on representation rather than population or wealth, some of the states - where it works for them - would be able to divert more tax dollars into healthcare, education and infrastructure. States which choose to go the other way would do what they do and have their desired independence from the gubmint. Win/Win.
9
If the population of the United States also consisted of five million hard-working white Lutherans, social democracy could work here too. It will not work in a multi-ethnic, low-trust, society of 330 million with the takers --their historic grievances constantly stoked by the left-- firmly pitted against the makers.
39
Americans are in desperate need of more articles like these. Most of the remedies to America’s ills have already been formulated elsewhere. The long tradition of American solipsism - the rare trait shared across all race, class and geographic lines - is becoming deadly.
19
I have written and had accepted 100s of comments in the past few years trying to explain what Sweden and the others in the cluster Denmark, Finland, Norway do that my part of America - New England + New York State find impossible to do.
The most common critical replies I have received are also highly visible here:
1) Your country, Sweden, or all of the Nordic countries together are too small to provide examples for a country with 326,000,000 people.
2) Your country, Sweden, consists entirely of people seen as white where that apparently refers to so-called ethnic Swedes.
My reply is always the same, and I repeat it here.
Compare the Nordic countries with New England or a part of New England with the same total population. Take it from there.
Sweden, where I have lived for 23 consecutive years is approaching having 11% born outside Sweden and in my city, Linköping, same size as my home away from home, Burlington VT a large proportion of the residents are from the Middle East, the Horn of Africa, and Afghanstan, a majority of them born Muslim.
Sweden gives me better and free health care, dramatically better infrastructure and transport, heating and electrical power generation far less dependent on fossil fuel than New England.
Find better arguments, those two do not work.
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
Citizen US SE
74
@Larry Lundgren Sure, Larry, but Sweden is falling apart as we all know over here in Norway.
17
There is an organization called: "Physicians for a National Health Program - PNHP"
They say: "The answer to our health care crisis is clear. We propose a publicly financed, non-profit single-payer national health program that would fully cover medical care for all Americans."
Where's the publicity on this doctor group? They should be interviewed prominently on cable TV News in coverage of the 2020 health care proposals of the candidates. Surely the media could spare 10 minutes from the impeachment issue.
And in the NYT --- "All the News Fit to Print"?
You would think this PNHP group would be a hot issue for our media ---in the only world democracy without HC for all, even under ACA.
There's also a group called "Patriotic Millionaires" who favor higher taxes on the rich-- the other hot issue now, thanks to Sen. Warren.
Multi millionaire Nick Hanauer gave a Ted Talk on this. I saw him once on cable news.
We have to ask US media---where's the coverage on these groups? Not newsworthy enough? Or does it look too 'left wing' per the definitions laid down by the GOP, by FOX News? And per the mega donors to our elections--- who pay for the high cost political ads that bring profit to our media.
Campaign ads? Shockingly, many democracies don't even allow privately paid campaign ads on their media--per Wikipedia. These are the same countries with HC for all, who also don't allow pharma ads on TV either.
Imagine that. It all works together---a different planet.
26
Such sad irony. Those “threatened by socialism” – who are living precariously, week to week if not day to day, or are at the top tier and terrified of the “pitchforks coming for them” -- are those who can benefit most from Scandinavian style social democracy.
If nothing changes maybe in a not-so- distant future boatloads of desperate American immigrants will be heading for Helsinki.
17
Sure: make me choose from a government approved list of baby names. Check on my tab at the liquor store too. I don’t need personal responsibility. I’ve got faceless bureaucrats and allied activists to save me from myself.
4
Anyone with any wisdom looking at Trump's America has to be pessimistic. The same forces of ignorance and hate that elected him are threatening to do so again. It will take alot to turn the ship of state around toward the kind of values receptive to a better way that Finland might model. There are no easy "revolutions" to elect or otherwise institute here, and it will take alot to heal the divisions wrought by "The Great Divider" in the White House. It's OK not to have all the answers, and I don't pretend to have much more than this to offer as a surefire cure.
8
Cherry-picking story.
Compared to the U.S., Finland is a tiny nation, with nearly neutral population growth.
Finnish population has not doubled in 100 years.
U.S population has more than tripled in less than 100 years.
Finland's diversity vs. U.S. population diversity? Absolutely no comparison. No ethnic or cultural friction. No burgeoning population explosion.
22 U.S. States and 9 MSAs have a higher population than all of Finland.
Let's see a profile of a socialist nation of 200,000,000 population or more with all the claimed benefits of a Scandinavian monoculture, and I will be a bit persuaded of the potential on a larger scale.
24
I hope all the Democratic candidates read this article.
8
It’s the people, the Finns, Danes, Swedes, and Norwegians. Yes, there is more to it than that, but, ultimately, it’s the people. Deeper stuff than The Times has the fortitude or, on some level, the integrity to raise for discussion.
18
Hillary Clinton's attack on Scandinavian style universal healthcare, voiced during the 2016 presidential debate, perfectly expresses the mainstream position of both Democrats and Republicans. She stated that she would rather live in a country where people were free to start a business and get rich, rather than one where access to healthcare was guaranteed by the government. This false dichotomy has been so long and so persuasively sold to the American public, that change may be impossible within the constraints of our two party system.
13
Just two comments:
1) Universal healthcare not only liberates businesses to focus on their business as the article notes, but also liberates the employees to seek employment elsewhere doing something they enjoy, freeing them from being stuck in a job they do not like only because it provides a good healthcare plan.
2) Finland borders Russia, the ex-Soviet Union, yet, Finland is not a NATO member and does not spend 2% of its budget on armament like other countries such as Poland. Also they have co-existed peacefully with their communist neighbors for a long time despite their differences. Maybe there is something here to think about.
12
With all due respect to the authors of this piece, the comparison of Finland to the USA is effectively APPLES AND ORANGES.
The estimated entire population of Finland in 2019, according to world population review dot com, is 5.53 million. In comparison, according to usa population dot org, the estimated population of NYC in 2019 is 8.66 million, whereas worldometers dot info estimated population for the entire USA in 2019 is nearly 330 million.
I might add that the population in Finland is reasonably homogeneous, but the population in NYC and in the USA is certainly not homogeneous.
The taxation issue is also an APPLES and ORANGES comparison. According to nation master dot com, the average total per capita tax in Finland is 45.9% and 30% in the USA.
For this family, the higher level of taxation is apparently beneficial to them. However, not everyone will have their needs and these other comparisons may turn out differently.
The Times Editorial Board (apparently) encouraged the publication of this essay, but (apparently) also FAILED to do Due Diligence in order to support what these authors opined.
I am also an independent business person. My disagreement with the authors can be summarized with this closing sentence: For those of us who toil in the independent space, historically there has been NO BETTER PLACE TO DO SO than in the USA.
19
It’s revealing to look at the efforts of Truman to introduce universal health care in the US. The AMA put on a full court press to stop it and succeeded. Could it be related to the fact that, at that time, the AMA did not allow membership to black doctors. I’ve come to the conclusion that a big reason we don’t have universal health care (and other social benefits) is because of our diversity and our inability to accept everyone as our brother and sister.
13
The US divides up our people into competing groups. Many politicians attain power by playing off 1 group against another. They exploit resentments as groups compete for the economic and political crumbs left over after the corporate wealthy/mega donors take their cut.
To push for more equality--supposedly America's founding credo-- is actually labeled too 'left wing', even radical. So laws in the public interest are labeled 'big govt' interfering in our 'freedoms'. This translates to laws interfering in business profits. This ACA preserves insurance profits as 1st priority over our health care. We have 37 millions uninsured and many millions burdened by high costs---unique among modern nations.
Many US voters have been conditioned to tolerate propaganda against there own interests. It's the exact opposite of our founding ideals. The US has a lower GINI INDEX ranking than many countries for upward mobility, and security of the middle/working class.
We're stuck if we keep putting our elections into the hands of the richest mega donors. The big money distorting our US ideals is blessed by our own distorted Supreme Court as protected 1st Amendment free speech---in a supreme lie worthy of Trump and Friends.
The political voice of average citizens can't compete. This has to be changed by campaign finance reform---which a large majority of voters favor--- before any progress in health care for all can happen. Our democracy must start to work.
3
Finland seems like a wonderful place and I take no issue with anything in the article. The only thing I know about Finland is from work because it is a great place to study Type 1 Diabetes. Even though it’s one of the cleanest and healthiest countries on earth, whose people loves extraordinarily long lives, it has the highest rate of type 1 diabetes in the world. What is fascinating is that the rich Nordic countries around it do not have the same issue with T1D nor do the less rich countries like Russia and the Eastern European Countries. The most likely culprit - the so called hygiene theory - is that Finnish kids are not playing in the dirt as much as they used to and not picking up the bugs that their immune system need to fight the bugs that trigger type 1 diabetes. Fascinating how too much of a good thing like cleanliness can be bad for you.
3
Imagine what could be achieved if the US military spending could be re-directed.
14
Imagine if American companies paid taxes.
23
"Never mind the bankruptcy-sized bills for education ahead, whether for housing in a good public-school district or for private-school tuition."
This sentence shows very clearly where the authors' values lie.
I believe the United States will get along just fine without them.
11
Thank you for this column. It was a reminder of common sense in the face of all the "we can't do it" shrieking that we hear ad nauseum.
I lived in Australia and I know things can be better. Even so, the constant drone of "America is different so it won't work here" was starting to chip away at my conviction.
This article reminded me that it's all hogwash. We can build a better society, if we summon the will.
13
I'm struck by how many commenters defend US policies on racial terms (Finns are "homogeneous," US has all those problematic brown/black immigrants) or by blaming Finns for alcoholism and suicide rates--when alcohol, opioid, and suicide deaths have actually lowered US life expectancy.
Finns' life expectancy this year is 81.81; US life expectancy peaked at 78.9 in 2014 and has been falling since. Even here in Canada we've seen life expectancy plateau for similar reason: "deaths of despair" in young men aged 20-44. https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2019/12/02/Canada-Life-Expectancy-Plateau/
8
This article overlooks the most important social and policy differences between Finland and the US:
1. The Finns spend less of their GDP projecting military force around the world.
2. The Finns can afford universal health care not just because of higher taxes but because they control the amount spent to care for their elderly. We could afford universal health care if Medicare usage were similarly controlled.
3. Far fewer gun and auto deaths do wonders for your statistics.
4. No immigration means workers have less competition and unions are stronger.
5. No immigration also means educational resources are not strained by 100,000 children who can’t speak Finnish.
6. No immigration means Nordic countries are ethnically and religiously homogenous. Trust and empathy are higher. Values are more shared and less challenged.
7. Family structure is stronger.
Give each of the Nordic nations a million people who match the demographics of illegal immigrants to the US and let’s see how much they remain paradises. Indeed, as the planet warms, populations south of the Mediterranean are going to push even harder to migrate northward so the test will come later this century.
23
There is one notable expenditure the US government has that exceeds virtually every country, namely the military. This is rarely if ever accounted for in comparisons between the US and other countries.
America it seems is determined to project military power around the world, to the benefit of everyone. If that is still possible within a compassionate government framework providing healthcare, education and support for families it would deserve an additional look.
3
If America put more resources and trust into soft power, it could reduce what it spends on it’s military overseas.
Diplomacy and trade, that’s the key to reducing military spending
6
And look at the wonderful successes we've enjoyed since 1945 as a result of our military expenditures.
6
The evil projection of military power around the world is what keeps Europe and Scandinavia free and democratic. Imagine what the U.S. could do if some other countries covered our defense budget..
6
1. Keynes was right, Friedman was wrong. Demand-side economics works, supply-side has totally failed except for the 1%.
2. Pooling resources strengthens many services such as the police, fire fighters, health care, and public education. Taxes are how we pool these resources that are the cornerstones of any civilization.
3. Reagan and Thatcher changed these policies way too far to the right 40 years ago and the Western World has plummeted into a Corporate-run Libertarian every man for himself Dystopia. When will we finally admit this?
15
Finland is a fraction of the size of the United States (less than six million). Do they have illegal immigrants residing in their country? Actually how much do they pay in taxes to receive all these free benefits?
We are one of the greatest nations on earth. Just ask those who come here legally and illegally. We may have our problems but I prefer living in the US and I have travelled extensively. There is no place like it.
20
Travel abroad is not the same as living abroad, speaking other languages and working and raising kids in other countries. Living abroad, I am glad my kids dont have lock-down drills or implicit racism due to being bi-racial. I bet the percentage of immigrants in Finland is much higher per capita vs the US...
10
Let’s not ignore the high rates of alcoholism and suicide in Finland.
9
Are you aware that Finland, at 32 in the world for suicide, is only a couple of ticks above US (34) and almost identical in stats?
8
@PaulN
and here at home esp the non existant opiod epidemic they are battling there
4
This is a nonsense article. Comparing Finland to the US is apples and oranges. Finland has a $1T sovereign wealth fund from its oil reserves. The equivalent for the US would be over $70T, which has enabled them to fund their socialistic programs. A more apt comparison is Saudi Arabia.
They have virtually no immigrants (90% white) and pay nothing for defense. The only large companies they have are oil companies.
Let’s stop the nonsense.
17
Norway is the country with a 1 trillion sovereign wealth fund, not Finland. While talking about extraction based sovereign wealth funds, why doesn’t the US (or Canada) have one? Instead of giving extraction rights to companies for next to nothing, why don’t they collect higher royalties? I don’t think big business lobbying has anything to do with that?
11
@sjw51
You are talking about Norway not Finland.It is Norway who is a major oil producer not Finland
9
Finland doesn’t have any oil. You are confusing it with Norway.
8
Here we go again, identity obsession, in this case which is the best type of gov't, economic system.
Finland is certainly better than us with a national, quality, universal health care system among other things but things are not all rosy there either.
A good friend of myself immigrated from Finland, who is a business owner and she said red tape there was stifling. Finland has a very high suicide rate, darker Sun because of it geo position and on app. 6 million people live there because it is freezing most of the time.
I could go on re America, the great, the good, the bad and the ugly.
In other ways unless you are living in a oppressive country like No Korea, Saudi Arabia etc. or a country at war for thousands of yrs. like Afghanistan or a third world poverty country like Rwanda, most other democracies have god and bad.
Once you start saying something is a paradise you are either lying or the paradise is short lived.
8
You think the Zelensky affair is bad? Russia pressures the Finns so much that they are too afraid to join NATO. 19 out of 20 Finns are of Finnish extract. They're all white and blond and if you go back enough generations they all descend from the same couple. Their economy is like a family business -- and so no one gets too far ahead or is left too far behind. Most immigrants who come to Finland leave because it's too cold, though July gets some days in the high sixties. On Saturday night in the winter in Helsinki it's mostly alcoholics -- what else is there to do in the endless dark? North of the Arctic Circle is Lapland, a nice to place to visit, but you wouldn't want to live there. It's dark for about 4 months in the winter.
Finland is such a great place in theory. But it is 204th in population density because, unless you belong to the family, and it's your ancestral home, you can't deal with the winters and you stick out it like a sore thumb, either from the snow banks up north or among the crowds in Helsinki that still dance to Abba.
12
Wow, Finland sounds super. I would like to move there and give it a go. They must be very welcoming of immigrants. Is that what this means:
Finn 93.4%, Swede 5.6%, Russian 0.5%, Estonian 0.3%, Romani 0.1%, Sami 0.1% (2006)
14
@Anchower
really? do you even KNOW who these groups are?
and diversity means that the US cannot TRY to do anything to help the middle class? that is what this article is really about
Not race
Not ethnicity
Not climate or weather. But helping the middle class. Yoiu may as well subsittute any of the following countries that give adamn about the middle class:
Canada( no immigrants there right?)
Denmark
Germany (only took in 1 million yrian refugeess...but no mmigrants)
There is no paraidese. But there are better places to live middle class than the greedy oligarchal USA.
Americans can't stand to hear that any other place in the world there are happy people. God forbid.
11
Most intelligent Americans understand the superiority of Scandinavian systems...But you only get one life and, most folks with a choice, choose America...Despite trump
5
...and the corrupt oligarchy in America plods on to its destruction.
9
“The US is too diverse”. As if white, black, yellow and green people don’t all need health care, education, and child care.
17
I was a Fulbright Lecturer in Geology in Oulu, Finland in 1967-68. That was step 1 leading me to retire to Sweden in 1996.
This article with Anu Partanen showing the way should be required reading for all Democratic Party presidential candidates, especially Biden.
They should even come here, Finland now the leader, Sweden struggling to keep up but all so far ahead om my USA, the difference is sorrowful, even appalling.
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
Citizen US SE
7
How dare you pen an article lionizing this "socialist" state. What about the freedom to own weapons that kill scores of people in seconds? Bet they don't have that!!! High quality health care, access to a quality education, etc. Just more nanny state policies to lull the people into a false sense of security. How can they possibly be happy? Sounds like fake new to me.
10
A nice antidote to the article just published by David Brooks (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/05/opinion/socialism-capitalism.html?searchResultPosition=1). This is what Warren and Sanders are promoting. Not Soviet-style centralized planning.
15
@dnt
the dichotemous Americxan. Finland has a system that atkes care of its people. Business takes care of business.
We trtax payers are already subsidizing companies like Walmart whose er cenatge of employees on Medicaid andFood stamps is appallingly and shamefully ridiculous. So why not change?
The Finns pay taxes More benefist.,. No excuses. laziness, ignorance and lack of education makes for ridiculously foolish Americans. Either or. God help us if we had something in between and people had a chance to be happy God Forbid.
1
Duh, this sounds so practical, why can't it work in the US?
9
One of the major obstacles to the United States instituting these reasonable programs is the intolerable thought, by older white people, of brown people getting something for nothing. This will not go away until they die off. Sadly, I will be dying off with them, so I won't get to see it.
13
Sounds good, although if you want this society, you are probably going to have to move there. As long as we have evangelicals and their ignorant, backward view of the world, we will continue on the course we are on.
13
In his stand-up routine, the comedian Chris Rock would joke something to the effect of “ you know what a poor white with a nickel hate? A black person with a dime.” As long as American society is riven with racial inequality and some significant white Americans derive some psychological benefit from racial superiority, universal programs for social mobility that reduce social inequality and social distance will not gain traction. Trump’s rallying cry of “Make America Great” is an open call to turn back the clock to pre-Civil Rights Act of 1964 and pre-Immigration Act of 1965 America.
13
I think paying more taxes to get “free” heath care, college tuition and the other features of a “safety net” is the best way to go. Frankly, paying more taxes for this would actually save me money over what I pay for health insurance with deductibles, college tuition etc etc.
But one thing that scares me must be address before we undo what we have, flawed though it may be. To explain:
Finland, Denmark and Norway (as examples) each have a little over 5 million in population. So each country has about the same population as Brooklyn and Queens combined. Setting up a QUALITY heath care system etc for 5 million people is logistically a helluva easier than setting one up for 300+million people that we have in the USA. We have to tackle that problem and get it right. Large scale government bureaucratic bungling on this would be catastrophic for our people. This has got to work right the first time and every time. There are no second chances if our health care system collapses.
I’ve dealt with government agencies before. We all have! Often they are very good. But often they are very bad, frustrating and cause real harm by their incompetence. We can’t afford incompetence with this transition!! So let’s make the changes to health care, etc. But let’s also make sure we do it right!!
7
@SAH
Medicaire
Medicaid
VHA Hospitals
the structure is there already
5
Better hope that Rupert Murdoch and his Fox News trolls don't read this interesting and uplifting article. After calling it "fake news," a steady bombardment of the network's hatred and lies will turn soon Finland into the USA.
8
I’m from Ireland, another one of the world’s wealthiest countries. We have a good social net as well. Very low cost healthcare, good support for the unemployed. I love visiting the USA but I would be afraid to live here, mainly because of the poorer social supports including the exorbitant cost of healthcare. Salaries are much higher in the US but if you’re not doing well it seems to me to be a scary place. One of the big benefits of living in the EU is the very strong emphasis on social welfare. The American Dream is all well for some but the EU is kinder to its citizens as a whole.
25
An excellent article demolishing the myth of “socialism” My Finnish wife of 56 years and I live in USA but we stay a lot of time in Finland. Ms. Partanen describes well the services Finnish “nanny state” provides to all citizens as compared to our predatory, exploitative and competitive system. The Finns do not need to worry that medical bills will bankrupt them; how to pay for private schools (to have their kids educated and safe); how to pay for college or other post-secondary education, how to fund retirement. Without these worries the Finns can live peacefully and invest their energy in doing good and innovative quality work. There is plenty of evidence that worries and relentless competition do not stimulate quality but impede progress. As to taxes: Finnish income tax in higher, but they do not have our state tax, local tax, city tax, real estate tax, etc. like we do.
Ms. Partanen however does not mention that the difference with USA is not in the system alone but in the history that created it. We have long history of aggressive expansion, exploitation of slaves and immigrant workers, and brainwashing that predatory competition (rather than cooperation) is good. We spend a lot of money supporting oppressive tyrants abroad and reducing taxes for our global corporation, rather than investing in our own country. Finns accepted many more refugees than we and assimilated them constructively. Let us learn from the 5.5 million people of Finland.
20
Just the notion of walking around in Helsinki without the fear of guns in your face should be heaven enough for anyone!
16
We are Capitalist Slaves.
This is coming to an end soon for good or bad.
7
Do they undermine their unions with cheap uneducated, desperately poor immigrant labor?
7
@Bob they integrate their immigrants and refugees to make part of the unions. Your snarkiness is so noted.
9
Ahh yet another article of a Scandinavian country of 5 million people (a quarter of of the population of NYC) with 95% white people where everything is honkey dorey unless you are a immigrant or a person of color. In fact an article in a Finish newspaper recently mentioned that the few Africans that somehow made it Finland are the most discriminated in Europe, which is amazing given the rampant racism across Europe.
In all the small homogenous countries of Scandinavia the costs and benefits of the welfare system are shared equally. They do not like immigrants because they endanger this delicate balance. In the US, 40% of the population is NOT paying any income taxes. The Socialist welfare system would simply not work as it would place massive burdens on the 60% that do. Finally if I had a choice between living in exciting NYC vs. freezing and boring Helsinki I'd take the big Apple any day of the week and twice on Sunday.
14
This is the first sane and humane, actual vision, of how society best functions, that I have ever read in this, the newspaper of record.
Silly op-Ed’s about minuscule subsections of the population, gaining additional rights, not afforded the rest of us, with no counter arguments allowed and bizarre stories that appeal to the wealthy about how many NYC bedrooms you can get in your 10 million dollar shoe box.
Thanks for writing a real article about real people who live out here, in reality.
8
One question: can I move there?
7
This is a highly biased, unreliable and skewed article.
Author has made up her conclusion already and then has gone around cherry-picking evidence to suit her posit.
A rigorous deep-dive into Finnish economics this is not.
9
Go Warren! Go Bernie! Seriously.
10
A highly biased article. Example the author says the Finns fought a war with the Soviet Union during WW2 but conveniently forgets to mention that Finland faught together with Nazi Germany, against the Soviets. Why hide this from American readers?
Also, the claims that a "majority" of Americas are just a bad luck away from addiction and incarceration is downright false.
Speaking of addiction why is this article hiding the fact that Finland has one of the highest rates of alcohol and porn addiction rates in the west?
Perhaps the next article can explain why a "paradise" like Finland has high alcoholic rates, much higher than USA. Not sure if universal healthcare actually means a healthier population if alcoholic rates are high.
Incidentally a "paradise" like Finland also used to have very high suicide rates for decades which forced the Government to implement programs after it was shamed by UN reports. Only in 2019 did Finland's suicide rates drop to average western standards.
12
Picketty smiles.
3
Comparing a small country of $5M people, mostly native born, with the USA is not only ridiculous but an unfair. Plus the Finns pay less than 2% of their GDP with the US picking up the bulk of their defense cost. Nuf said.
7
If Trump is re-elected, Finland looks fabulous. I hope all Democratic candidates read this article, as well as most Americans. We are headed in the wrong direction. The Finnish approach would be so refreshing and could save our democracy.
7
@Mary Dunn
americans esp the nay sayers here cannot defend the capitalism that we are living under vs the capitalism at the heart of the Finnis staate. They just go low and label it what it is NOT :"socialism".
Ameircans take the "easy path" the one that appeals to an either or....
.so compromise, not an American notion, loses once more. Why sacrifice so we all get richer when you feel you can easily with the lotto called "the Amercan dream"? good luck with that.
2
Let's take two cars. One car, we do all the maintenance, we use high quality oil, we change the filters.
In the other car, we use the cheapest oil we can find, we change that every 15,000 miles, we change the filters when they turn black and not a moment before. We do this because it saves us money.
Until we have to buy a new car.
The Finns use the first maintenance program. Americans use the second.
15
@Sara Klamer. " The immense innovation that would be unleashed would truly by incredible."
Although I see many benefits from the economic/social arrangements that exist in the Nordic countries, innovation is not one of them.
How many of these countries have produced life-saving modalities such as new vaccines, robotic surgery, and the like? Innovative products like the iPhone? Green energy technologies like electric vehicles?
Look to the US for such innovation. Look not to the Nordic countries.
Jasper
7
Yeah, but that winter ... oy!
3
This concept is all so flamingly obvious, on the one hand...
...and so completely dead on arrival in The United States.
It's heartbreaking. ALL Americans' lives could be SO much better.
In the interest of mental health, I find myself increasingly driven to just ignore the synergy of America's moribund politics and culture and let it contentedly slowly kill itself. Trying to convince Americans to see how their own stupidity is making their lives worse is like that old joke about trying to teach a pig to sing.
9
American capital and labor dumb. Nordic smart. Agreed.
2
Go Alvar Alto.
Scandinavia is cold and dark with high rates of alcoholism. But, be guest and move there.
4
"Finland fell into another bloody conflict as it fought off, at great cost, the Communist Soviet Union next door during World War II." True; but why not mention that Finland was an ally of Nazi Germany?
9
This article reinforced a theme I learned from living in Denmark for 8 years: it is not just possible but necessary to balance private enterprise with public services. While there are no silver bullets, providing quality health care, affordable childcare and good education for all citizens lays the foundation for a thriving and dynamic economy and society. The Nordic countries have figured this out, and are willing to contribute to making those a reality. In the US, we somehow think that individual enterprise can make up for the lack of a common foundation -- this is both flawed and dangerous.
Maybe we need to find a new term for this approach to providing fundamental needs for all in this country -- how about "Americanism"?
8
This excellent article is about a market economy in which basic human needs are guaranteed as rights, not provided based on privilege and wealth. Finland is neither socialist nor capitalist; it is a social democratic system which also exists in many countries around the world in various forms. Perhaps because this article was written for Americans who know little about political and economic systems, the author does not make this clear. However, this is not a matter of semantics; it is a real-world distinction that provides a basis for resolving/moving beyond endless arguments about capitalism vs. socialism, neither of which exist as they are usually presented by those in such debates.
7
The American economic system is most accurately described as Plunder Capitalism. It's a zero-sum game in which the majority of us are ordained losers, who must continually surrender so that a few "entitled" winners can acquire more wealth. And because electoral campaigns require candidates to raise enormous amounts of money, the winners can buy policies and legislation that further increases their winnings (and "necessarily" further immiserates everyone else).
The winners have purchased full ownership of one of our political parties, whose agenda is entirely about increasing their owners' wealth through tax cuts, elimination of impediments to greed, and dismantling of government programs and services that benefit the non-wealthy. (The wealthy owners believe they should not be forced to pay taxes to benefit "takers.") But those winners own a large enough interest in the other party to preclude it from offering effective opposition.
The "entitled" winners of the Plunder Capitalism of course insist that ours is the True Capitalism. The other kinds of capitalism-- in which government regulation ensures an equitable "game" that provides opportunity for anyone who works hard rather than only helping the rich get richer-- are not capitalism at all. They're Socialism, just like oppressive system that ultimately collapsed in the Soviet Empire. And thanks to pervasive propaganda, enough Americans believe this to consistently and enthusiastically vote against their own interests.
9
Finland has a very small population of 5.5 million (about one 60th that of the United States). It is highly homogeneous (over 91% of Finnish background). It has a tiny military budget.
I certainly agree with many of the points made in the column, but to simply ignore these facts is silly, and actually misleading.
11
My cousin lived in Anchorage for several years. She used to tell me how everybody in her office would go out for lunch this time of the year just so they could see the sun. At least in Helsinki you get an education, health and child care for those long winter nights.
3
Imagine if the economic waste from the US military-industrial complex had been invested in education, universal health systems, paid leave, child care, etc. The so-called "security" promised by vastly superior arms has been another deceit perpetuated by the war industry to keep the cash flowing their way.
Oer' the land of the indebted,
And the home of the dupped."
8
I’ve never understood how American business can focus on constant improvement via Six Sigma and using the best ideas from other companies, and yet generally stand four-square against government trying ideas that seem to work pretty well in Canada and European countries (healthcare in particular). And ironically, when we do get a businessman as president, we get a conman and gangster, not one who believes in community or investment. American Exceptionalism has a double meaning, doesn’t it?
6
Finally. As a Swedish American I can tell you all there is a better way for the USA. Imagine. Not worrying about paying for college, healthcare, childcare. No more excuses that USA is too big or too diverse. That’s exactly why it would work, we have so many payers into the tax system. It’s time we got something back from our taxes. The immense innovation that would be unleashed would truly by incredible. The new jobs available would take us so much further. We must stop the madness in this country, tax cuts for the rich and no benefits for the middle class and poverty decaying our future.
There’s a better way, I’ve seen it and lived it.
1148
@Sara Klamer
But unfortunately the American culture is one in which there is a paradoxical belief that virtually any action taken by society to help the less fortunate is seen as being potentially harmful because it robs them of the ability to be self-sufficient. Add in a political class which has systematically undermined public confidence in the governing institutions (think Reagan), and you have a society which actively fights against doing things for their own good. Yes there is a better way, but it is sadly not the American way. Once American begin to respect their government and regard their fellow citizens as potential contributing members (rather than potential free loaders), then we can consider American universal health care.
132
@Sara Klamer
Sweden is not remotely comparable to the U.S. (Read my comment a few comments down)
Of course, we need compassionate or socially responsible capitalism, that's a no brainer!
First, we need a conscientious, aware populace who doesn't believe in the end times, conspiracy theories and white supremacy. Forget climate change...
Even our "green new deal" politicians and leaders can't get it together to slap some solar panels on their houses. (Tom Freidman, you have a massive roof)
News flash, you don't have to live in California for them to work!
48
I wonder how much this is actually American culture and not a shaped message.
14
Tedious arguments put forth to deny the superior qualities of life lived in Nordic and some other mixed economy countries amount to nothing more than excuses, envy and dull witted babble: we have too many people, so much diversity, can't ever trust government, it’ll never work, costs too much, they’re such small populations, everyone wants to come here, they owe us, taxes, and other such whining drivel. Poorly educated and ridiculous people believe that our military might has somehow blessed us with freedom, happiness, character, and well being. Our military has and does well to protect us, but they do not by virtue of that fact create for us a wonderful life. That’s the work of the populace, and it ain’t going so pretty good just now, or haven’t you noticed?
27
What is happening now is the comupance of a racist past that has never been addressed fully, openly, and honestly. The white middle class repeately aquiesed to the ruling class and forfeited an ever increasing share of their safety net. Believing instead that if they didn't do so, moochers, who they were told did not look like them or work as hard as them, would drain the nation of it's resources. And here we are with a burden so heavy that most of the middle class can barely cope and yet still many continue to believe in this "other" boogyman and will fight him for the remaing crumbs.
23
Finland is a largely homogeneous country which has a population half the size of metropolitan Chicago. The author fails to mention either of these rather important facts.
19
@richard If the United States was not burdened by defending the FREE WORLD, and absorbing millions of illiterate immigrates each year, perhaps we would have the ability to have the life style of the Nordic countries. Having said this, what great things have the Nordic countries produced in the last fifty years? Millions of the world's population seek to come to the United States. How many are trying to move to Finland?
6
Tired old trope! Anyone who has been to Finland knows the population is not homogeneous!
11
Oh you use words of no interest to Americans: happiness, fairness, society, value. Americans have more important things to worry about: minorities becoming demographically dominant, immigrants taking jobs (forget about the fact the jobs are ones Americans have no interest in like cleaning Trump's vacation home), maximum profit, making sure there are plenty of guns for everyone, and making sure abortions are ended . These are the things that keep Americans up at night. You think people like Buffett have seen the light? Don't be so naive. The wealthy see the handwriting on the wall. They hear the growling of the dog under the table. Better to throw the dog a little bone now than to have it begin to gnaw at your legs. There is no altruism involved here. Americans are told the Finns are socialists. No interest whatsoever in if that is true. The only way to make Americans happy is to make someone else miserable. For crying out loud, most Americans couldn't find Finland on a map. If I were you I would stop writing about how good things are there. Wealthy Americans might hear you have money and come to ruin your country to get it. And then tell you if you just work a little harder, let taxes be cut on them, and stop expecting stuff from the government, then they just might let you have that little piece of bone under the table. Maybe. Then again, maybe not.
30
A xenophobia fueled by false assumptions, a significant percentage of the populace too easily wooed by arguments pitched by demagogues, polemics which appeal to one's worst instincts, and an appalling disrespect for public education's value for the common good have contributed to the decline in the standard of living now seen in the U.S.. The idea that lower taxes will make unaffordable health care affordable does not pass muster. Perhaps it is true there are billionaire capitalists like Buffet and Dalio who recognize the frightening disparities and the sick child it has created. They are neither vocal enough nor are they demonstrably committing money to candidates who call for a major reset and not a wall.
10
If Finland is one of the best places to live being based on the statement below, then why has one of the journalists of this Op-ed , Ana Partanen leave her native homeland of Finland to become a naturalized US citizen in 2013?
" World Happiness Report also announced Finland to be the happiest country on earth, for the second year in a row."
6
@MDCooks8
Perhaps because she married an American?
12
Remember Elizabeth Warren and save this article for future reference.
6
I lived in Norway and have recently returned to the states. The difference in every facet of quality of life here is shocking. America looks as if it simply stopped developing or modernizing 50 years ago. Everything is run down, old, dirty, ugly and falling apart. There are so many fat, unhealthy looking people in America. So many poor and homeless. Even the health and medical offices are run down. The public transportation is antiquated and nonexistent or insufficient. Everything is privatized. Human rights and public services are being withdrawn. Consumers are not protected. Nothing is modern or updated, to say nothing of the corrupt government, corporations, religious nuts, and billionaires currently dismantling the constitution and American institutions. It’s amazing how defiant some Americans are about this, and how passive the rest seem to be, like frogs in the proverbial pot, where are the mass protests? — utterly depressing.
So I ask: Do Americans realize they are living in a near-third world? I doubt any of the uninformed commenters writing negatively about Finland have ever traveled outside of America. Finland is NOT a “socialist” nation. Nordic nations are among the most advanced, healthiest and happiest nations on earth, more like well-managed social democracies whose governments actually work FOR the people. By comparison, America seems more like an authoritarian kleptocracy and budding dictatorship.
71
I spent a Fulbright year at a Finnish University and have worked for several years in Finland I can vouch for the truthfulness of this article.
16
Same old excuse we can’t possibly do this no can do America
2
Good article and plenty of things to think about for America, though the author is a little too Pollyannaish. All systems have problems currently or could have them in the future.
4
Great narrative on the great advantages of the Finnish system of humane capitalism. However, in the writer's describing the Finns' victory of the Soviets during WWII she failed to mention this involved an alliance with Nazi Germany, whose troops fought alongside the Finns against their common enemy. She also fails to mention Finnish nationalism, including efforts to reduce the cultural autonomy of their substantial Swedish minority. Finland also has a high incidence of alcoholism. None of this negates the Finn's achievements, but they ain't perfect.
5
Brilliant article, Anu.
However, as long as the GOP and other partisan interests insist on confusing socialism and communism, its going to take some time before the average, uninformed American can see how he is being conned.
11
Someone wake up the author.... Finland has great businesses because Finland has enjoyed lower business tax rates than the US for 30 years. Yeah.... lower tax rates on business. Much lower. Maybe the writer needs to take a look at the tax code there. Even after the Trump business tax cut, Finland's business tax is lower, capping out at 20%. So yeah... I agree!!!! Let's be like Finland and cut our business taxes even more, down to their 20% maximum rate they have. Sounds great!
13
Excellent article. Nordic countries have traditional capitalism and make it work well. Not sure this "Altruistic Capitalism" can be copied. Finland is small. Within US states, you can find the same qualities, but states yield to the national culture.
You can call for Altruistic Capitalism to support higher taxes (Warren Buffet), but that might be hard to do sell. Instead, the the notion of “Socialism” has to become become real.
You cant divide the economy into business and so called “government.” Day care is a "Means of Production." So are roads and airports. And cities run actual "businesses." Denver owns a huge music venue... and a major ski area.
All economic activity is "production.” By that measure the US and Finland have 1/3 of their activity in the “Not-Business Business."
“Socialism vs Capitalism” is a silly debate. What if Cupertino, CA, bought 10% of Apple shares, a controlling interest? Is Apple now “socialist”?
Localities will do that; nothing stops the city. It makes excellent business sense, because the city is a business, with a large output. If Denver can run business, so can Cupertino.
When that happens on a large scale? No one will notice. There is no real difference between the public and private sector. EXCEPT: The public/private business model is responsible to taxpayers. HEAR HEAR! I call for Seattle to buy Amazon. San Jose to Buy Google. And Minneapolis to buy US Bank Stadium! (Correction: they already own it).
2
Its obvious from demostration and more then one Nobel Prize winning economist save the one that worked for Pinochet that republicans have been perpetratin a fraud on Americans now for decades with the Supply Side economic theory. It doesn't even make any sense to stockpile products w/o first a viable and capable Demand in place first. Whose goin to buy your stuff in effective enough proportions? The honest way to lubricate the economy is to target Demand, from where its liquid enough to become a readily available lubricant. Alll the disproportionate tax breaks laundered by republicans to the source of their fattest campaign contributions are The Boomerang Effect. Republicans seem to be havin a hard time winning Presidential elections by popular vote so resort to the long list of tricks many of us are aware of revealed by Rachel Maddow and MSNBC. The tricks have gerrymandering as merely the beginning. If you want to find out the rest you only need look. They don't represent us. Republicans are hostile to pretty much all but abortion and guns. Ronal Reagan cried, "government is the problem" ... okay then why would we vote for a republican if our representation in Washington is such a problem. Everybody knows about the trend describing the disparity of wealth, we had a cup of coffee over it about a year ago.And republicans need it to keep from becoming extinct.They're already obsolete, Extinction would just be in the natural order of Evolution, like the tails we used to have.
7
Not in Sweden, I can promise you that care is needed there.
1
What is the average family size, in Finland? How children do Finnish couples have? People in the USA don't want to pay for other people to have 7 children.
Wealth in the USA is mostly in the hands of Protestants and Jews (I'm half of each). Most poor people seem to be Catholic or Muslim. Historically, protestants don't have much love for Catholics and Jews don't have much love for Muslims (and vice-versa). Finland is like 85% Protestant. It's probably more productive to compare Finland with Tel Aviv or Scotland, because of its religious uniformity. The USA is more like Northern Ireland.
5
Long dark nights and massive consumption of adult beverages....sheesh.
4
And for those who look only at the later half of the 2nd amendment and think it is the total of our constitution, Finns enjoy hunting and the Tikia rifles they produce are outstanding.
5
In the same way American workers routinely vote against their own interests, American capitalists will never accept that a system they find personally repugnant --who knows why -- would do better for them and enhance profit.
These fanatics, and the country is full of them, quite literally hate government. The Chamber of Commerce is full of them, and they'd rather fail, than capitulate or admit error.
11
The authors of the article are Finns?
No serious discussion of Finland's social welfare system would be
honest without a comparison of Finnish immigration policies, low income immigration policies, and refugee policies, since these are the people globally most in need of social welfare programs. According to Wikipedia, Finland has 3,000 or 10,000 illegal immigrants.
7
It may be a coincidence that the one Washington think tank most in sync with the Finnophile ideas in this article, the Niskanen Center, was named after a prominent American economist of Finnish ancestry. Its founders had questioned, and transitioned from, the old-time religion of hostility to government proverbial on the libertarian right. And its Vice President for Policy, Will Wilkinson, is a regular contributor to the Times opinion pages.
3
Excellent article. Finland tends towards a capitalist paradise. Meanwhile America is trapped in a dystopia of capitalist parasites: corporatists who habitually relies on or exploits others and give nothing in return.
11
Americans deserve the billionaire gambling paradise America has become. America is nothing but chain stores and restaurants who over-charge you with a smile for worse and worse services and merchandise.
Americans think if they did not invent it, then it cannot possibly be good. There really is little of the American experiment I really agree with: Keeping black people as slaves? Women not as citizens? Guns as a right? Nope not really much of that I can agree with. I feel like I am prisoner in Idiocracy.
12
Normally I cut and paste sections of the article to write about but there are so many positives about Finland there isn’t room.
During the 1950’s and 1960’s business taxes were orders of magnitude higher than today and we managed quite well.
In another recent NYT piece (real estate/magazine?) I read people (high earners) were complaining about high taxes and a future Elizabeth Warren presidency. All of them were getting ready to renounce their US citizenship to move abroad when they found out that to do so, you must have the past 5 years of tax returns in order. As a consequence none of them could leave because all of them had been cheating on their taxes!
I’ve been strongly advocating for Medicare for All in these comment columns for months and getting a lot of negative feedback. I mentioned it once in my local doctor’s office and was almost thrown out. After reading this wonderful piece I am no longer concerned. Why? Because I’m prepared to leave the US to all of the haters ignorants. Trump and his Base can certainly have it.
Vote Democrat. Vote Elizabeth. Or pack your bags.
11
@PC Weren't you and your Dem. pals going to move to Canada after the 2016 election?
3
They must have far fewer USA-trained Business Consultants per capita....
4
Is college tuition free for anyone who can fog a mirror or must a student do well in high school and pass some sort of qualifying exam?
2
@Kurfco The latter. Entry to a university depends on high school success and/or qualifying exams which can include the country-wide matriculation examination following high school and an exam by the relevant faculty/department. (Often there's a score based on all three.)
7
@Kurfco your american Meritocracy is showing, in your world a few winners and the rest can go fly a kite, right?I hear the hungry dog growling under the table,do you?
4
Surprise, Surprise this article says exactly the opposite of what we're told on Fox and see posted on Facebook by Conservatives. They keep telling us how Finland is a FAILED Country. Yes the taxes are higher but the people are taken care of. Maybe the Conservatives see the "failure" of opportunities to cheat the public of of their money through over-priced healthcare and over-priced educational costs as a Societal failure?
105
The reason that we do not have the same level of government services as the rest of the strong economies is racism. Americans don’t want money to go to people who don’t look like they do. Most other countries don’t have this. They are much more homogeneous and so don’t mind supporting the whole population. As populations start to move more and more due to global warming it will be interesting to see what happens.
I do wish that racism were not always at the root of most of our ills but it is.
76
@Blaine Snoe I work in a comprehensive school in Espoo, next to Helsinki. In our school more than 50% of the pupils are born outside of Finland or have some other home language than Finnish. Besides, English is a lot easier language to learn than Finnish and that makes a huge difference.
The situation is still more homogenous outside the capital region, but those schools are not doing any better than the diverse schools in southern Finland.
71
I’m an old white guy, and I agree with @Exasperated’s racism comment. As I read thru the comments, I wondered why racism wasn’t being explicitly mentioned. I can’t help believing the R’s like having minority populations to kick around. It’s a hammer they can use to fool Trump’s beloved “uneducated” into voting against their own interests, i.e., a little less socialism for the wealthy, and a little more capital for everyone else.
18
@Exasperated The same is true of many other aspects of comparing Finland to the USA... e.g., everyone asks why don't American schools act like Finnish schools? Well, Finnish schools don't have to deal, like the Los Angeles public schools, with students with 85 different mother tongues and their parents. The range of social issues in the USA because of our size and diversity precludes most comparisons to the simplicity of Finnish culture. I lived there for 3.5 years and have seen this homogeneity myself.
17
Sounds like paradise, do they have room for another 330 million people? Their median family income is less than half of the US with an income gap that would make Jeff Bezos blush.
If Finland was a US state it’s GDP would rank about #27 I am glad you are happy.
I have one question, why did your spouse come to the US to begin with?
10
@hawk "less than half our income" is all you need and they are ranked "Happiest on Earth" Ask all those neighbors that live around you if they are content with things as they are.It only takes "one" major life setback to hurl 90% of americans into bankruptcy or homelessness!What is great about that ?
4
OK, except Finland is sparsely populated (only 5 million people) mostly white, 75% Lutheran, and most everybody lives in a city, not rural. Little population growth. So yes, that works!
14
That is nice. You like living in Finland. So you should live there and enjoy it. I--and hundreds of millions of other US citizens--like living in the United States. It is a unique country. So we don't want much change. Also, there are many immigrants--legal and illegal--who think the US is a great place. By the way, do you know one reason people vote for Don Trump? Columns like this. Really. Columns like this have been driving people to vote Republican for 50 years. I think it would be good to have a nice, moderate Democrat elected President next year. Less leftism among the Democrats would help to do that.
17
@Gordon Wiggerhaus
Do you mean the Donald Trump who went to Helsinki and kissed Putin's feet? That guy?
5
To the point of this article, much of the comment on the candidacy of Bernie Sanders has portrayed him as a (gasp) socialist, perhaps even a Communist, and at best a naive fool. The average American voter thinks of Scandinavia, if at all, as authoritarian regimes that extort prohibitive taxes from a resentful public. As in, who wouldn't resent 50% national income taxes?
Naturally, none of those voters have ever set foot in a Scandinavian country and know nothing about the rewards of a communitarian capitalist society. Close to 60% of US citizens have never owned a Passport (Forbes), and 11% have never left their home state. I can't find data, but I suspect no more than maybe 10 percent of Americans have ever visited a Scandinavian country. It's easy for propaganda to be accepted by people who have no other source of knowledge
21
If having smaller and more homogenous populations is an excuse for the US not being able to emulate nordics countries, then how does Australia do it?
Australia is heading towards 30% of it population being foreign born with 25% of its population with at least one immigrant parent. That would be the equivalent of 180 million Americans if the US was the same ratio. Which it obviously isn't.
And yet, even though we have problems, we don't have the embedded poverty and division that the US seems to excel at.
In many ways we are closer to these nordic countries than America on many measures of happiness, wealth, economic and social indicators.
There's free health care if you need it, free education if you qualify and a social safety net for all stages of your life if you need help. There's an accepted wealth redistribution to reduce inequality and government subsidies training to help you resell throughout your career.
And all managed with a higher immigration rate than the US.
So that whole homogenous population really isn't an excuse.... try again I guess.
33
Of course if you want to experience much of what Finland has to offer but still be able to visit your family easily on the weekend there’s a country that fits the bill much closer to you. Good basketball team too.
19
Lots of commenters point to Finland being homogeneous as the reason this arrangement works there but couldn't work in the U.S. But the only reason I can see for that is that white people have been convinced that what's good for black or brown people must be bad for them. The problem is the politics, not the economics.
26
I am really tired of hearing how much better life is in the Nordic countries (even for the pigs, according to the NYT). The fact that its true makes it even more annoying. I feel like the orphan with his nose pressed against the glass in a Victorian fairy tale. And I'm someone who as been amply rewarded by the American system. But I am always aware just how precarious my life and how one illness could take it all away.
26
Since you are receiving all of these fantastic benefits free of charge, who on earth is paying for them? Is there a secret cache of Finish billionaires being taxed at 80+% to subsidize everyone else?
9
United States capitalism is evolving into a new model, which is "capitalist feudalism". We have an aristocracy of wealth, which increasingly owns the nation's corporate equity. 80% of US stock value is owned by the top 10%. These are the 'knights', 'barons', 'dukes', and 'princes' of the new aristocracy, of 'capitalist feudalism'. The political class is increasingly owned, along with corporate equity, by wealth aristocrats' political contributions. Politicians are more responsive to people giving them large sums of money ("political speech"! NOT 'bribes'!!!) and respond with government policy decisions, regulatory decisions, and political appointments that reinforce this trend to 'corporate feudalism'. We have 'The Best Government Money Can Buy'.
In Finland, the wealthy controlling corporations see government programs as worth paying for, and recognize that -they- benefit greatly from better educated, healthier, and happier workers. In the United States, the New Aristocrats agree that those things could all be better for their workers, so long as someone else pays for it. The profits of those corporations must go to them, and only them, the shareholders. "Just be grateful you have a job." "Just be glad you get your health insurance from your employer." Corporate serfdom, 21st century style.
18
Imagine this scenario: The US declares war on Finland, hoping to finally put an end to Finnish terrorism and socialism. Surprisingly, the US is defeated in battle, at the near simultaneous battles of Tyson's Corners and San Jose. Finland then occupies the US and faces guerrilla resistance, which eventually collapses. Following this "zero hour" of American history, Finland is then forced to remake US society from the ground up, by instilling democratic-socialist values, holding war crimes trials for US leaders, outlawing the Republican party and all its symbols, abolishing the imperial presidency and democratizing US politics, all the while reconfiguring along Finnish lines the economic and health-care systems. Finland also helps Americans rebuild their shattered cities. 5 years later, having adapted the Finnish model, the American economy is going great (the "postwar economic miracle") and challenging the Finnish economy. The American HDI is way up. The Finnish economy, however, is doing poorly because of the drain caused by Finland's occupation costs, and the necessary financial support of the enormous (recast) US military; domestic spending in Finland is down and there is social unrest. Finnish politicians are raging against "big government" and "foreign entanglements"; one notable candidate campaigns on the slogan "make Finland great again."
4
Finland sounds super! I would like to move there and give it a go! I assume any country as woke as this must welcome immigrants with open arms?
Strange that Wikipedia’s demographic data cites 2006 figures, but here they are:
Finn 93.4%, Swede 5.6%, Russian 0.5%, Estonian 0.3%, Romani 0.1%, Sami 0.1%
It also goes on to explain that 73% of Finns are members of the Lutheran church.
With all of these great benefits I wonder why only 5.5MM people choose to choose to partake?
9
Wow, I must admit that this was an eye opening read. Thank you for sharing you experience.
5
Just as religious extremeits of any religion, hold the juvnile belief that there religion is the only true religion, most Americans , ill educated or not, hold the belief that their system, no matter what it is, is the best.
Propaganda is a powerful tool and tthe propagandists finally fall prey to it . That's why USA is on decline and now has a infrastructure that is decaying and not keeping up with rest of world.
12
Excellent article; let's hope it can wake up our complacency in the U.S. capitalistic system, with so much poverty due to it's odious inequality, because ethivs has been pushed aside...to give room to selfishness and greed (Ugh!).
3
The two authors are definitely people I would like to go have dinner with.
5
The article reminds me of the Swiss monetary leadership boom that the Aglo-American business press hyped during the 1970s.
Norway, like Switzerland, have small populations. Switzerland's population is 8.6 million. Norway's population is 5.3 million.
Norway alo has a huge pile of investments in the country's Soverign Fund. It's vaue is $1,1 Trillion (USD) today.
It's all about Oil revenues from the North Sea fields owned by Norway within the country's 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ). It is comprable to Saudi Prince MBS who inherited control of the world's largest Oil fortune, Aramco: Saudi Arabia's Aramco raised $25.6 billion in the world's biggest IPO for a small fraction of the Saudi Oil Wealth.
It is extremely difficult to make conclutions that weigh the U.S. in comparison to Norway experience without considering social-political facts.
The Norwegian social-economy is homegenous while the U.S. is a melting pot of global cultures with the Hispanic population, the second largest group.
The U.S. is more an Empire in the British model than a country. It plays a strategic role in defending the "free world" against terrorism and old cold war enemies.
Norway offers its residentsmany social services that the U.S. can provide to its population. It's not about affordability. It is more a question of long-standing ideology that holds Americans hostage.
In a pluralistic empire that is the U.S., politics become the weapon of choice to advance "U.S. Interests".
2
Now do you see what Bernie is talking about? (Alas,not sure whom I'm addressing as I'm sure most Times readers do)
6
If only we could convince Buffet to do something about raising taxes on the wealthy instead of just talking about it. If he's relegated to just talking about it maybe he should talk to his buddy Gates about doing something about it. Two of the richest guys in the world may just be able to steer this titanic country away from imminent disaster and bloody revolution.
4
There are two basic reasons why such political and social engineering will not work on the US. First, the well founded belief that success should not be punished nor inhibited. Jeff Bezos doesn’t owe you an education, owe me healthcare or owe the temps packing boxes in his warehouses a penny more than what is necessary to get them to show up at work. Second, that the government shouldn’t be the arbiter of what anyone receives, is owed or must have. Freedom is a double edged sword. The same freedom that allows Mike Bloomberg to built his fortune also allows 100,000 homeless on the streets of San Francisco. Every nanny state government scheme to “help” people chips away at that freedom to succeed/fail.
8
What so many knee jerk (emphasis on the 2nd word) conservatives/republicans totally don't get is that the northern scandinavian countries are capitalists but believe strongly in their safety net and making workers benefit. America does not have to become a different country but it should be smart enough to take away from the reality the best of both worlds. It won't because of the Fox propaganda machine and the right being apoplectic over the word socialism.
8
The modern GOP would have you believe that being happy and healthy is a nightmare. Just as it wants you to believe that having 1% of the population owing 90% of the wealth is good for everyone. That allowing billionaires and billion dollar companies to pay nothing in taxes is in your best interests. That our climate and environment are just fine. That pollution and poison water is good for you. And they'd like you to believe that extortion is perfectly legal, when a Republican commits it, because the law itself should not apply to ANY Republicans - no matter how blatant their criminality, or how serious the violation.
In other words - Republicans are liars. And they have been since Richard Nixon. They lie constantly. About everything. So, when they say that Finland is a terrible place, you can bet, with 100% certainty, that they are lying. And they are doing so because it serves their agenda. And that agenda is to redistribute all the wealth and opportunity in this country into the hand of about 100 people.
If their mouths are moving, they're lying. It's that simple. What isn't simple is why people continue to believe in a political party that has been lying to them, non-stop, for 50 years.
17
Finland is also largely free of religiosity, racism, and guns--things that truly undermine the quality of life in the USA.
11
American 'capitalism' is a far cry from true capitalism. It is an authoritarian, royal system that rewards wealth above merit while trampling down innovation. In the past, we were fortunate to have had a relatively new infrastructure with huge amounts of natural resources to call upon when Europe decided to turn on itself and fight two world wars.
We were able to supply the war material for these wars and did not suffer the destruction of our infrastructure from those wars. We were also able to benefit from the intellectual wealth of Europe as it fled from conflict. Without these natural advantages, we would not be where we are now at.
The parasites of our elite class continue to push their offspring through education with money, not brains. These soft brained failures continue their poor performance by buying republican cult votes to support their lifestyles.
The inventive, hard working, American deep bench has been hollowed out and we are now losing good people like the authors while fewer foreigners attend our schools, and our industry produces little of value other than war munitions.
Not a very pretty picture and one that is unlikely to change in the near future.
11
American 'capitalism' is a far cry from true capitalism. It is an authoritarian, royal system that rewards wealth above merit while trampling down innovation. In the past, we were fortunate to have had a relatively new infrastructure with huge amounts of natural resources to call upon when Europe decided to turn on itself and fight two world wars.
We were able to supply the war material for these wars and did not suffer the destruction of our infrastructure from those wars. We were also able to benefit from the intellectual wealth of Europe as it fled from conflict. Without these natural advantages, we would not be where we are now at.
The parasites of our elite class continue to push their offspring through education with money, not brains. These soft brained failures continue their poor performance by buying republican cult votes to support their lifestyles.
The inventive, hard working, American deep bench has been hollowed out and we are now losing good people like the authors while fewer foreigners attend our schools, and our industry produces little of value other than war munitions.
Not a very pretty picture and one that is unlikely to change in the near future.
4
My grandparents were from Sweden and Denmark. I’m retired. Can I come back? Ms. Partenan makes great points. She leaves out one major component. The US economy is hamstrung/dependent upon our huge military expenditures. Money down a rat hole. Many of my friends would not think twice about any money spent for guns. But single payer? Socialism! Boggles my mind. Oh, but they like Medicare for themselves.
13
Ironically, the United States of America has one of most “pluralistic” mottos on their Great Seal: E pluribus unum. Pluralism or Collectivism is what makes Finland one of happiest places on earth. Not homogeneity nor lack of diversity.
6
@Joe
The USA built its modern prosperity on imported petroleum, not its own supply.
Most of the world's petro-resources used up thus far, as well as most of the resultant ecological doom, was co-opted by postwar US automotive, exploitative, extraction mania.
The USA was a vast, pristine land in 1900, unmatched virgin timberlands, all of which we've used up in a century, much of it for toilet paper.
We had incredible wealth in aquifers, the Ogallala aquifer is 60% gone in many places, much of it wasted on feed to fatten cattle.
We had unmatched virgin topsoil on the Great Plains, much of that now gone, wasted, washed away & blown off as dust from exploitative industrial agriculture.
So don't complain that the USA has fewer resources per-capita than Finland.
Complain instead that our style of extractive, greed-based industrial capitalism powered by radical anti-environmentalist free-market extremists, is & always was, utterly unsustainable.
129
The following sentence from the article should cause even the greediest American oligarch or oligarch wannabe to wake up, "Paying taxes is a convenient way for capitalists to outsource to the government the work of keeping workers healthy and educated." Americans like Warren Buffet understand this, greedballs like Mitch McConnell's 'donors' seem incapable of understanding it.
133
System works for 5.5 million people, but what about 300 million? Some dissatisfaction that may be there will very likely get amplified!
24
The US has definitely missed the boat on progress these last 40 years, for so many reasons, that will inevitably lead back to conservatives' fear of change and corporate greed and their subversion of our state and federal government, as well as the media. There is a huge pent up demand for change, and the industries, jobs, and improved environment that will come with it. We could be so much better, but we succumbed to the same things that successful companies experience............we got fat, lazy and slow to change.....just like GM and GE, to name two. There are regional exceptions, yet republicans actively try to suppress these regions' success, demonize it's citizens to the rest (slow part) of the country, and actually try to blame progressive regions for the slower region's ills. I sincerely hope we don't have to go through violent conflict to accomplish something akin to what the Scandinavians have achieved, but it's a big unruly country we have here, with way too many guns. I'm not optimistic.
34
So what is Finland doing to counteract corporate income tax avoidance by multinationals like Ikea?
12
"A nation of temporarily embarassed (inflation adjusted) multi-millionaires" will have none of this!
Here's the actual still dead on Robert Wright quote. “Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires.”
In convincing a significant percentage of the American population of this the plutocorpocracy that now runs this country has conducted a masterful propaganda campaign. Ronald Reagan played a key role in this as part of the GE campaign for "capitalism'. He did so well they put him in the White House. The rest as they say is/was a disaster for Main Street trebles all round for Wall Street.
27
There are Americans who are against the government providing free healthcare because they think we will lose our freedom. They believe that if the government provides health care, then the government can make it illegal to drink sugary drinks, or eat pizza, or hamburgers.....
There are Americans who are Libertarians, and there are Americans who want to walk around with machine guns in public. They believe USA will turn into Stalin's Soviet union if they don't have their guns. I am not sure if Finland is facing this kind of challenge with extreme distrust of authority.
21
As an European I am shocked that you guys in the US don't have free education (up to uni and higher) and free healthcare, a common thing everywhere in Europe.
Life expectancy is higher too. Life is more stress free and we enjoy higher personal freedom.
61
The author might see fit to mention that Finland finances much of this spending with a 24% Value Added Tax. Its corporate taxes and inheritance taxes are lower than those in the U.S. Good luck enacting anything like that in the U.S.
14
All countries are different - Finland is not Sweden or Denmark. They have developed a unique mix of capitalism, less regulation but relatively high taxes. Socialist democrats in the US obviously would point to Finland and avoid talking about places like Venezuela.
One note: the writer talks about the diverse pre-school, which is odd - Finland is made up of 94% Fins and 5% Swedes. System cohesion in such a culture is much more likely than in a place like the USA.
16
What amazed me the most when i visited Finland was the high level of education and literacy.
Music is a mandatory subject there so even the guy who takes out your trash can read music. It not only makes people smarter but perhaps more peaceful.
Finland has the highest rate of educated people in the world. I think this contributes to the success of the country. France has welfare but many uneducated people also a lot of immigrants with integration problems.
Finland is a rather homogenous population, rich in resources that has no military spending. it's true that the welfare state works well there but they pay for it, 44% income tax.
I love Finland but i think the US could never achieve the same success if it doesn't start seriously improving its education system. This should be a major priority for the country.
35
"...Nordic capitalists actually believe in equality of opportunity and recognize the value of a society that invests in all of its people."
Excellent. But here in the USA we can't get there because of two problems that have plagued us 400 years; slavery and the enduring racism since 1865.
Trump's fan base will fight to the death to not spend a dime on anyone of color. Until that changes we're toast.
45
It seems that the NYT's 1619 Project deserves mention here. A theme was that much of our rigid sensibilities, along with our laws, institutions, and the financial interests of the racial majority, reflect a failure to truly reconcile our history as a slave nation. Think about it, the fear of the "undeserving" (a rebranding, yet conjuring the image of poor African Americans) benefiting from "unfair" taxation of real hardworking Americans (a rebranding of Caucasian Americans, yet more specifically, property owning male Caucasians). It's right there in front of us. Think about that when any race-based article triggers a chorus of defensiveness from the readership.
15
When history looks back at our national dysfunction it will hear Ronald Reagan saying, “The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help.”
The Reagan Revolution created a GOP dedicated to “drowning government in a bathtub” rather than one focused on intelligently working to better the country we live in.
35
I pay about 10k a year in federal taxes. About ten years worth of my taxes buy one missile that we shoot at a 1990 Toyota pickup with two third grade educated bad guys in a county that is no threat to me or my country but has oil underground.
43
The problem is that Republicans control the narrative. They have managed to spin a false tale in a way that makes believers out of those who do not know better. Democrats need to learn how to promote a simple, compelling, alternative perspective that can convince the masses better than the Republicans' false mantras.
19
Being a European myself, I knew this and am always trying to tell anybody who wants to listen that America is not the greatest country in the world in many aspects. I am hoping that many people, especially the right, read this article. Many Americans will do well being less arrogant and look outside the box (country) and see that other countries might be greater. I love the US for many things, but not for its ruthless capitalism.
28
one of our ex-prime ministers warned us of "failed northern European welfare states." tho' he would never specify which ones, because he couldn't. it was just politicking - which too many believe. our western leaders just don't want us to know that others can be better off than we are.
66
At a high level the article is fairly accurate with minor historical inaccuracies. I was initially concerned and a bit fearful when my job transferred me to its European division. I had half believed the US propaganda of Europe being the USSR-lite. What I found in the UK, France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland was far better than my life in the US on every level. I paid less in taxes that I did in the US even though I was making more. The health care was far more accessible and was superior to what I had access to in the US.
My maternal grandparents immigrated from the disputed border region of Finland and Russia as teens. It wasn't until my grandfather was on his death bed that he said it was a mistake to have come to the US and that Canada would have been a much better choice. I have the right to return to Finland through my grandparents. I am seriously considering it. My cousins have already moved to EU countries.
107
We already have social programs of Social Security , Medicare and Medicaid . Instead of talking in terms of a revolution or a huge shakeup I wish some of these Democratic candidates would refer to their platform as an “ expansion “ of the very popular social programs we already have instead of the more radical language they use. Although healthcare isn’t free , it is subsidized for many under the ACÁ .
I am preparing for surgery in January for breast cancer which will incorporate breast reconstruction. I know the charges to me will be over
$25,000 but with the ACA I will only pay the maximum out of pocket expenses of around $ 8000.
So we already have some form of socialism that Americans love . We just want to expand it . I think that speaking about these changes in that way would quell some of the angst about the idea of a complete overhaul of the system and help us to succeed coming closer to the ideal in Finland.
34
This sounds wonderful, and have no doubt (as we can see) that this works well in Finland.
But if I am reading my stats right, Finland GDP is less than that of Missouri. As in state of.
I wish these results were scalable, but honestly I don’t trust our already large government (no matter what party is in control) to not be more more corrupt.
28
Sounds great but where's the discussion about how to promote innovation? Complacency, eh...Oh, and not having to fund a serious military is a bit of an advantage.
24
I recently moved from the US to the Netherlands - taking nearly a 40% pay cut, both through a somewhat lower salary and higher taxes (38%). Despite my lower take-home pay, my overall quality of life is better: I not only have more paid time off, I am also not gossiped about at work for taking it, I don't have to worry about health coverage if I lose a job, and so on. In terms of public services: I can take a train anywhere in the country every 10 minutes, the quality of infrastructure is great, and the streets are clean. It's investments in public goods that create a better society.
147
I was so impressed by your article. I feel exactly as you do about our capitalistic deception. I hear people here complain about having to pay more taxes. So the politicians use this as a weapon. In the meantime healthcare is a nightmare. Certainly the ACA act helped but was watered down by the then GOP congress under Obama.
Just now I was looking to see if another Medicare/managed care would be better. Instead I find every one of them confusing, getting more expensive each year. That is with me having a masters degree. My place of work stopped continuing providing health care once I retired. When I worked I at least I had dental and eye care. Now a crown on a tooth cost me $1500. Eye surgery a few thousands.. Since the Reagan era companies have gotten more and more tax breaks to the point that many don't pay any taxes, (including our President). This has to be picked up by the citizens, who then complain. I was born in Germany and remember my mother never having to see a bill for her 8 children when they were sick. School and Universities were free. Paid family leave when a child is born. Six weeks vacation for all. Americans are brainwashed. I am only glad that my children did get a good education and are doing well with their families. I am an American citizen but realize how very brainwashed by the super wealthy and Fox news we are. I love the way you explained that companies see the benefit of having to pay high taxes. US firms aim at NOT paying any taxes.
56
According to the CIA World Fact Book, the United States now ranks 43rd in Life Expectancy.
This is because after World War II, most of the progressive capitalist countries in the world with Social Democratic parties, or their equivalent (like the Labour Party in the UK) set up single payer health care systems. Truman promoted this in his Fair Deal, but was unable to get it through Congress.
For the past 70 years or so some of the money we pay for medical insurance, co-pays, and prescription medicines has been used to lobby Congress, make contributions to politicians in both political parties, and at the same time fund the corporate news media through expensive advertising. If you visualize this in a diagram it is very easy to see one of several reasons why we pay twice as much for health care and live significantly shorter lives than in more progressive countries. And the bottom line is that the money to pay for all this comes from the pockets of people who need a lawyer to avoid bankruptcy and make the insurance companies pay up.
All 42 of the countries where people live longer than us are capitalist countries with functioning democratic systems in which Social Democratic parties (or their equivalent) have periodically won elections and successfully implemented these sensible reforms.
This has nothing to do with Communism, North Korea, or Venezuela. This is about not being brainwashed by special interests.
68
I’ve been there many times and worked there and it’s lovely. I only wish we could have a society that’s as balanced and progressive as theirs. But it’s not that simple. The population of Finland is 5 million. It is a mostly homogenous culture, as are the other Nordic and Scandinavian countries - where influxes of immigrants has caused strife and economic inequality. Add 300 million people 400 years of profound racism. And manage the infrastructure and public requirements in a land mass of 4 million square miles in the US vs. 130 thousand square miles in Finland. We can strive for a society and economic system in service to the American people, but scaling a system like Finland’s to the USA presents massive, complex challenges.
38
The fact that our corporations have not stepped forward, boldly to condem trump’s cruelty and the GOP’s starve the poor , keep the masses sick and uneducated approach has been more shocking than any of the administrations escapeds.
Read any of the top 20 companies missions/ values promoted to their employees and customers and contemplate the contrast to our national predicament.
Why no larger interest in or commitment to civic circumstances?
26
I've been to Finland dozens of times over the past 25 years, mentoring university students and working with industry leaders. The creativity and entrepreneurial spirit in Helsinki, Tampere, Espoo, et al. rivals that of Cambridge, Massachusetts, where I taught for 25 years. Anyone in tech would attest to the foundational impact of Finnish technology, which includes -- among many other things --Linux and Git. And don't forget Finnish sauna, which is sublime.
32
Over and over again in the comments I see the disclaimer that the U.S. is so much bigger and more diverse than Finland, so how would a system like theirs work here. Hello? We've already got an example of a nationwide healthcare program that works: Medicare. Thus, (stop me if you've heard this elsewhere) what if we tried Medicare For All?
1297
@abcd123
If we could flush out most of the middle-men/women who've tethered themselves into positions in the healthcare "industry" revenue stream - the hospital administration tribe, the pharmaceutical marketing division, the contracting labs, the lobbying firms, the insurance companies, the medical devices manufacturers et al. - we might be able to pay physicians a better compensation.
Right now, Medicare pays physicians a miserable percentage of the prevailing market prices for medical services. This forces physicians to put a cap on the number of Medicare patients they see. They need enough patients paying market prices to keep their offices open and solvent.
Reducing their overhead incurred from all these middlemen/women and raising Medicare compensation for physicians would be a very good thing. Once these improvements are demonstrated to physicians, there will be a lot more public support for a national healthcare system.
And we need genuinely competent people working on this.
150
@atutu ….How much do doctors earn in the dozens of countries with universal health care for generations? I've read they and also corporate CEOs pull down less money than their US counterparts.
Seems medical school tuition is subsidized in other countries, so doctors don't graduate with huge debt, then charge high fees to pay it off.
@abcd123---- Re Medicare and Medicaid---they were started to help those too old to work and the very poor. But the political attitude was that average US citizens of working age should manage to pay on their own for high cost, high profit health care or get a job with a big company for benefits.
This is a different attitude from most countries that don't divide their people into groups, with different benefits. They think HC for all is a human right, paid for by a graduated income tax.
This big difference in attitude toward what people 'deserve' from their elected government is what our media must start discussing. Compare, contrast.
33
@abcd123
The VA health care system ttoo. Our vets are from many walks of life diversity in a bottle
19
The author’s experience in Finland tracks our experience living overseas. Americans don’t know how bad we have it, and how unnecessary it is. Yes, we paid higher taxes, but what we got in return - a high quality, nearly free universal health care system with no insurers to fight, excellent primary and secondary schools, low cost university, good public transportation, humane vacation and leave policies - was well worth the higher taxes. The Darwinian form of capitalism we have, combined with the propaganda too many people accept that government is inherently evil, are destroying the vitality and health of our nation.
1633
Yes, and it’s been a myth put forth by people who have traveled little, and if so straight to McDonalds and chain hotels or to play golf never really seeing how people live. Sad.
104
It is simple: American business got scared in the 1960’s from all the protests and free flowing liberalism. They made it a point to fight back vigorously over the following decades. The result has been a corporate centric government where greed is king. There is little to no empathy in the world of big business and therein lies the problem. American business now only cares about short term profit and quarterly reports. In the process American business has lost its humanity (what little it had anyway). Companies today have no social responsibility whatsoever. It’s about shareholders and not employees. It’s about profits and not people. That’s no way to live and the Nordic countries know it.
32
We could have modeled Finland and other Scandinavian countries if we had done so 100 years ago. We are now too fat, too sick, too litigious, and too undereducated to convert quickly into govt run healthcare and subsidized day care and colleges. We can however start the process with the next generation (ensure their health and education).
28
Thanks for this delightful report.
After 7 years living in Sweden I can not stop myself from telling everyone I meet In the U.S. what a great role model the Nordic countries should be for us. In fact it seems that every advanced country besides ourselves has adopted some form of this evolved system.
Once a nation comes to the point where it realizes the developmental level of its people is its greatest resource the pieces seem to grow into place: health care for all, accessible higher education, generous family and leisure time.
It’s what a modern country looks like.
1204
@Tette Nordfeldt …..in the US our political norms block the realization that the development of its people is its greatest resource. The opposite of what we profess.
A Swedish author, 2 days ago on the TV show Democracy Now, said a country is actually more competitive, not less, if citizens have good health care and education.
Of course--they are less sick, disabled, more trained, more productive for their economy and society.
But the US divides our people up into competing groups. Many politicians get power by playing off 1 group against another. They exploit resentments as groups compete for the economic and political crumbs left over after the corporate wealthy take their cut.
To push for more equality--supposedly our founding credo-- is actually labeled too 'left wing' even radical. Any laws in the public interest are labeled 'big govt' interfering in our 'freedoms'.
The US electorate has tolerated this propaganda against its own interests. It's the exact opposite of our founding ideals. The US has a lower GINI INDEX ranking than many countries for upward mobility, and security of the middle/working class.
But we're stuck as long as we turn our elections over to the richest mega donors. The big money distorting our US ideals is blessed by our own distorted supreme court as protected 1st Amendment free speech.
Most Americans want universal health care. But the political voice of average citizens can't compete to get laws passed in their interest.
50
Americans rarely "calculate" what they get for their taxes compared to what they could expect from paying the same amount with a shift in the system.
However, the existing system needs to be cleaned up first. Waste in insurance and healthcare spending needs a frontal attack. Drugs negotiated, no duplication in backend billing and management, and clear consistent statement of prices before care would be required. What nonsense that that cannot be done.
288
@poslug
I know what we get a increasing debt payments and increasing Military Spending soon to gobble up 60 - 65+ percent of Government income tax revenues. Leaving 35% for everything else.
People should take a look at the yearly spending pie of the Government's income tax revenue. They would truly be horrified. The biggest chunk Military spending, Military benefits and debt payments are the overwhelmingly largest chunks of the pie.
Even spending 750 billion a year the Trump click isn't satisfied. They will never be satisfied.
11
A few Americans, especially worldly, highly knowledgeable ones like Trump, apparently can't distinguish social democracies from socialist states. Western Europe is full of the former, and has none of the latter. Republicans in particular can't imagine that overall quality of life might be higher elsewhere, but it is, and in northern Europe by a significant margin. Immigration to the U.S. from Europe has been in long term decline from all but the eastern part of the continent, and not because McDonald's is now available on the other side of the Atlantic too.
19
@Garry
“...worldly, highly knowledgeable ones like Trump...”
This is false. Verifiable evidence please?
Many of Trump’s former White House advisers and several books now have stated in detailed terms that this is an extremely ignorant president with a vocabulary and reasoning skills of an elementary school child. Military generals have decided to forgo the usual lengthy presidential briefs for one page with easy bullet points and if big graphs and pictures can be included, so much the better.
How can one be highly-knowledgeable if he can’t and won’t even pay attention to the the most basic details of his job?
1
Finland has had disproportionate problems with alcoholism, rising to the a crisis over decades. The combination of government and healthcare was able to deal with the problem affecting its population with increasing success in recent years. The example contrasts with the problem of gun violence in the US and the political limits on responses to its many effects on the well-being of its citizens.
15
Great article! It illustrates an idea that I have had for some time now. That the model of adversarial relationships does not lead to particularly good results. In America we seem to have preferred this idea. For instance, the fiction that adversarial combat between sides leads to justice in the courtroom. Sometimes it does, but often it does not. Nor does adversarial relationship between business and labor lead to good results. Although I see the necessity of stronger unions in the historical context, I believe that by the 1970's they had become part of the problem - which is not to say the answer was a shift to pro-business (which is what we have today). Rather than business and labor fighting each other for concessions which lead to uneven results, don't benefit all workers and can leave consumers paying more, why not have government policies that benefit everyone and make unions unnecessary?
10
When 'The Decline and Fall of the American Empire' is written-- assuming there is someone around to write it--the points in this article will be its main thesis. Not only are we satisfied with early-education and public health systems that are catch-as-catch-can, but the disparity between the poorest and the wealthiest will bring us down. When the revolution starts, those heedless billionaires, who seem to think they've earned what they've made, will want to convert to Finnish or other Nordic citizenry. Let's hope those countries have an extradition agreement with the US so they can be shipped back here to be hoist on their own petard.
24
Just the other day I commented about our visit to Helsinki and how it negates the lies and misconceptions of Scandinavia.
Folks drive cars more expensive than I can afford. The infrastructure is up to date. Beautiful steel and glass architecture. Upper echelon stores. Clean street.
On a drive to Porvoo, I noticed that no one was speeding. Cars 65mph, buses in their own lane at 55mph. Two things come to mind: a civilization under less stress, and convincing penalties for speeding. (A percentage of your salary.)
No plea bargaining for a committed crime.
Medicine that is under a prescription here was over the counter there, and a small fraction of the cost.
Egocentric Americans can’t believe there are better places to live on the planet. Folks speak several languages.
It’s just too cold for me.
58
It seems ironic that back in the 1960s, prevailing attitudes here in the USA were similar to what seems to be the case in those Nordic countries. People still remembered the suffering of the Great Depression and accepted that the government could play a role in ameliorating that suffering.
A systematic and effective public relations campaign changed all that. One manifestation was the "conservative" political movement. The very rich and powerful sponsored think tanks that build an intellectual justification for small government, low taxes and deregulation. The same cadre of rich and powerful sponsored political candidates who used that philosophy and, often, dirty tricks to win elections. They used a variety of tools to build support for their efforts. Fox News is part of that, but there are plenty of other ways to manipulate public opinion.
Characterizing any programs designed to reduce the concentration of wealth as socialism is a tactic. Appeals to hate and fear stimulate predictable responses.
The election of Trump is a result of that effort, but it also reveals the flaws in the "conservative" movement. How will the rest of us respond?
16
Wonderful article. I have worked on and off in Helsinki for 15 years with colleagues there. It has invariably been a delightful experience. With feelings similar to those expressed by the author, I feel extremely fortunate to have moved from the U.S. to Geneva 20 years ago and to now be a Swiss citizen. The U.S. is experiencing a political meltdown at the moment, driven by greed and ill will, but things will improve. When they do, I can only hope that fundamental economic and social change will be part of the transformation.
542
Much of what these authors have to say about the Finnish system is accurate and much needed reading for Americans skeptical of a generous welfare state. But the characterization of Finnish capitalists as content with the welfare state is misleading. Finland has seen stagnant wages and increasing inequality since the depression in the early 1990s. In Sweden these trends are worse. the previous right wing government forced through increased working time with no corresponding pay increase. The parties of the Finnish right and allies in employers political organizations are steadily eroding the national system of collective bargaining. EU court rulings have weakened national collective bargaining agreements. a growing portion of workers stuck in low wage precarious employment so they don't cover subcontractors from low wage markets. in Helsinki geographic inequality is visible in the life expectancy differences in the richest and poorest neighborhoods. Rural Finland is depopulating and maintaining quality universal services is a problem. Anger and frustration is being channeled into the far right nationalist Finns party, which is the most popular according to most recent polling. The Nordic model of class compromise in a free market system with generous social services may be at a crossroads where it goes beyond it's current form or declines. Finnish employers and the parties they represent are not hiding what they want: more precarious work and social divisions.
223
@Nicolas Biggs As a Norwegian I am curious about what you say about EU courts weakening collective bargaining. Any links to more info about that?
I used to be very pro-EU, but as I have seen Norwegian membership of the EEA (EU light) has seemingly steadily chipped at our social-economic model at the corners I have become doubtful of the EU.
The EU is increasingly demanding that we privatize more and more things.
Brexit is an utter disaster IMHO because it makes the EU look far better than it is. The bumbling fools running Brexit makes people skeptical of the EU look like utter morons. Nobody has done more for the EU than Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage
22
@Nicolas Biggs The US system is also in a decline because of GOP greed ans our decline is from a much lower plateau. I am more worried about the long term track of the US. Our military hogs an increasing amount of revenue starving everything else. Debt is increasing under Trump. the Tea Baggers seem to be asleep at their job under Trump. Eventually something will hit the fan. It will spray all over societies most vulnerable, The Ric will use it as yet another excuse to try more of their failed trickle down.
22
Interestingly no mention of the fact that Scandanavian tax rates are very flat, with EVERYONE, including the lower middle class paying. Additionally, the value added tax/sales tax is high,and such taxes are viewed as highly regressive. What no one calls Senator Sanders and AOC out on is their "rich should pay more" approach is actually contrary to Scandinavian approach
21
I think the Sanders camp is talking about those wealthy that pay no taxes. Remember Leona Helmsley’s admonition: I don’t pay taxes. Taxes are for the little people.
18
@joey8
I was able to easily control the amount of money I paid in VAT just as I am able to control the amount I pay in sales tax here in the US.
7
That’s interesting and no you do not learn that from this article. It’s a major gap in the reporting. Ironically Democrats have trashed a VAT with few exceptions and Republicans have favored it. Hmmm.
1
As an American living in Norway for 30 years, I have given a lot of thought to the two systems. My conclusion is that the Nordic societies are built on smaller populations with a great sense of kinship. The concept of ‘us’ encompasses everyone in the country, not ‘me and my family.’ America was settled by individuals and families, often with little or no money, from a multitude of nationalities without this sense of kinship for one another. But you have to start somewhere. America’s health and educational systems are broken. When the rich and powerful wake up to the fact that it is in their own self-interest to fix these systems, then America will move toward, not socialism, but something better.
763
@Craig Johnson America was founded on slavery and the genocide of the indigenous population. America always has been and continues to be a county where racism, exploitation, and inequality are foundational.
95
@Tim Carroll
Both are right.
But , please, It is not America but the United Staes.
(for better or worse )
32
An interesting argument for higher taxes, but I am not buying it, and nor do millions of other hardworking American taxpayers. Thank you.
10
Whenever I see this kind of reverence for a foreign "free" healthcare system, I think of all the trillions of dollars of scientific research the US has done so that these "free" systems can benefit. We pay; the world benefits. And, frankly, I'm OK with that. We are a rich country. But, I would like us to get credit for it.
Oh, wait. We do get credit. Over 100 American scientists have received a Nobel Laureate in Physiology and Medicine from one of those small Nordic countries. . .
14
@Susan L Look up nobel prizes per capita. The US is about 13th. The nordic countries do pretty well.
16
@Susan L I believe that a large portion of Americans would be perfectly happy with exchanging some of those Nobel prizes for better healthcare and education systems.
25
Unless you are born rich, you will always be in someone else's power, to some extent.
Americans have been sold the idea that it's better to be beholden to private enterprise--some captain of industry--than to government.
Scandinavians believe in the possibility of a government which serves them well.
When I owned a business in America, I found myself facing health insurance, disability insurance, workman's compensation, pension costs for my employees and I thought: "I don't want to adopt these folks; I just want them to do a job for me, for which I'm happy to pay them."
In Scandinavia, all these costs are borne by the state, not the capitalist employer, who is free to profit from his enterprise, and, I suspect, more willing to risk in capital investments, and less burdened by "human capital."
22
@Claudia: The benefits costs that you faced as an employer are all designed to keep employees tied to and beholden to a particular employer. But as this article explains by shifting these human needs to a taxpayer funded system employers in Finland have freed themselves to focus on business and have prospered by doing so.
7
In Finland, Land value is taxed separately and more heavily than buildings/structures.
Henry George, anyone!
Progress and Poverty (1879). Still true.
3
Anyone can get rich in America - but, compared to Nordic countries, almost no-one does.
8
@Paul Adams: Anyone "could" get rich in America.
Not so much anymore.
Besides the fact that getting rich requires first a great deal of luck along with risk taking , ambition and hard work, hard work is now much less reliable a mean to success than it was a couple generations ago.
Otherwise Income inequality would not be such an issue and highly educated kids living with their parents would not be everywhere for many of us to complain about.
Nonetheless it is true that the incentive to take risks is greater in the USA than in other "robust social nets countries" . But it is because the alternative is so much bleaker in the USA. In Finland basic comforts are such that the risk to change one's economic situation may or may not be worth the effort. In the USA there is a lot less to loose. Kind of own the bridge or live under it.
The real question however is which model has a longer chance of success. One that is predicated on a strong increasingly numerous middle class the purchasing power of which enriches the capitalists who are tending to their wants or one that enriches the same capitalists in a zero sum game reducing that middle class as time goes on. It is a complicated question and I will be the first one to admit that I do not know the answer.
5
@Paul Adams
Of course, typical myopic American view.
Maybe they have a handle on average workers efforts being exploited by overpaid CEO's. What will you do with the money? Better quality of life that an excellent quality of life?
On the other hand, no one is poor, or bankrupt, or living on the street. The government actually y works for, of and by the people. Perhaps we could try that, it does sound familiar.
5
So millions suffer, so a few lucky people get fabulously wealthy?
8
The comments about waste in our system are dead on. If you want to see a model for continuous improvement, talk with someone inside the Finnish health care system. They understand the importance of the balance between cost and quality of services with quality of services the first goal, but efficiency of delivery a mandate. Wellness is priority one. Keeping the elderly safe, comfortable, and healthy AT HOME is another. Having seen it first hand I am skeptical about its success here without a massive attitude change. Government money is not a bonanza, it’s something to be safeguarded. QUALITY is first. Being healthy is a personal responsibility from mental health to physical therapy services available with a phone call. And no, it does not take months for an appointment. Glorious system. Not perfect but striving to be everyday.
24
From the point of view of employers, there is great value in available, educated, healthy, productive employees.
There is great value to employers in not having huge "benefits" like health insurance as a 33-50% addition on top of the wage package of every employee.
There is great value in peaceful labor relations.
There is great value in being able to find and promote the brightest talent, and more of it, rather than leaving it trapped for social reasons.
This article presents this from the point of view of the employee and voter, which tends to be my point of view too, but there is use in showing how it is just as valuable to other points of view.
17
Surprised by all the commenters citing the US's "heterogeneous" population as a real reason why we can't have universal coverage. A diverse population is not a true barrier to coverage in any economic or structural sense; it's just what triggers racism that makes white people against it. Plenty of fairly diverse countries - Canada, England, Australia - have universal coverage.
38
Great article! And, more evidence that America's Republican ideology has been undermining our country for decades.
History will show that it began with Nixon's manipulative
lawlessness and reached a fever pitch with Reagan's corrosive inaugural speech in 1981: "Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem," the mythologizing rallying cry for GOP pols for the past three decades.
Sadly, those who need to read this article, research its claims, and study its facts, will most likely not.
22
I’ve lived in Finland for 5 years. The description in your article is accurate, but reflects life in the capital region. Outside the Helsinki region, Finland is really not ethnically diverse. The economy needs immigrants to support the workforce, but many are deterred by poorly organised and delayed immigration procedures. As for healthcare beyond Helsinki, the public system is falling apart. There are not enough doctors and nurses working in the system, to the extent that patient care is at risk. Many people now purchase private health insurance for their children because of long waiting times to see a doctor in public healthcare centres. Private healthcare for adults, as part of employment, is also increasingly common. I can attest to public healthcare being affordable, just not efficient or of great quality.
20
Socialism is much easier when the people you are sharing resources with speak the same language, embrace a central culture, and to be frank, have a common ancestry. Humans are intensely tribal creatures because this is the way that evolution over 100,000 years has shaped us. To suppose that we are going to fundamentally change human nature in a decade or even a hundred years because of some religious or political dogma is wishful thinking. Therefore, the more homogeneous a society, the more likely that socialism can be a success there. The converse is also true, which bodes ill for places like the United States.
10
@Earl W. - Americans all speak english (the world's dominant language), almost all were educated here, and all watch the same (admittedly abysmal) TV. The genetic variation amongst Finns is greater than the variations between American "races". We have far more natural resources and a much better climate. According to your argument, we are perfectly suited to mild, Nordic-style socialism.
18
@Earl W. I think you got it in reverse. The more diverse you are, the more you NEED these socialist policies to bring people together. American style capitalism is pulling people further apart and sowing deeper conflicts.
And I think you missed an important point early in the article. Finland was deeply divided 100 years ago and had a civil war. So this idea that some kind of common genetic heritage brings tranquility is a bit of a myth. You can have deep class divides still.
And let us not forget that Finland is not as monocultural as you portray it. Having been under both Swedish and Russian rule they have been pulled between many cultures. A large portion of the Finnish population spoke/speak Swedish as their native tongue.
Finish and Swedish are far more different to each other than say English and Spanish.
9
@Earl W. In Canada we do not have one common language,we do not embrace a a central culture, nor do we have a common ancestry, but we do have universal heath coverage.
16
The best way to frame the argument to Americans about the positive effects of universal health care, subsidized daycare and free public education is to understand the tremendous lowering of general stress and angst among the population. Imagine not having to worry about paying huge medical bills when someone in your family gets very sick and not having to pinch pennies to save for your kid's daycare or college education. People are free to start their own small businesses, move to a better job in another part of the country and businesses can devote 100% of their effort to creating a profitable business and not worry about how to subsidize healthcare, continuing education and daycare for their employees. That's what makes Nordic countries special and it's not socialism.
24
Some comments seam to refer to race as one of the causes as to why the universal health care is not possible in the US. Well, how about the big pharma and insurance businesses? Maybe it is just not profitable for them. Once it becomes profitable, it will be introduced.
Hey, if I was a billionaire, or even a budding "capitalist" aspiring to be a billionaire (just dreaming of course), why couldn't I rationalize to myself the following -- that is, that I worked hard, I was innovative, and I hit the jack pot and made millions. Why should I share my millions with those folks who don't value education, or smoked dope, or are just "lazy," or unfortunate enough to be just unlucky in health , unemployment, or, perhaps, a bankruptcy? Didn't everyone in America have the same "capitalistic" opportunities as I had? Why should I pay more taxes to finance universal health care, or support folks living high on the hog with food stamps.
In truth, only a few of us are lucky enough to become a billionaire. Becoming a billionaire is a pipe dream. In truth, too, capitalism, unfettered and unregulated, may pit one person's or company's wealth to the disadvantage of thousands of us more common folks. That is where government comes in, with the goal to round out the "rough edges" of unfettered capitalism so that the common folk can share in the capitalist's "pie."
3
A lot of people talk about the cost of these programs, which means higher taxation.
I live in Helsinki. I pay higher taxes than I would in the United States, but I also spend a LOT less on healthcare, I didn't spend a penny on my daughter's excellent college education, and I have a good pension.
So even though taxes are higher, I have more spending money than I would have on a similar income in the United States.
46
Some form of "socialism"—depending on the needs and circumstances of a country—is the best form of government humans have been able to come up with.
[Surely not American capitalism, which greeds itself to death, cycle by cycle, unless kept in check.]
Finland is also justly proud of one of the finest education systems in the world. And the value they place on teachers.
14
The median take home pay for workers in Finland is less than 50% of that in America. Are Americans willing to give up half their annual take home income to experience the Finish capitalist paradise? Let's try it here and see. Let the Democrats initiate the Finish policies, watch take home pay erode, and wait for the conservative rebound. Same old cycle literally everywhere.
4
@drcmd That is not due to the policies of Finland. You could pick my native Norway instead and it would be richer than the US, despite following the same policies as Finland.
All countries have different resources and economical circumstances not affected by their socio-economic model. The US like Norway has been blessed with an abundance of natural resources, Finland not so much.
The US has had peace on its soil for a long time. Finland in contrast had a devastating civil war and got served a major blow when the red army invaded during WWII.
Imagine what Minnesota would have looked like today, if it first had a civil war and then it had to beat back and invasion by the whole rest of the US. Then to top it off in the 90s it would have had to deal with the whole economy of the rest of the US collapsing.
That is essentially what Finland has dealt with. The collapse of the Soviet Union was the largest economic collapse in history. It hit Finnish business hard.
Yet Finland has still preserved at had major success.
6
Well written and informative. So this is what "socialism" looks like. Our corrupt U.S. political parties that have generally been representatives of the rich and corporations rather than the bottom 90% of Americans are now on notice that we the people are fed up. We need universal single payer healthcare. We need free public college and free pre-school, and excellent public K-12 education all over our land. We need to eliminate the fossil fuel industry and move to a sustainable energy/carbon economy within 20 years or our nation is doomed.
22
The lead author of this article works for a consultancy, Nordic West Office, which promotes itself on Linkedin as a thinktank offering “World-class analysis and insights. So that you can succeed in the new West.” The company recently made available a report offering four possible scenarios for how capitalism can successfully navigate in “a world of radical uncertainty.” Interestingly, the report barely addresses some of the central issues confronting globalized financialized late-stage capitalism: increased threat of nuclear war resulting from inter-nation conflict gets just 10 words, rampant and growing global inequality isn’t even mentioned, and the climate crisis is solved by vague remarks about new policies/norms, market-based solutions, and/or zero growth.
It’s hardly surprising, then, that the authors similarly have nothing to say about how the reformed Nordic capitalism they envisage would deal with these issues. Rather than having anything to say about global inequality, for example, they celebrate Finland’s “bustling economy of upscale shopping malls, fancy cars and internationally competitive private companies,” along with the “several dozen Nordic billionaires” this has created. Evidently, the “new West” isn’t going to be that different from the old one.
9
I do not think someone in Finland pays as much takes as someone in California or NYS. We already pay a fairly high tax rate but we spend way too much money on arms.
10
One aspect of this puzzle seems to be missing...
Compare the percentage of GDP spent on arms and a standing army for the USA and for Finland.
If we could reduce spending on our military industrial complex, funds would be available for so healthcare, childcare, education, etal.
Ike was right...
NFE
37
As a per capita number I suspect the Finnish are well represented by their army. Military service is mandatory for all men and women. Retraining is also mandatory.
6
One major component of the U.S. system that must be re-calibrated is the tremendously expensive military industrial complex welfare system. The amounts spent to ensure the financial health of weapons suppliers while leaving the health of average American citizens to the whims and vagaries of the marketplace and other circumstances is obscene.
America needs to wise up: There are some valuable things we an learn from other countries.
23
it bears saying again:
"Capitalism works better if employees get paid decent wages and are supported by high-quality, democratically accountable public services that enable everyone to live healthy, dignified lives and to enjoy real equality of opportunity for themselves and their children."
46
Finland is socialist to a degree. The problem with most people is that they may conflate socialism and communism. Additionally, they define socialism relative to the 'failures', such as the Soviet Union, etc.
Marx, I think, envisioned something like we see in Finland and called it a transition to something even better. Marx's ideas were distorted by the likes of Engels, Lenin, Stalin, Mao, etc.
7
We don't have to look at Finland to see that higher taxes are a boon to the poor, the working poor, the middle class and the upper middle class.
In the 1950's and 1960's a single factory worker could earn enough money to own a home, two cars, a hunting cabin and put his children through college. Health care was covered 100% with doctors even making house calls. That family could afford to have one parent stay home. That wasn't in Finland, that was right here in America, it was my family.
61
The answer is higher taxes on corporations and the wealthy. But how to accomplish this in America? I suggest Sanders and Warren both have the workable plan, but Biden and Buttigeig are tied to big business along with the other candidates.
If not now, when?
14
@betty durso - I am certainly on the left side of the aisle, but I am not sure that higher corporate taxes are the right answer. I think we should consider a corporate tax rate of 0%. And then increase the income tax to individuals. There are arguments that something like a 15% corporate tax rate should only apply to foreign investors.
Great article, some short somewhat related comments:
- A great summary of what "tax supported" services mean. I really dislike the use of the word "free" when it comes to things like healthcare and education. They aren't free, they are financed with taxes.
- If the cost of all job benefits like healthcare and retirement contributions were required to be listed as part of income for all American workers, we would all have a much clearer understanding of how much money these systems are actually costing us.
- The US seems to put too much emphasis on the rate of taxes and whether taxes are "progressive" enough and not on what we get for the taxes we pay. What we see in Finland is that those who are not rich pay MORE in taxes but actually get MORE stability in life. And that's a good deal.
- Innovation and entrepreneurship are more likely to thrive when people have more security about basic needs like healthcare and are willing to take the risk to start new ventures.
19
Focusing economic and taxation policy on the experience of any historically ethnic sectarian homogenous majority white Scandinavian and Baltic countries experience is deceptive and foolish.
First of all economics is not a science and economists are not scientists.
There are too many variables and unknowns to craft the double-blind and/or randomized controlled experimental tests that provide predictable and repeatable results that are the essence of science. The same difficulty permeates accounting, banking, finance and taxation.
Second of all there is only one biological DNA genetic human race species that began in Africa 300,000 years ago.
What we call race aka color is a evolutionary fit pigmented response to varying levels of solar radiation at altitudes and latitudes primarily related to producing Vitamin D and protecting genes from damaging mutations in ecologically isolated populations over space and time.
What we call race aka ethnicity and national origin are cultural and language geographic designations that have nothing to do with race. However, they do have powerful historical, legal, political and social implications and impacts that are worthy of academic examination.
While race is not a biological scientific reality as commonly misunderstood by social science, bigotry, ethnocentrism, prejudice, racism and xenophobia are an essential part of our inhumane history.
2
These kind of one analysis seek to make political and philosophical points rather than defining truths. Finland is a country of somewhat less than 6M people, homogeneous, It has one of the world's fastest aging populations and is facing a demographic/economic/healthcare timebomb (only Japan and Korea had greater aging populations). Deaths in Finland are projected to significantly outstrip births leading to a collapse in working age Fins. It's homogeneous nature allows for the imposition of a church tax of ~1.4% on about 75% of the population to offload social services. (2 state religions). The Finnish could of course increase population by immigration but they limit immigration (7% of their pop vs 14.5% of US pop) which contributes to homogeneity. Despite the authors statements, Finnish GDP in 2018 is BELOW in 2008. (UIS grew from $14.4T to 20.4T). US spends 20% more per capita on K12 education. While the general unemployment rate in Finland is 6.7% or about double US, the foreign born rate (discrimination, language,etc) is 15% and in Helsinki is 25%. So, this high tax state can keeps a nice clean homogeneous population, keeps 2 national Christian religions, is able to under spend on education, exploits immigrants, and spend 1/2 of GDP % on military. The point is that if you want to make a point, present selective data. BTW - if you want to prove that capitalism, low taxes work based on economic growth choose Hong Kong. Neither Hong Kong nor Finland are the US
15
@Chris The US is spending more on education, as we do on healthcare, and getting less for it. Finland scores significantly higher on the PISA tests of high school students than does the US and for most years is the top scoring country or near the top, while the US is in the middle of the pack.
8
@G James I agree. In both education and healthcare (the #1 and #2 segments of the US economy), the gov is the operator/major regulator and our gov has demonstrated structural incompetence in managing tax, regulation and structure for good outcomes both qualitative and quantitative. In other words, we spend plenty on these categories and do NOT need more tax revenues if we simply ran as efficiently as any other industrialized country. I reject the notion that the first priority is spend more. The gov has to first demonstrate to me that they can run efficient and productive systems before I want to feed them more
2
@Chris Nobody said that Finland was perfect - just better and happier. And apparently the "capitalists" there are smart enough to take care of the people that are the very core of their businesses. What a novel idea! Or you could say "DUH".
Hmmm the diversity argument. In Australia, we are also a very ethnically and culturally diverse society yet our Universal Health Care System works. Yes it is not perfect but it does work which is by the way paid for by our taxes.
8
An acquaintance of mine died on Friday. He was self-employed and a Trumpeter who didn't want anything to do with "socialized medicine" aka Obamacare, aka the ACA. So he didn't go to the doctor when he started feeling bad because he said he couldn't afford to pay cash. This year he became eligible for Medicare (somehow he didn't see that as "socialized medicine") and finally went to the doctor. By that time the leukemia was so far advanced that his organs were already failing.
But hey, he was "free" from that socialized medicine! I'm sure that's not much consolation for his family.
Ain't 'Murica great!?
I wish I could afford to move to a developed nation like Finland. But, since I'm an American wage-earner, I can't even afford to go there and look around to see if I'd like living there.
46
Finland is fascinating, and they do a lot of things right. But with a homogeneous population smaller than many major US cities, it's hard to see how scalable their policies really are.
9
@Mford I am tired of this excuse. What actual evidence do you have that they AREN'T scalable? Why don't we finally actually try them and see?
20
@Mford Homogeneity is a weak argument because there are countries like Australia and Singapore that is as diverse as the US yet Australians have figured out a way to come up with a working Universal Healthcare System. I think the word you’re looking for is “Pluralism” or Collectivism.
10
Yes, my dear American friends, homogeneity is a rather good contributing factor in a thriving healthy but so are Sustainable Socioeconomic Policies.
7
Looking at the pictures, I'm seeing a society that looks relatively homogeneous and cohesive, a country smaller in population and geography than the US.
The US is a huge country with strong regional differences. It's extremely heterogeneous with a history fraught with racial, ethnic, and class-based tensions.
It's an idealistic goal to support socialist type practices here, but I'm not optimistic. It would be an overwhelming challenge, but too many seem to dismiss the challenges.
3
I wonder whether the fact that we are much less healthy in our habits in the US accounts for any difference. We’re way more obese than Finland, I’d guess, and that burdens the healthcare system tremendously. Our universal healthcare system would be much more expensive to run.
5
Finland has an ambience that no other country can match. The people have built a nation that actually works for the "common good". Communities has parks, playgrounds, massive public spaces and services that every citizen and visitor can access. Its public transportation is superior and on time. The Finnish educational system is a star in the West. America could take lessons from the Finns on how to distribute wealth created within a society. America will not. America is a slowly failing, flailing state.
19
@Patrick Stevens , Patrick, care to offer a suggestion as to why you think this is or should we assume this failing and flailing are caused by unexplained super nature forces?
As a point of comparison, I lived in Finland for an academic year, in 1984-85.
I also tried to look at the same concepts and comparisons that the writers of this article delve into, and one major element that this article omitted is the significant amount of military establishment that the US taxpayer supports, compared to that found in Nordic countries. Without that factor included in the article, I consider this version to be a first draft, that should be re-thought and rewritten.
Thank you
6
@Two Cents
Two Cents: Yes, the US military. Pure socialism! If I were not way too old (61), I'd join the armed forces for all the excellent benefits, which are paid for at enormous taxpayer expense. That's our version of Nordic socialism: It's run by the Pentagon.
One small catch: As a service member you might get sent off to fight and die in one of Imperial America's pointless and endless wars. Oh well. At least the DOD will pick up the cost of your funeral!
2
How come no one tackles the cost of these programs? Democrats seemingly do not care about how much anything costs.
Look at how much it costs for the government to do anything in NYC or LA. Everyone greases their palms first. The outer belt has seen increased standard in life while America suffers.
No one is arguing health insurance is bad, but we know a lot of Washington will be looking out for themselves first. They've proven they already have.
3
Sweden was the most economically egalitarian society in the first world about forty years ago. Then globalisering became more and more relevant. At the same time Reagan and Thatcher and other leaders began their march towards a less fair society.
Sweden was forced economically to follow the path of economic "liberalization".
Its GINI index has increased the most the past forty years.
One can argue whether Sweden needed to proceed so quickly but the direction taken was unavoidable
That the Nordic countries managed to develop the Nordic model is a separate and very controversial sociological subject.
Personally I believe the Nordic model has very little to do with socialism. Many non leftist governments have introduced enlightened legislation (even Nixon!).
Immigration and globalisering has produced a radicalisering of the right.
One wonders if the Nordic model can survive the next forty years.
1
@Ian Sweden should never have dropped its wealth tax. It has gone downhill ever since.
2
This article has nothing to do with the United States. Finland has a homogeneous population and never had a colonial empire. They are willing to work, and to work together, unlike us. There are no politicians saying we can have all we want and someone else will pay for it.
11
@Richard Sorry, you don't appear to know anything about Finland or its history. Why pontificate from ignorance? Finland's indigenous people are the Sami or to the Swedes, Lapps, they have historically suffered from economic and ethnic persecution, not so much today. Finland was conquered by the Swedes and then Tsarist Russia. The street signs in Finland have both Swedish and Finnish names pointing to their long period as a conquered nation.
The article points out that Finland went through the same type of history most nations suffer through, early capitalist exploitation of its working population and the degradation of the environment. Without checks on capitalist excess, you end up with child labor, a very poor working class, an unlivable environment and a situation that leads to large socialist or communist parties and sometimes revolution.
The Finns chose the alternative that is available to all nations, and it works very well.
2
Thanks and hurray to the writers for offering a window into the basic lives of a democratic socialist (or whatever it's called) country. If this is what Bernie and Warren are fighting for, count me in.
The article points out an essential idea: That American companies are seriously encumbered by providing expensive heathcare to its worker at a serious cost to the bottom line. They would experience an immediate bump in share prices and profitability if this burden were shift over to the government. In exchange, corporate tax rates would rise and the rich would simply get a little less richer.
Hedge fund titan Ray Dalio admitted that “capitalism basically is not working for the majority of people.” That's obvious to anyone, except possibly our president. Millions of Americans, myself included, stress daily about how to pay for healthcare, daycare and education. College ain't cheap and the majority of students go into debt just to attend.
Taken together, removing these responsibilities of normal citizens might just achieve the impossible: Happy Americans.
8
@Randy Watson Ray Dalio has made a big bet that our stocks will crash by March 2020. He will join those predicting the world will end except that he made a mistake of putting a date (so he will be proven wrong)
1
@Randy Watson If the health insurance benefits that are provided by American corporations were taxed as income at full price, Obamacare wouldn't look so bad. It would also bring in enough tax money to subsidize a decent public option.
1
As a Finn having lived all my life in Finland I totally subscribe to the views presented in the article.
At this time of the year the most common topic around the coffee table is how we can manage the all pervading darkness. After reading the last paragraph of the article I concur with the authors: it really doesn't matter.
18
Welcome to Norden!
Some of the statements need to be clarified. First of all, nothing - NOTHING - is free (or at no cost). Education and the health care system is funded through taxation.
The Nordic countries work, primarily, due to homogenization. Most people are brought up in the system and thus buy into the system when they are taxpayers. There aren't any millionaires trying to destroy the safety net or slash taxes. This probably wouldn't work in the US because of a weak federation, in which states have most of the power.
Finland also has a legislated minimum five-weeks paid vacation. So there aren't many Finns who only take four weeks...
13
@Michael
Married to a Finn, I am in Finland at least once a year. What I see is less and less homogenization with a growing number of refugees and immigrants from countries with a very different culture. I see those young men hanging around and I see small girls in headscarves; this was not the case 20 or even 10 years ago. It will therefore be interesting to read this kind of article in 15-20 years.
And as for Sweden, well you know better than me; PM Löfven was even thinking about bringing in the military to manage certain riots.
8
@Michael for some reason I had difficulty getting my own point regarding homogenization past the censors, but perhaps they will let me ride your coat tails...according to Wikipedia here are Finnish demographic figures:
Finn 93.4%, Swede 5.6%, Russian 0.5%, Estonian 0.3%, Romani 0.1%, Sami 0.1% (2006)
Their entry also notes 73% of the Finnish population are members of the Lutheran church.
One can not credibly compare a small group (population a bit less than the Atlanta, GA MSA) of homogenous, like-minded folks divvying up an abundant natural resource pie with the USA.
1
Of course, we should do this. But maybe we first ought to try it out in just one State, California. It's big enough to have the scale and it's Progressive enough to get the legislation passed.
15
@billd Vermont tried, but didn't have the tax revenues to get it off the ground. The only way to make it work, is to require all states to provide health care for ALL its citizens, and let them finance it with some combination of co-pays,. property, income sales/Vat taxes, perhaps with some block grants from the Federal govt. One state can't do it, because all the sick people would move there.
1
In Scandinavia the lower income tax brackets are on average about 33% of income, and for the top earners it's about 50%. I would agree to pay that here if our benefits were similar. Interesting how capitalist businesses there would also rather pay the high taxes to concentrate in doing business and letting government take care of healthcare and the wellness of employees. When are we gonna discard the Wild West style capitalism of doing it on your own and the heck with everyone else?
7
@Jgrau
Take a look at the tax tables from the IRS that are freely available online. The top marginal tax rate in my birth year, 1958, was 91.0% on incomes of over $400,000. Yes, indeed: in the 6th year of the Eisenhower administration, America was a socialist dystopia!
7
it's a capitalist paradise because wages have been suppressed in recent years ? Hence today's strikes/protests.
note also that fertility rate is very low in Finland : 1.4 in 2018, probably 1.35 in 2019 (Statistics Finland). because of the wage austerity (and government austerity ?) ?
drug deaths rate is high in the Nordic countries : "Scotland has highest drug death rate in EU", Bbc.com, 16/07/2019.
but there is indeed no doubt that social democracy is better than predatory capitalism.
4
This is a refreshing and thoughtful piece on the Norway that our political hacks know nothing about. I think there's much to learn from this kind of hybrid system that in many ways seems more sensible and humane than our own. Sure, I'd like to know more details about their politics, actual tax rates and how they're administered, the range of jobs and wage levels, ethnic and social diversity, their educational system K-12 and beyond, and how the healthcare system works. Many countries with universal healthcare seem to have issues with one or more elements such as lower compensation for doctors and hospitals than is sustainable, for example.
I don't believe a smaller, less pluralistic society than ours is easier to manage just because of economies of scale. But I do recognize our country has become entrenched in so many bad practices and with so much social inequality that digging ourselves out and trying to implement a more enlightened approach as described in the article is becoming more difficult each day, especially with the increasing polarization and entrenchment of power elites we see in the corrupt, politically toxic Trump era.
8
The Capitalism vs. Socialism argument in the US is a politically opportunistic "red herring." The real argument is short term gain vs. sustainability. American Capitalism is based upon short term gains with little regard for the future. Education, the path to continuing a successful national future, serves bankers not the nation. Our best and brightest enter the work force handicapped from their greatest potential and limited in career choice by the mountain of debt they are saddled with while getting their education. Health care serves corporate interests of the insurance and drug companies not patients nor even health care providers. American Capitalism has passed the turning point and is cannibalizing the nation. Just follow the trajectory. We are heading toward a nation of a few very well fed capitalist fat cats and a large poor, hungry and uneducated underclass. The choice is not capitalism or socialism. It should be socially conscious capitalism focussed on national sustainability.
24
@BB Back to feudalism I'm afraid, full circle. Your description is perfectly accurate and sober. Thanks.
4
KPMG’s corporate tax table for 2019 says the rate in the U.S. is 27% and in Finland 20%.
7
The biggest difference and the reason the Nordic model will not work here is that we have a large and diverse population and Finland has a small and quite homogeneous one.
The other main difference is that in the United States far too many see government programs as zero sum. The more a group that you see as "less than" is getting something the less you are getting.
It's resentment. Even though in many cases that "zero sum" assumption is wrong, it causes too much of our population to reject any thought of pooling wealth for the benefit of all.
That seems less an issue in the Nordic countries. My guess is because in those countries pretty much everyone else looks like you.
Yes, even they are becoming more ethnically diverse, but right now that diversity is not a threat. It's much like here in Vermont, we have a pretty homogeneous population here and what we have for diversity is at a low enough concentration that the white population does not feel threatened.
It should not be this way but it appears to be human nature. I thought we were further along regarding race and ethnic background relations and then along came Trump and he has managed to expose where we really are.
I cannot figure out why our business community isn't all over universal health and universal education. It would benefit them greatly. It doesn't need to be free, just affordable for all.
It wold also free people to pursue their dreams without fear of economic ruin. It would be a win/win.
19
@Kelly R. Donley The U.S. could do something comparable to Finland if it were approached from the grassroots up and states up rather than top down from the Federal level. This may sound defeatist but consider what Republicans have achieved with the State Policy Network that coordinated and amplified libertarian and anti-labor positions with efforts like the Koch brothers campaign against public transportation. The problem is not cultural differences but the malign efforts of ultra-billionaires to propagandize the public to see progressive policies as socialist and the road to serfdom. In 3 years of Trump over 25% of the population, largely from the right wing conservative base, has been trained to see Russia as an ally per recent polls.
Consider how much change could be achieved to promote a Finland model customized to each state with a comparable public education effort as Fox has done to advance the position of Putin among U.S. conservatives or the anti-progressive policies offered as templates by the State Policy Network? If the Koch's and Mercer's can fund this why can't the large number of progressive billionaires fund grassroots , state-up progressive ideas. Then a competitive environment could emerge among the states as to which state achieves more to benefit more of its citizens.
4
@Kelly R. Donley We have a very homogeneous population here in Idaho, but resentment of anyone getting something they aren't getting is very high. I have no explanation, just an observation.
1
@Kelly R. Donley the word that you are looking for is GREED.
Having lived a good part of my life in various Scandinavian countries, I can confirm the basic thrust of this essay. Life is better for most people in a Social Democracy. I believe that most Americans would, in fact, be happier if America was a Social Democratic country. But the problem is that most Americans have been conned into believing that America is the only free country in the world, and that personal freedom is the most important thing in life. They simply do not know that we are all more free if we rely on each other.
But then again, most Americans could not find Finland on a map if their life (or happiness) depended on it.
58
There are two basic philosophies:
1. We are all in this together.
2. Every man for himself.
Throughout human history groups (families, tribes, cities, etc.) tended to do better with #1
8
I have no doubt that Finland is a nice place. But, this is a very simplistic comparative analysis designed to fit a preconceived narrative and is really not helpful to legitimate discourse.
Should we make the Bernie/Elizabeth changes, how do we know we don't become Venezuela instead of Finland?
The Nordic countries are culturally very different from the USA. If one would like to become more like any of the Nordic countries, the first step is to change our culture to theirs. Good luck.
14
@Robert Bowen
Agreed! We (in America) should change our culture to theirs. I'm very happy you agree. Let the change begin with a hefty tax on the Billionaire Class and soon our problems will start to go away.
8
@Robert Bowen Because Venezuela is/was a socialist (communist) dictatorship and that will never happen in the Nordics. As an American who's lived 32 years in Norway, I can guarantee you that the major difference is that in the US your job eats up your life (and family life), while here, you actually have a life, and family is an absolute priority. When the US decided money was more important than family, it lost its heart and soul.
@Robert Bowen You know, we need to get rid of free high school.
Finland politically and economically?
Places such as Finland, small population with right mix of capitalism and socialism, systems with a "gathered and poised" population, seem admirably placed for continued advances in the extremely important fields of biotech and computer science. It's fairly common knowledge now that behind all political and economic ideology and orthodoxy that the problem of human society is how to decisively take over from natural selection and improve on it and to have human society a perpetually entropy defeating process, but to do this ethically, to somehow toggle between the ruthless survival of fittest of raw capitalism and socialistic idealism, the misguided belief that all people are equal and that we do not have to make a choice among humans as to quality, that we do not have to select the fittest from among us.
Finland appears to have the proper foundation for advanced social lift off in place, the foundation of socialized medical care and education. In fact when we reflect on Finland's long and dark winters, it's as if a hothouse system, cultivating plants in the only way possible in given environment, something of a setup we should expect of a space colony. You want every human developed as much as possible, no weak human link, and once this is understood, all means to this end, you are poised for biotech, human machine meld, trans-human possibility. I wish I had been raised in such a system. So far it's a dream that dies with me.
1
I’m curious about just how diverse the day care center is? Diversity is an unusual word to apply to a society that to an outside viewer is anything but diverse. And I am flabbergasted that the entire essay contains no actual comparative numbers on tax rates. Elsewhere I’ve read that the high Scandinavian tax rates apply to personal income and not to business/corporate income. That is not dealt with in the essay either. Glad they’re happy in their monochrome, Arctic society though.
6
@JPE I just moved back from NYC and my tax rate was around the same in both (total around 35). My salary was much higher in the US but even as a single guy the purchase power was close to equal, if I had kids or medical expenses the net purchase power of my Finnish salary would be probably around double compared to NYC. Needless to say I decided to move back to Finland.
And Finland is becoming increasingly diverse as birth rates drop and we need the workforce.
8
@JPE Finland has a long history of hosting foreign students from African countries such as Ghana, Ethiopia and Nigeria and many of them stayed. You also have a good number of people from the Caribbean who have settled in the country. You have secondary migration of Black British people married to Finns. Finally, there are Asian and middle eastern immigrants (and Syrian and afghan refugees) who do not look white given how fair the Finns tend to be and a sizable Somali refugee community.
There are Afro Finnish musicians, actors, beauty queens and a member of parliament. Your assumption that the country is monochromatic is unfounded.
@joonatan - just wondering why in such an idyllic society, people do not want to have children?
1
It is impossible, of course, to apply a model built for 5.5 million people (basically, South Florida) to a country of 320 million. But. And a strong but. What would happen if everyone did 2 things: (1) stop using antiquated dog-whistle terms like socialism, capitalism... and (2) wrote down in a piece of paper the 5 things (and just the 5 things) that would make the U.S. an ideal country. I don't think either will happen. People are not ready for distilled critical thinking. But in companies we do that all the time. We call it Zero-based Planning... many fancy names. But, ultimately, all of us have been in a meeting where we sit down and ask "what 5 things are going to move this company forward"?
11
What evidence do you offer that it is impossible to apply a model that works for 5 million to a nation of 300 million? I don’t agree or disagree, but how can you just state that as if it’s a fact?
7
@Jason Only fractals scale up with no problems. Perhaps "impossible" is not the right word in theory. In practice... and given the polarization of our entire society, can you imagine the U.S. reaching a consensus? I really don't.
1
@msa The Finland model for 5 million inhabitant is more or less, with little differences, the same for the whole Europen Union, culturally quite diverse (2 alphabets, twenty or more languages, with roughly the same size: time zones, population area.
I wonder if the author may have missed one of the most important differences between the US and Finland: campaign financing. Are elections publicly funded, with limits on spending? Or do politicians have to seek out big donors, to whom they will be beholden once elected? My understanding is that the Scandinavian countries have very strict rules about campaign financing, which may be the only way to ensure that the government actually serves the majority of its citizens rather the 0.1%.
24
@A. Nonymous —very good point. I have always thought we should have publicly funded elections, with LIMITED campaign lengths. Ok. The US is pretty vast. It could be 6 months, not one month, as in some countries.
6
Employer based health insurance is strangling our economy and society. Medical bankruptcy, high deductables, lack of access, narrow networks, lack of robust chronic disease management. As soon as large corporations forgo the business of supervising their employees healthcare, we can make persona income gains. Not saying Medicare for all is the answer, but some type of universal healthcare and nursing home/end of life care is necessary to help families cope with the financial burdens of ill health and to stay well.
11
I am a US citizen and have been living and working in Europe for 26 years - most of that time in France. With my first job I had 5 weeks paid vacation. Although relatively healthy my family and I have had a few health scares over the years but the accompanying consultations, hospital visits and tests only cost us some time. Similarly the medical costs related to my wife’s pregnancies and birth of my two daughters were trivial (we paid a few hundred euros out-of-pocket for a private room in the clinic where my second daughter was born. My wife and daughter stayed there for 4 days following delivery on the doctor’s advice and at no added cost). Meanwhile my daughters have benefited from top rate education, the oldest now with a Master’s degree from the Sorbonne and the youngest just starting at one of the oldest and most admired design schools in the centre of Paris. All of this has been tuition free, only costing some registration fees of a few hundred euros. Yes, my taxes are certainly higher than my fellow Americans’ back in US. Yes, France has its share of problems. But in explaining my situation to dozens if not hundreds of American family members, friends and colleagues over the years, everyone - without exception- has admitted they would gladly trade the American way for the French model and the peace of mind and security it offers.
50
@Christopher Wooden Exact same experience here in Oslo, though without the social problems facing France.
An interesting sideline: my parents (lifetime arch Republicans) visited us twice before passing, and were won over by surprise. Both times my father had to see a doctor, and of course were shocked that 1.) our family doctor was a 40 second walk from our house, 2.) the consultations cost approx $20 and 3.) the prescription medicine cost about 80 percent less than in the US.
Most Americans don't know what they don't have.
34
This sounds familiar. I am half-Dutch and half-American so I get to pick and choose which system I live in and after 6 years living in NL I can’t imagine moving back to the US.
15
@Harry Neglected to mention that the doctor saw my father two hours after I called.
This piece contains the customary fallacies that result from ignoring basic information.
The population of Finland is EXCEEDED by three of the five boroughs of New York City,
while at the same time,
Finland has vast vast natural resource wealth that
enriches its very small population no matter what economic and political system is in place.
The authors’ contentions for the most part are simplistic or downright silly. This is article is akin to saying that Google employees are rich and happy, so all companies should be like Google – without acknowledging that Google has significant levels of income and wealth that they can share with its relatively small number of employees.
So, if we can reduce the population of the U.S. to perhaps 25 million people and share the U.S.’s natural resource wealth with this re-sized population, I bet you we could outdo Finland (and it’s depressingly dark winters) in people happiness regardless of whether we had a capitalist, socialist or theocratic system in place.
Hopefully I will be spared having to review similarly superficial and specious content in the future. Thank you.
18
@Joe The US has vast resources as well, but the country gave them away to private enterprise. Now you see the result.
18
@Joe this is the same argument you hear over and over again. What you miss is that the whole of the European Union; more than 500 million people, works according to basically those same principles . That’s actually a fair bit large than the U.S...
24
@Joe
You are narrowly focusing on oil (and possibly wood) and Finland, and massively ignoring agriculture, for example.
Many north European countries have similar levels of affluence and attitudes to social safety nets. And the point of this article rather more seems to be about trying to relieve people of some misapprehensions about what that means.
5
Your article nails it.
It is not capitalism that brought about the global improvements in the standard of living in recent centuries; it is innovation.
Innovation comes from empowering the people.
Empowerment through the best education possible. Empowerment by using our wealth to ensure that everyone has enough to eat, a roof over their head and access to good healthcare, thus calming the fears that plagued the people of centuries past.
US-style capitalism revolves on fear, not empowerment, and is thus falling behind by global standards.
23
Thank you for this article. It was really great to read so true story from Finland, my homeland since 1945!
13
Interesting op-ed. The writer has every right to be upbeat.
However, claiming that children automatically have a free K-12 and then free higher education future is inaccurate. K-9 is free and open to all. But moving beyond that educational level may be free, but first, one must manage to get into a high school and if that is accomplished, then get into a program of one's choice in higher education. Once completing ninth grade, the system turns into a meritocracy. Not everyone gets into high school. Maybe trade school? Then, in the third year of high school a student is faced with rigorous testing in order (1) to graduate, and, (2) make it into higher education where competition is fierce. There are programs where there are hundreds upon hundreds of applicants for a few dozen seats. Some try over and over again, year after year. Meanwhile taking whatever employment they can find. Others simply apply to schools in other EU countries hoping for the best (Courses in English? Please?). The UK was a favorite. But not much longer. A rigorous admittance system re high school and higher education (1) saves money, and, (2) controls employment needs. Therefore, to sit with children in daycare and believe that their educational future automatically involves high school and beyond is naive at best.
24
@J. Tingstad Allowing children to attend a school that fits their capabilities is not naive. It represents an efficient utilization of a society's scarce resources. Besides, Young folk may go to a university after having completed a technical or trade school.
Most of my Finnish friends in college had learned a trade or completed an apprenticeship before going to a university.
17
@J. Tingstad I’m struggling to understand if you see that as bad thing? If anything, it proves the Finnish system superior if people are let into schools elsewhere even if they’re not smart enough for the Finnish ones.
It makes no sense to give everyone the same 12 years of education when instead you can have some graduate with a trade at the end of that if they so choose, and there’s even a free 10th grade for those who messed up bad enough to not get anywhere after 9th allowing them another try. And for universities each industry only needs a certain amount of workers so it’s way better to pick the best ones instead of those buying their way in.
8
@J. Tingstad Partly true. It is very unlikely, though, that one could not get into high school if one wanted to. The required minimum marks are often lower than those required in a trade school.
Getting to college is definitely based on merit. When I started, for architecture there was a 5% chance to get in. The resources are not limitless, and the slots are given to those who seem to have the best chances of succeeding in their careers. The good thing is, once you have proven your potential you will also graduate. In some European countries it is easier to get into college, but part of the students are dropped out every year if they fail to be among the best.
To sit with children in daycare and believe they definitely go to college is naive, but one can trust that even if the parents are flat broke, that does not have to affect the kid's academic future in any way. They can still become doctors and lawyers and graduate from the top universities of the country. On the other hand, no matter how wealthy you are, it does not guarantee a place in college for your child. It is a level playing field.
7
20 years ago the Swiss company I worked for in the U.S. offered me a position in the home office. I uprooted our family's comfortably middle class existence and headed into the unknown.
Best decision I ever made.
44
The problem with America is we are so busy calling ourselves the greatest country in the world, that we never stop to ask ourselves: Are we still?
Or even ask: Why do we think this?
It is a mantra trotted out all the time from all points on the political spectrum, from Mike Pence to Nancy Pelosi. The US was a noble experiment, but in the centuries since its founding, and in the decades since the end of the Second World War, many other nations have achieved and often surpassed the US in freedom and quality of life.
Despite living overseas, I am an American. It is my culture and my origin and I have great affection for it, but that does not mean I need to be willfully blind.
Watch American news or political debates with a non-American. Watch them roll their eyes. Newsflash, we do not know everything.
85
How can the Finns afford all the social benefits that were described, while American's apparently cannot?
While a detailed answer is complex, there is one obvious and compelling point: The US spends approximately $800 billion per year on it's military, for a population of approximately 330 million people. So, we spent almost $3,000 for every man, woman and child per year on the military.
29
@Michael Yokell Finland spends approximately $2,9 billion per year, less than $600 per person. How is this possible for a country with an 800 mile land border with Russia and without NATO membership? The answer is national military service. We have 900 000 trained soldiers in the reserves, which is quite a lot for a country of 5,5 million.
3
This article is full of ideas and individual examples but weak on reasoning and numbers. First off, it is hard to compare one country to another, as they differ in terms of nature resources, history, culture, demographic, etc. (That is why more serious comparisons are typically done between east and west Germany, east and west Korea, Hongkong and mainland China, etc., because the shared attributes.) There are a large body of Economics research on why Finnland is rich. You can read them, but the take-away won’t be high tax or socialism.
At the end of the day, ask yourself two questions: (1) Of course everyone wants free health care, free education. But who pay for them? The other people. The government can only move the money from one people’s hand to another (while takes some commissions on the way). So the question is, why do you think the government spend the money more efficiently than private enterprise? (2) Since when have you heard any technology advance led by Finnland?
12
@SC "Free healthcare" and "free education" are paid by all of us, not "other people". Just like roads and other infrastructure. We have a very efficient education system (moderate spending with top 10 scores in PISA) and a very efficient heath care system (higher life expectancy with cost less than half of US cost) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Life_expectancy_vs_healthcare_spending.jpg
6
@SC Nokia did pretty well for a while.
1
@SC: Did you read the article at all? 1) The government spends health care money more efficiently than America’s private enterprises because IT DOES! Finns are much healthier for much less per capita than Americans. Also better educated. 2) Ever heard of Nokia? And the authors described Finland’s two world-class gaming companies.
I'm an American, and have lived in Finland for over 20 years. Everything stated in the article is true. I first moved here as a 40 year old, and I was living on a different frequency than the Finns.
Everything about my life up to that point was pure desperation. I left a dysfunctional home at the age of 18, having suffered a catastrophic football injury, and immediately started a series of low paying jobs, working my way through teeth grinding pain in order to pay the monthly rent. I saw, first hand, how employers would take advantage of people like me, or illegal immigrants who I often worked along-side.
My injuries inhibited me to the point that I couldn't long continue the physical grind of a blue collar job, and my money situation made college a pipe dream. I had a talent for music and gradually forged a musical career for myself. This, too, (as any musician could tell you), was a grind. My life became a 20 year merry-go-round of gigs, long drives, horrible food, and the constant networking and promotion to land the next gig. Most days I slept on 4 hours. On days off, I would be on the phone 18 hours straight. This is how it is for musicians without a top-10 hit on the radio.
I moved to Finland and could not understand their relaxed attitude towards life. I made a lot of mistakes by pushing. Aggression was all I knew.
I haven't worried about the future ever since the light bulb went off in my head about 15 years ago. It is an amazing feeling.
48
@Wiley Cousins
The same social pressure in Britain with a class system not conducive to normal human relations; everyone in competition and many families living on credit just to survive. Families at war over wills.
"Get BREXIT done" with PM Boris Johnson privatizing the national health service which is totally bankrupt. Inequality served with high taxes makes on wonder?
4
Great piece, I was just in helsinki, and the best way I could describe it was “happy and relaxed”. As I have traveled, I am more and more reminded that leaving the US was a good choice.
25
I find it odd that the word “socialist” is in any way linked to lack of freedom.
As a dual citizen of the United States and Sweden, I take part in Sweden’s social programs and recognize them for what they are: the most basic foundation of society.
I don’t understand why proponents of “capitalism” try to label the Nordic states as capitalist. The root word of “socialism” is SOCIAL. The programs that allow us to be so free in Nordic states only came about through labor movements, a product of socialist thought and practice.
I realize most Americans do not understand that the Soviet Union was never socialist or communist. It is a classic example of state capitalism.
The wonderful benefits we enjoy in the Nordic states were not given freely by capitalists to workers. Workers demanded them through non-violent and violent action. These are not capitalist values. They are socialist values.
The means of production is erroneously used as the only metric of socialist policy. The truth is that we live in mixed economies. When a cooperative business owns the means of production within a Nordic state, a cooperative organization is socialist in the pure sense. Degree of central planning varies from country to country but at no time has any Nordic country in modern times been anything close to capitalist.
Finland isn’t capitalist. Sweden is not capitalist (though we had a brush with increased privatization in the 90s until 2014). They are mixed economies which are heavily socialized.
39
I could show this article to all my colleagues and it wouldn't mean a thing to them. I would be derided as the ogre discussing politics. They do not read. Anything. Especially in depth news. Only 20% vote. And I hardly live in Trump country.
We will not evolve as a nation into anything resembling the Nordic countries. Slavery never died in the USA. It exists in the DNA and has become our economic debt driven education. health care, transportation, security and housing system.
92
@DB Don't give up hope. Finland was once a Grand Duchy of the Russian Empire, ruled by an ethno-linguistically separate Swedish-speaking aristocratic minority. As mentioned in the article, in the early 20th century, the Swedish-speaking aristocracy and urban capitalist class suppressed socialism when the "Reds" and "Whites" fought a civil war just as was going on in Russia. Probably best that the Whites won--look how horrible a "Red" victory was in Russia! Even better that their children and grandchildren compromised, and worked out a system conducive to long-term political and social stability and peace.
6
It sounds like what is being described here is Mussolini's idea of economic corporatism. Although fascist politics are completely unacceptable, Mussolini described a system where "corporations," meaning not joint stock companies but economic sectors, were to be shepherded by the state. Capital, labor and government were meant to sit down together and manage industries to everyone's benefit. Nothing was nationalized, but industries were to be regulated to make sure workers and the broader society didn't get cheated.
Although it is painful to admit pure, free-market capitalism does not look all that good next to a hybrid system, and the fact such a system was embraced by a very nasty group of people in Italy makes me cringe, maybe this is a model worth looking at?
Whether the U.S. can successfully combine a corporatist economic system with a transparent, representative democratic order as Finland has done is questionable, but this is interesting and thought-provoking. Thanks for correctly pointing out that all systems where government and labor have a seat at the table aren't socialism, and higher-tax, higher-service governments can be combined with market economics.
6
The rich in Scandinavian countries get it, they're willing to pay high taxes to benefit the great majority of the population because they see it as an investment into their own well being. In our country, the rapacious hunger of the rich for accumulating wealth benefits only them, and that is dangerous.
43
@Jgrau Yes and no. Plenty of the rich live in low tax countries, especially Monaco and Cyprus.
3
He didn't say that rich people didn't live in low tax countries, he said that the rich in Finland understand that higher taxes benefit the broader society, and that's good for them. What are you responding to?
17
@Anand Khalsa He’s saying plenty of Scandinavian billionaires move to lower tax locales like Monaco to escape the taxes in their home countries.
3
As an American living in the Netherlands , it is approximately same situation as in Finland.
Although the US may have challenges that a homogenous small country such Finland may not have , I constantly scratch my head in wonder and feel sorry for all the Americans that needlessly suffer all the economic indignities due to such an unfair and poorly arranged system.
60
same from France but with a bit more of caos. but the food makes it all worth it
28
A few observations from Sweden:
Regarding the ultra rich: Sweden has 32 billionaires and a 10 million population. That equals 3.2 billionaires per million inhabitants. The Unites States has 585 billionaires and a population of 330 million. That equals 1.8 billionaires per million inhabitants. Conclusion: It is possible to become ultra rich even in ”socialist” Sweden.
Regarding daycare: 300 USD per month in Finland seems excessive :) In Sweden the ”max tax” - highest ammount that can be charged is 150 and 100 USD for the first and second child respectively. On the other hand, there are waiting lists in some areas that can complicate life for families. There are no alternatives even if you would be happy to pay substantially more.
Same thing goes for healthcare. It is typically excellent once you get admitted to hospital care, but also here, cues can be long. The waiting list to an MRI for my knee was two months, however, once done, surgery was done rather quickly and at no cost (beyond what I pay in taxes). People find ways rounding the cues though, and these days companies often provide additional healthcare insurance to employees that guaranteens immediate access (so far only to primary care I think). Some (left leaning) people see this as a slippery slope that should be avoided. There are no easy answers, but clearly we struggle with a completely different set of questions than what you have in th US.
34
@johan e We wait for months to see doctors in the USA also. Even with 'good' insurance. The system is so broken, complicated, and corrupt it resembles a Terry Gilliam movie script scenario. All power to the investor and CEO.
35
US politics divides people up into various groups. If poor or too old to work, you get govt help and support. But this division makes for political division. Then politicians exploit this for political power.
In most other democracies, also capitalist, it's centrist that all people have affordable, guaranteed health care no matter age, income, job, or health status. And low cost or free college. Progressive, fair taxes pay for it.
Our voters must realize that over years, many Americans who have died or were disabled or financially bankrupted due to lack of affordable HC--- if they lived in other modern countries would have ongoing treatment, thus remained alive, healthy, working, financially secure individuals. We need comparative numbers on this.
Here, keeping HC a high profit center has been peddled to the public with the credo that private profit protects American Freedom---thus we must guard against the govt we elect passing laws in the public interest.
Big govt is the road to tyranny they say. Of course the govt is very big in protecting corporate monopolies who donate big to our elections. But it's small in protecting we the people. What an irony.
Thus the wealthy donors to our politicians and parties define the norms of what's 'left wing' vs 'centrist'.
Other modern capitalist democracies don’t insult their citizens with this scam. Americans are the most propagandized citizens in the free world, but told they are the most free and independent.
22
I believe that the U.S. was similar Finland and other Scandinavian countries post WWII. High taxes, GDP growth rate 4-5% per year), a relatively generous social safety net, a place where people largely worked together for the common good. But then the conservative movement gradually took over in the U.S. Even Democrats like Bill Clinton bought into it. Low taxes, low GDP growth rate (2-2.5% year only with very large deficit spending), an abysmal social safety net and getting worse, huge and growing military, corruption everywhere you look, high poverty rates, lowered life expectancy, high but solvable murder rates... I'll stop there because the list is very long. I'd take my money and move to Europe if I had more. But Canada looks like a far more manageable option. Can I hold out until after the next election?
18
Surprise, surprise. American exceptionalism faces reality.
Let's not forget that the American founding fathers were landed gentry who fought for independence from taxes imposed by the crown. It's in our DNA. Some might say our fatal flaw. Add the gun craze, and well, just read the papers.
Wake up. Experiencing and learning from another system or culture can make you stronger, not weaker. It starts with an open mind. Thanks for the enlightening story.
38
The Great Depression forced Americans to embrace FDR's economic programs that saved capitalism from corporatism. His policies did not end the Depression due to the opposition wielded by his political foes. Military Keynesianism ended the Depression, and Roosevelt's vision of federal investment in programs for the benefit of the American people ended with his death. His "Four Freedoms" could not withstand the perversion of military Keynesianism that was thought to be the best way to prevent another depression. The United States created Cold War rhetoric that scared its citizens into paying for the world's most powerful military at the expense of social programs. A belief in American Exceptionalism, postwar triumphalism, as well as union strength, a progressive tax system, and the G.I Bill improved the lives of large segments of the white population and made Cold War propaganda not only acceptable, but popular. In this context, there was no further need for more government programs to address human needs. Decades of fear mongering made any governmental programs that would address human needs were anathema because they were "socialist", or worse "communist" despite economic decline at the end of the 70's.
Corporatism is back in full cry. The irony is that Donald Trump has been so catastrophic that many Americans have begun to see that other nations are far better off, and American Exceptionalism and the dream (by definition) that go with it are illusory.
14
Key to the Nordic system is that everyone directly experiences the benefits from paying tax. As the writer mentions, for example, childcare is subsidized for everyone in Finland, even the very rich. As long as a public services such as schools, hospitals and daycare hold a high enough quality that even the well-off (or people who don’t use many public services) feel that they also benefit, there’s direct buy-in from everyone to pay for things together. Also, by avoiding poverty (through a social safety net) and ensuring decent health and education, societies avoid some of the massive costs associated with crime and ill health - a day spent in prison or in a hospital is many, many times more expensive for a society than a child spending a day in a publicly funded daycare or school.
15
I well recall Anu Partanen’s 2017 op ed-- ‘The Fake Freedom of American Health Care'--- because it was so frank and unusual to read in U.S. media.
The TV show Democracy Now just interviewed Mikael Törnwall, Swedish author/writer for a Stockholm newspaper, on how they tax Swedes for social supports. The taxes are worth it, he says and gives examples. The transcript is on line.
Quote, "Swedish health care is almost entirely paid by taxes. I know that scares a lot of you guys, but...I pay almost equivalent in healthcare taxes than you would pay via your employer for health insurance. But what I also get is that I don’t have any copayments to talk about. The maximum copayment for is a few hundred dollars a year."
He says a country is actually more competitive, not less, if citizens have good health care and education. They are less sick, disabled, more trained, more productive for their economy and society.
And, in Sweden, no party runs on dumping their general welfare system.
My thought is---re the rich getting low cost college ---if they're taxed adequately, they do pay enough. It isn’t ‘free’. Then students aren't divided up into groups of payers and non payers. We divide people into groups.
Americans are peddled propaganda. We have our oligarchs and our GOP State Media FOX News that pretends to protect capitalism and freedom. Other countries with universal health care are also capitalist. They like profits. But not as highest priority over human rights.
26
Three salient sentences identify the impenetrable schism between the US and reason. First, "Finland’s capitalists cooperated with government...". Citizen's United allows US corporations to lavish their wealth on the .01%. They will never share the wealth until forced. Second: "The smart choice was to compromise..". In the US, compromise is perceived as weakness. In fact, Trump prides himself on changing the goals frequently to keep everyone off balance. Ergo, the trade war he claimed was "easy to win" shows no end in sight. Third: "Capitalism works better if employees get paid decent wages...". In the US, where perverse wealth accumulation is revered, capitalism is merely a modern day form of slavery. In the US, no experience, no formal training or even meaningful background checks are required for politicians who allege they can direct gov. Therefore, the US has a rapist running for senate in a southern state and a complete fraud in the WH.
The slide into irrelevance is inexorable in the US. Worse yet, their refusal to address Climate Change is taking 7 billion people with them.
18
As the legendary economist John Kenneth Galbraith observed decades ago: "The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness."
How little has changed in America's politics and business since then, and how far we have to go to build a society that actually cares about our mutual well-being.
If you travel outside the U.S., you can't ignore the evidence that the U.S. exceptionalism is a myth that we tell ourselves as a defense to recognizing that many other countries, like Finland, are happier, healthier, saner, and more equitably prosperous.
23
My health insurance premium alone is 50% of my take home pay. Then I still have an additional $7K out of pocket. And that is just for medical care.
16
When we visited Finland one of the first things we noticed was no one locks up their bikes. Then we realized -- why lock them up if everyone can afford one? Clearly it's a society built on trust, while in the US politicians like Trump are interested in sowing the seeds of distrust in everyone and everything but the dear old leader -- only Trump can fix it!. It's really very sad. The US could be a great country but chooses not to be.
19
@Ilona The sad fact is, the bike will be stolen anyway, so why bother. It is the only exception, though. You can leave your wallet in the street and there is a fairly good chance that you'll get it back with all the money and cards in it. And your mobile phone or handbag will likely be on the table in the cafe where you left it two hours ago, but your bike will be gone. They only want your bike.
3
I first visited Finland in 1984 enroute to Leningrad, and pinched myself about twenty times a day in that first, wide-eyed visit. Everything works in Finland - not a single out-of-order sign. Everyone has an air of dignity, and often a bachelor’s degree, from tram drivers to chambermaids. Folk artisanal traditions are honored, natural beauty is cherished, and you eat cloudberries at breakfast.
My only regret is that it took me 40 years to act on the determination made so long ago, and so young: life is better in Europe. More democratic. Kinder. Cleaner. More art. Less heartache. Run away!
67
@Bohemian Sarah
Your comment describes exactly my own reaction when I first made footfall in Paris in 1980: everything worked! In America, anything goes, but nothing works.
2
Nordic countries are capitalist, where everyone has access to capital, property, good education and health care.
America is feudal, where access to these things is restricted to the well-off.
168
Kick Finland out of NATO and make them pay for their own security. All of a sudden, not able to freeload off America's security umbrella, their "system" with all its "free" healthcare and amazing social programs won't be so amazing after all. Because none of it will exist; they won't be able to pay for it all.
Trump isn't wrong about NATO. All of these holier-than-thou nations spend nearly nothing on their collective defense, instead spending that money on social programs.
Meanwhile, the American taxpayer subsidizes their social programs to the tune of hundreds of billions. All money being spent on their security.
The U.S. system - in addition to founding the most innovative companies on earth - keeps those Fins safe and sound.
Plus - and this is the most important point - American corporations pay more corporate tax than Finish ones do...probably to help pay for NATO.
17
Good point, the Finns would probably agree. What do they actually receive from their contribution to NATO? Protection from Russian invasion? The Russians already annexed the Russian speaking parts of Finland during WWII. In fact the European countries and the US get very little practical benefit from NATO post 1989, apart from the arms industry, that is.
11
@Nick
They were not Russian speaking parts in Finland. During the wars in 1939 and 1941-1944 Finland evacuated practically all her people. It was 13% of the area and 13% of the population. Finland is bilingual, but the languages are Finnish and Swedish.
20
@JOHNNY CANUCK
A lot of good arguments. Just one problem though: Finland in not a NATO member state and never has been.
The Finnish Military has conscription for all 18-30 year old males and was the only country in WWII to be invaded but not occupied by the Soviet Union, losing parts of its territory but keeping its independence in the war. And that was without any outside help.
Finland is and has been responsible for its own security for a long time now, without any help from NATO or the American taxpayer.
112
We know high taxes are good for income and productivity based on the United States. There is a very strong correlation between states with high state and local taxes and high income and productivity. It is almost insane that the conventional wisdom is the opposite.
26
Are high Taxes good for business ?
Here are the data on the corporate tax in Finland and the US
The corporate tax rate in Finland is 20%
The corporate tax rate in the US is 21%
The "high taxes on businesses" in Finland are actually LOWER than in the US. That is L-O-W-E-R.
The headline is , sorry to say as I am all in favour of the Nordic Model , factually wrong .
13
Business tax is lower, but general income and consumption taxes are higher. The tax system in general is, however, a lot simpler.
25
@Woof
Those are marginal rates. Finnish companies actually pay the marginal rate, i.e., it is the effective rate. US companies rarely pay the marginal rate. Numerous companies have been able to pay an effective rate of near 0%. That is a huge difference and substantiates the claim that companies pay higher taxes (effective rate) in Finland.
See: https://www.businessinsider.com/fedex-income-tax-pensions-new-hires-2019-11?IR=T
12
I'm sure Finland is wonderful and good luck to them.
Comparing though a mostly homogenized culture and society, associated with severe weather conditions, a low foreign born population (7%) and just 5+m people, with other Western countries, especially one as large and diverse as the US is like chalk and cheese.
Finland is a member of the EU with full access to that market and the funding and protection that affords.
The free stuff comes at a cost. Total tax on the average income is estimated at 44%+.
11
You made the point of the article: the services we need to be a happy, healthy, safe society cost money. We all have to pay for them. So yes, all the “free” happy, healthy, and safety does come at a cost - to everyone.
23
And what if the 44% is worth a happier life,free from some of the fears that 40% (our poor) face every day! Do you really believe that a baseball player is worth a quarter of a BILLION dollars,while children go to sleep hungry?I have lived in and visited Europe(NOT JUST NORDIC EUROPE) for over 60 years. Most all are happier than we are. Also, we are not diverse,we are Americans all ,
26
@Mindful
You don't need services to be healthy. Health care is for people who are not healthy. To be healthy, you need good diet, exercise, and sleep. "Health care" is a misnomer.
From what I read, more health care = more opioid addiction. What percentage of visits to doctors involve a painkiller?
I'm all for free contraception. I've donated to Planned Parenthood.
3
I was in Denmark some years back, and ended up talking to some people who said the same thing. I asked if higher taxes and more regulation limited their freedom. But because they get so much in return, the answer was no. The gist of what one man said was “I am more free to pursue my interests (including taking a chance on opening a business) because I don’t have spend all my energy worrying about retirement, health care and putting my kids through college.”
Freedom takes many forms beyond making as much money as possible. There are almost certainly vast differences between how the U.S. and the nordic countries view society. We Americans should at least consider whether our view limits our ability to at least imagine a better way of living.
66
Let's not be so quick to blame the GOP and their enablers (i.e. Fox News and right wing media). Neoliberal Democrats, including many who identify as centrists, resist expansions of the social safety net just as fervently, and based upon the same Cold War ideological beliefs (e.g. fears that the US will become the former USSR or Venezuela).
12
Sorry - you cannot compare a country with a smaller than NJ to the US. Forget about the sheer size, but the homogeneity of the society makes it a much different dynamic. It’s like comparing bicycles to orange.
14
@Scott A.
I don't know about Finland, but Sweden has a higher percentage foreign-born residents than the US (around 20%).
The myth that the greater diversity of the US renders it incapable of maintaining a social democratic system is just that, a myth:
https://voiceofeurope.com/2019/10/nearly-1-5-of-swedens-population-is-now-foreign-born/
116
@scott are we saying that if everyone in the US were white there would be a greater appetite for universal health care and government funded college?
32
@Shyamela my point is there are so many different cultures, religions, ideals and overall belief systems in the US relative to these Nordic countries that there is no way to gain consensus to make the changes to which the author is referring.
9
Honest question. Why do people talk so much about health care? How often do y'all visit the doctor? I need a doctor about once every decade or so, and that's usually for a sports related injury, which, usually, would heal on its own without any medical aid. I don't take any medications. I get that people over 75 might need regular treatment, but the conversation about health care implies that a lot of people visit a doctor as often as I go to grocery store. I'm well-off and have coverage, but I use it about once every decade.
Do thin people under 70 need doctors? Honest question.
Everyone is talking about health care, but I seek out medical help less frequently than I seek out computer help. Who are these people who need medical treatment every other day? Do most people take a lot of medications and see a lot of doctors?
8
@Anti-Marx Yes, thin people under 70 need doctors. Me, for instance, I didn't want to give birth in my house. And those babies needed shots and routine doctor visits. Then I got breast cancer so that was a thing. But I salute you and your apparently uber-healthy cohort of friends and family who don't need medical care. The rest of us, by which I mean 90 percent of the population, require medical care more than once a decade.
59
@Anti-Marx Yes, thin people under 70 need doctors. Me, for instance, I didn't want to give birth in my house. And those babies needed shots and routine doctor visits. Then I got breast cancer so that was a thing. But I salute you and your apparently uber-healthy cohort of friends and family who don't need medical care. The rest of us, by which I mean 90 percent of the population, require medical care more than once a decade.
Also, twice a year: the dentist! Do it, it's amazing!
7
@Anti-Marx You are lucky. That is good! On the other hand, we are probably one of the few countries where one can go bankrupt and loose a sizable estate to pay for medical bills. We are also one of the few where you will see a jar at a restaurant or other business asking you to help pay for an emergency surgery that a child required. Your luck could change. We all need health care. Society is smart to invest in the education of its citizens. That enriches us all in the end. And, yes, everyone will need to pay more taxes but the benefits will be significant.
I would also ask why it is logical for businesses to have to buy insurance for their employees as is, perhaps uniquely required in the US? As this article says being freed from the encumbrances of having to pay for health care and education is good for everyone including businesses.
14
Most countries are one country, not made up of independent states like the US states. (The United STATES of America. One health care for all states come to fruition. But here's an idea. The federal government provides money to states whose residents want single-payer health their states. But, what may be more practical and work would be a regional health care. For example, northeastern states that want to join such a a regional arrangement with financial aid. Joining the rest of the Western world is past time. But it is doubtful it would happen soon. If the Dems win the presidency, there will so much clean up after Trump, which could take years. there may not be enough time or energy to put into place such a task of restructuring our health care system.
5
Amazing and eye opening article on what best practice capitalism looks like, with a working relationship between private and public sector. Sadly, in America, government is just regarded as evil and inefficient, and often it is inefficient lending credence to this view. The people who need to read this article and know what our country could be, I'm guessing have never travelled abroad and get their news from sources that would never report this. They will scoff at the idea that Warren's proposals could lead to a better future for them, and will be consumed by the lies around "socialism," how the higher taxes are only bad for them and for the country.
23
Well ain’t homogeneity a beautiful thing !
When we have one dominant culture and a small population with everyone speaking the same language, we can be just like Finland. Let’s not hold our collective breath.
15
@Unhappy JD I've never understood the "homogeneity" argument. It's not as if the lack of consensus in the U.S. is due to differences between various ethnicities and cultures, but rather between opposing economic systems largely heralded by relatively well-off people.
11
The homogeneity argument has been soundly debunked. Read more. Sweden is just as homogeneous as the US, and its well-being rivals Finland’s.
Racism and fearmongering and a deteriorating educational system have delivered us an American populace that ardently believes absolute hogwash that is detrimental, even dangerous, to their sanity, health, safety, and happiness.
@Unhappy JD spot on
Whenever I read rose colored lens stories like this, I'm compelled to see if the story's congenial and optimistic tone holds when viewed through the lens of race.
Surprise! (Or not).
Talk about privilege.
According to a EU report released last year, guess which country topped the list in a study on racism in EU countries?
Furthermore, the EU's agency for fundamental rights (FRA) found Finland to have the highest rates of race-related harassment and violence.
So I guess this LGBTQ , highly educated, tax paying & productive member of society will have to scratch Finland off my relocation list when America becomes the cesspool of hate and inequity she is determined to become.
14
@Jim C This is true and something that the "urban bubble" finds completely reprehensible.
It is, however, worth noting that while racism on the streets is a problem, institutional racism is not so to nearly the same extent. For example, according to the study you're referring to, respondents in Finland trust the police the most, and perceive police stops as racial profiling the least, out of all EU countries.
Obviously this in no way diminishes what you said, but is worth mentioning for the complete picture.
Also worth mentioning, though, is that the right-wing populist "True Finns" party is gaining support by the day, which is indeed a very worrying development.
5
I’ve read Anu Partanen “The Nordic Theory of Everything: In Search of a Better Life” and have traveled Finland extensively. With that being said, I’m very impressed with the social services available to residents of that country and I applaud the decisions they have made for themselves starting years ago.
However, I’m very concerned about what adding many of the services offered today by many of our Democratic candidates would do to the US’ current debt figures. The current democratic candidates promise many of these type of welfare benefits but have shown little more than taxing the wealthy as a way to afford these social service benefits. Is that really all it’s going to take to cover the costs for a population our size and the number of people wanting to make a life in the US from else where? I just would hate to see us dig ourselves a deeper hole financially, that could eventually cause worse problems for us as a country than we already have, down the road.
I’m not taking one side or another, I’m just concerned from a economic health perspective from our country. This is coming from an undecided voter in 2020.
6
@David
You are quite right, David. The country can only borrow so much money and Trump already filled that quota with the tax cut. There's no money left for anything else. It is gone.
Carry on.
17
@David
Your concerns should not fall only on the Democrats. The deficit has increased under Trump.
1
@David Our mantra,especially for Republicans for the last 70 years is lower taxes! It may sound good,in fact it,s a third rail in America, and guarantees defeat if you even say you should pay your FAIR SHARE!Wouldn,t you think it would be worth it if there was little or no graft or corruption, we paid more,and actually received the services we are continually promised
Thank you for this informative article about your life in Finland. I am truly saddened and angered by the lack of a universal healthcare system here in America. It should be criminal that our citizens are often denied the services they need to keep them alive. This is the case for hundreds of thousands of Americans.
It's been the platform of the Republican Party for all my life to fight, with all they have, to deny any kind of program that gives all Americans the right to the healthcare they need. It's time to vote them out of office and fight for the health of our fellow Americans no matter their wealth or social standing.
32
@Stephen I often wonder what Republicans think when they read the works of Hans Christian Anderson. Do they see anything wrong with leaving a child to freeze to death on the sidewalk while people hurry past to buy Christmas gifts and attend a church? Denmark used to have a harsh interpretation of Lutheran Christianity and then they changed to be more compassionate.
3
The Americans that would benefit from reading this article wouldn't believe any system is better than the U.S. The only downfall that sticks out for me is the extreme winters and lack of sunlight in winters. Hopefully, the U.S. congress, at some future point, be able to ensure we citizens are provided for as well as Scandinavians. Hopefully.
9
as i posted a couple of days ago european folks place a higher value on the quality of life for the whole of the population. as a rule europeans are amazed that healthcare bills are one of the main causes of bankruptcy in the us. also if you add in the level of student debt which so many americans are burdened with it is no wonder that the general level of prosperity has dramatically slowed down to the disadvantage of all(well maybe not for billionaires - maybe). if student dollars were used for folks to invest in homes and all the contents that are required to make a home a home rather into banks etc., and into the government treasury
12
I was fortunate enough to live in Finland on two different occasions; once for about 6 months and three years, later for almost a year. The authors have captured the essence of what makes Finland and the other Nordic countries so successful. There is a strong labor movement and an understanding among the business community of what makes for success in economics and society in the long run. And the playing field is a lot more like level than it is in the US.
Critics of the Nordic countries as "socialist" and "failing" are either uninformed, sloppy in their analysis, or merely parroting some nonsense from political hacks.
There are also some who dismiss the Nordic countries' experiences and successes because of their supposed monolithic cultures. This too is nonsense. In Finland, for example, Karelians are of a different culture than the Swedish Finns of the southwestern areas, as they are the Sami of the far north, and the conservative Lutherans of the middle north. There are also many refugees from failed states in all these countries. (This "observation" is, of course, a barely veiled attack on non-white populations in the US.) I'd bet that at least half the population couldn't find Finland on a world map.
So what's the basis of the problem in the US? Mostly it rests in the ideology that holds working people in contempt, in a half-baked Cold War notion of economics and politics, and an inability to understand that everything good or intelligent wasn't invented here.
69
The problem in America is crony capitalism!!! Americans, for the most part don't want to pay taxes. We Americans also believe that cutting taxes on the mega rich and mega corporations will cause the creation of living wage jobs. NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH! The mega corporations/rich don't create good paying jobs. They hoard the money from tax cuts to bribe politicians and increase their own wealth! The latest jobs report doesn't tell the whole story/truth. Most jobs (90% of them) aren't living wage jobs. And the average American citizen, the working poor and vanishing middle class, are working two or three jobs, to make ends meet. Thus, there are a GREAT MANY UNEMPLOYED AMERICANS!! Wake up America, if it's not already too late!!
3
The fact is that we're always going to a have a government with government services, and we're very likely going to have private corporations and a market sector as well. Instead of pretending that the private and public sectors are engaged in a zero sum game - they aren't - we should try to build the best institutions we can. And there is ample evidence that an effective universal health care and educational system are essential to creating an environment for a prosperous society.
Not everybody needs a luxury mansion or a flashy sports car. The market can deal with that. But everyone should have access to health care and education, without risk of bankruptcy. That's how you build a decent, flourishing society.
31
Thank you for an outstanding article regarding Finland, the USA, our separate governments and insights into capitalism and socialism.
When I grew up and went to college (1950's and 1960's), it was a
period where private and public sectors worked together to move our country forward, provide benefits for our citizens, and make this an extraordinary place to live and raise a family. Without focusing on the differences we blended social democracy into a working capitalism to provide a solid future for most of us. It turns out they were the best of times for those of us in the Silent Generation and emerging Middle Class.
It appears those days are gone as Republicans have carved out Extreme Capitalism since the days of Reagan that benefit the few rather then the majority. As a result, our country has gone downhill rapidly for the majority of citizens. Finland, Norway, and Sweden are good examples of how social improvements such as universal education, healthcare, childcare, and improvements to Social Security and Retirement could benefit corporate capitalism. The year 2020 offers an opportunity once again to blend the best of both worlds together.
19
Extreme capitalism is prominent in our daily lexicon of issues because that is the micro focus of the leftist press. The reality is that many more folks are successful than is reported. Even under Obama the press never reported when commenting on the hollowing out of the middle class, that many more people moved up the ladder than went down or stayed in the middle. The liberal Pew Trust even published a very interesting study that confirmed this , using real facts and real numbers to document this upward movement. Forgot about the billionaires....they really don’t impact our lives significantly. Keep your eye on the real Main Street economy to make proper assessments of where we really stand in our economy. Don’t be envious. Channel your energy for success and be grateful when achieved.
From 1999 to 2009 I was fortunate to work in Massachusetts for the Finnish company Nokia during its heyday. Our family's two years living in Helsinki was wonderful. It's true -- not having paperwork or bills for medical treatment is liberating. Everyone pays their fair portion in taxes. In return we got freedom from worries, hassles, bureaucracy.
And why not educate everyone as far as they want to take themselves? A highly educated society with no student debt, time to be with babies, support for excellent daycare (without having to spend one parent's salary on it) is powerful. But wait, there's more: no stress about college or retirement costs!
I observed that Finns work hard, then also have time for family, relaxation, real hobbies, travel. Most businesses basically shut down for four weeks in July (OK, summer is too short) and everyone heads to a summer cottage on the water (180,000 lakes and 180,000 islands means cheap waterfront property). Yet businesses are profitable. Many believe perhaps more successful, because employees are happy, have lower stress, and real balance in their lives.
When someone tells you they don't want the government taking away their health insurance or taking theis money in taxes, they truly don't know what they're missing.
104
US per capita GDP: $62,606; Finland: $49,845. By my calculations, that makes the us substantially better off.
Which is not to say that we couldn't learn quite a bit from countries around the world. Finland doesn't start formal education until 6. Sweden has universal school choice and no minimum wage. Norway drills in the Arctic and off shore. If the Norse impose fewer regulations, better protect private property, and engage in freer trade, bully for them and let's follow their lead.
But any measure of (say) economic mobility needs to consider: Denmark has a princely 5 million people, likely very few of them are illegal aliens or unskilled foreigners. Many of the Norse have a deeply ingrained ethos against sponging: they believe it is sinful to take out more than you put in. You might notice, this is not a problem among Americans.
Here, our left NEVER emphasizes what people (except "the rich") owe to the collective; they're all over what the collective owes to people. The Norse would likely look with horror upon someone like AOC promising all manner of goodies to "those unwilling to work".
The author lapses into untruth: "this requires capitalists and corporations to pay ... more taxes than their American counterparts currently do.". No. It requires everyone to pay higher taxes: a person making $50K or so sees a marginal rate of 60%. Because NOTHING is ever "free".
People who want to live like that can join a kibbutz. Please leave those of us who like freedom out.
9
@Michael You're mostly wrong - it is the rich that are feeding at the public trough and getting rich. Even the professional class which largely supports democrats and in the 1% are doing the same. I'd say a lot of the top 10% (government workers and the like) are also the same. Some of these are Republicans too.
The small business owner (my wife is one) is the one who struggles the most in this country.
The entire concept of work for money has to change. Sure, there's all these things about ethical behaviour but my philosphy in life which has served me well is to give without thinking. I have been given so much without expecting anything. Wouldn't change a thing.
6
@Michael Some basic arithmetic: 62K-49K = 13K. A typical family of 4 spends nearly that amount on the differential in health insurance premiums and deductibles ALONE. Now, add to the US side all of the property taxes and tuition fees (even at state schools), and suddenly and quite immediately your sanguine and simplistic math has gone out the window.
28
@Michael
Scandinavians love freedom and they have more of it than you and every American, it's not even close. No student debts mean earlier home ownership and more financial security. No health insurance but universal coverage means a person can never be denied or go untreated, it also means that a person doesn't go bankrupt because they had the misfortune of getting sick or being in an accident. Robust unions and labor laws means people get paid fair wages, they have shorter work weeks, and they have longer vacations and family leave time; Scandinavia is incredibly productive and the people here aren't working themselves to death.
Having more things to buy doesn't mean you have more freedom, it just makes you a consumer, a gluttonous leech missing out on the world around you while draining the life from it.
27
The economies of Western Europe are not doing well and especially compared to our off the charts economy. In Europe they have negative interest rates, high unemployment, no wage growth, and very slow growth.
Low taxes do seem to be working very well in this Trump economy as wages are now rising at about 4.5% a year finally after showing much slower growth through Obama years.
8
@Dan Really, wages are rising by 4.5% ? Gee what country do you live in ? I work in a hospital and my wages have been going up 1.5% per year for the last four .
9
@Dan
*****The economies of Western Europe are not doing well and especially compared to our off the charts economy.******
The US economy isn't "off the charts" but has been managing about 1.3% annual per capita real GDP growth for most of the last two decades. That's a decent number for an advanced economy, but is hardly off the charts. And, as the article tells us, plenty of other countries are managing comparable levels of success while doing so in a manner that benefits the many, and not just the few.
13
@Dan The article is not talking about "Western Europe" any more than it is talking about "All of the Americas." The article is comparing Nordic countries to the USA.
You might want to re-read for detail?
12
He should mention that a big secret to the success of these government programs is they keep costs low. Low salaries for health care workers and very bare bones higher education programs with almost zero hand holding. It's a trade I'd be willing to make but don't pretend there isn't a trade off.
6
@Aurthur Phleger Zero hand holding is better than the over hand holding which only causes people to think they are better than they are at some specific thing.
At the high levels here (Stanford, Harvard, etc.) it is the same. Hand holding doesn't go far in those places.
2
@Aurthur Phleger
have you participated in Finnish or Scandinavian higher education? I agree that, in most EU higher education, there is less hand holding than here, but hand-holding is only a trait of those US colleges that have also given in to grade inflation and other diluents. MY guess is that there is very little hand-holding in Columbia Univ, Stanford, MIT, etc.
As to health care wages, the global wage database at ERI SalaryExpert shows Registered nurses starting at Eu44K with median at Eu60K. To be sure, Cardiologists, Dermatologists, and other specialists can't expect to make Eu450K as in the USA, but that is a measure of policies which compress high-to-low pay scales into a less unequal range. They are not low salaries.
8
@Aurthur Phleger
Doctors, nurses, etc make less but not by much. They still lead great lives here. Hold on, less hand holding? Let's consider the totality of their experience. Students are going to school, tuition free, and they are given monthly stipends so they don't have to worry about working while they study. They may expect their students to do more on their own but their starting at a place of incredible privilege, you're also not factoring in that this is what they do culturally, their whole lives, people are expected to complete work tasks or assignments without much help or direction even though there is a very cooperative, communal ethos here.
5
The American public was sold a bill of goods starting 50 years ago with "the government IS the problem" thinking. The result? No social mobility, a divided nation, low quality education, all resources and activity fully monetized. Day to day survival is a full-time preoccupation of a significant portion of the populace.
I live in a democratic socialist nation too. I pay high taxes. For this I get peace of mind and a government that has my back.
111
This is one of the best summaries of our American predicament that I have read.
I apologize that my reciprocal understanding of the the EU is lacking.
“Preoccupation with survival” is exactly the current tragedy of American life. Might I add that what time is left over has to be devoted to understandable self-soothing in front of the illusion of company on TV and social media.
10
I lived in the Netherlands and in France for a total of seven years. It's not just Finland, it's western Europe that understands the concepts that have made Finland successful: to net it out, a fair deal for every person with respect to health, education, and opportunity.
I wish all Americans had the chance to see what I saw. There are better ways.
The wealthy in this country have played for keeps and won, in my opinion, through a con game. And most of the victims of the con still don't see it. Maybe if they had a chance to see how it works elsewhere, they would finally get it.
Warren is the candidate who best exposes the con, in my opinion. We have to admit that both Obama and Clinton let the con keep running, only making tiny steps in the right direction.
63
@Incontinental You know I meant to add that it's ironic that the model that the Western European countries adopted successfully was based on how things worked here in the US under Eisenhower. We invented it. My father went to college for free under the GI Bill. I went to college for almost nothing at a state university. There were no co-pays for health insurance. The elderly had company pensions that provided enough to live on. We had it before they did, and we gave it up.
Am I the only one who remembers this?
93
I remember, and clearly. One of the gravest shocks of my Baby Boomer lifetime has been watching every one of Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms get trampled under runaway Reagan and Republican profiteering, year after year, culminating in our current grim reality.
Our grandparents and great-grandparents survived steerage across the Atlantic, scrimped through the Depression, and fought in WWII for the America you remember. Not this desperate dog-eat-dog dystopia.
6
I bought some Nordic funds back when everybody had a Nokia phone. Why not give some developed, high tax countries a chance? Those investments doubled and doubled again.
But we are not Scandinavia. We have large groups of people without skills. We have guns, we have religious intollerance and most of all, we have very wealthy people, deeply invested in a society of haves and have nots.
It's unfortunate that we can't take people on a 2-week tour of Scandinavia and let them see the "horrors" of good schools, good wages and healthcare, first hand.
161
@JR
How are those Nordic and Finnish funds doing now that Nokia is a fallen angel and no longer a shooting star?
1
Why not enact universal education and health care at the state level, since states are comparable in size to Nordic countries? States are the so called laboratories of democracy, so given our wide differences in political beliefs in this country, let states decide for themselves. If the Finnish model truly is great for business, states that offload health care, childcare and education obligations from businesses should attract more businesses than those that simply provide tax breaks and subsidies.
9
@NK I don't think I would want the state of South Carolina to create a healthcare system. After a recent experience with lousy, post-Obama insurance, I am afraid that this is exactly what the state would provide unless it was required to maintain federally mandated standards, and even then it would certainly do only the minimum. A universal health care system could be administered by the states, but don't let the state decide what to provide.
3
@NK Good idea. You could do as Canada did - REQUIRE the provinces to provide universal health care with standards set by the Federal govt. and let them go about it any way they like. Some could go for Obamacare with a a public option, some would choose single-payer, but the resultant competition would drive innovation and invite comparisons. In Canada, they all eventually converged to single-payer. But maybe some creative state would come up with something better. All the Nordic countries as well as the U.K. have found out that single-payer works for them, but other EU countries have systems based on private insurance (Ireland, Germany). Any EU person travelling within the EU gets emergency care under the system where they get sick, and the costs are worked out between the systems without the patient having to navigate insurance claims.
6
A glaring omission in this article. Finland has a population of 5.5 million. The USA population 360 million. I am a proponent of some social safety net programs. However, is it safe to assume it is slightly more complicated to deliver these services to 355 million more people?
16
@Greg
Of course it is more difficult to deliver services to a much larger, heterogenous population, but that doesn't mean we can't or shouldn't try.
24
@Greg not if this is done state-by-state. Then it becomes increasingly more manageable AND regardless, anything is possible.
8
@Greg
America has an economy that is also vastly larger than Finland's. So come again...
12
Yang is the only one who frames medicare for all in this light, saying that small businesses will do better with the weight of healthcare off of their back. The largest hurdle democrats have to win back the working class is optics, rather than actual issues with democratic policy. Yang, in my opinion, is the best at framing issues considered far left as pragmatic and common sense.
36
Just remember global companies locate in Finland because they pay zero taxes on foreign earnings the same applies to Finish firms. The Fins also expertly exploit every natural resource they have with, for export. Almost all property is privately owned so they can develop their resources efficiently.
3
@Tammy The Finnish lumber industry, for example, harvests in sustainable and renewable ways, and has been doing so for more than a generation. Check out the history of, for example UPM Kymmenen, a lumber giant.
Your last sentence betrays a bias against public lands and their exploitation, as if American companies in the lumber, oil, gas and other extractive industries were giants in renewable management of their holdings. How did you get to that conclusion? And what is your evidence for the statement "almost all property is privately owned?" Is the percentage of privately owned property that much higher than in the US? And remember, all the lands acquired by the US after the treaty of Paris in 1783 were acquired by the Federal Government by treaty, purchase, and war, and distributed much of that space for free under that Homestead Act (1862) and other such acts.
7
The best flattery is mimicry. We should study this closely and try to absorb what has brought such success to the Nordic countries. I am sad for our country-we do not understand the value of providing a safe home, food, a high quality education, and great health care. I am starting to believe that there must a benefit to some portion of our society in keeping these things from us. Someone is gaining by most of us being forever stuck trying to survive financially-working more and more and making less and less progress.
22
From someone who has experienced middle-class life in both the US and a country with strong social insurance programs, a welcome, informed answer to recent columns by David Brooks and Bret Stephens, whose experience is that of privileged, affluent Americans.
64
What has always astounded me about my fellow Americans is their almost instant recoil when universal health coverage is discussed. The response is always the same, "but that's socialized medicine." Why is this so scary? A progressive tax instead of monthly premiums, co-pays, and deductibles. A card that gets you into any hospital and to see any doctor; never mind whether or not he/she is in your "network."
Finland is a model in many ways; they revere their teachers; they are highly educated in the field of teaching and are afforded the professionalism they deserve.
Why the U.S. does not see the parallel of good education, good health care, along with capitalism with more of an equal partner with the working class as the foundation of a society that is more productive and less bent on lawlessness.
What ever happened to for the "common good," aspect to a society we all wish to live.
73
@Diane I am now 59, and I remember when I was a kid my lower-middle class grandparents - both sets - would visibly shudder when anything close to the topic of public health care came up: "Socialized medicine - we don't want that!". It wasn't until I was an adult that I looked back on this and thought, what on earth do they know about public health care, what was their source of information? They weren't policy wonks by any stretch of the imagination.
My conclusion is that someone did a real propaganda number on their generation, and I believe this had such a strong impact as to filter down to my parents and my own generation. Someone should research that and write an article - ah, in fact they have:
https://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/The-312/October-2012/How-the-AMA-Scared-Us-Away-From-Socialized-Medicine-and-Prepared-Us-For-Obamacare/
21
@Diane
I'm not sure we ever really had that aspect of society here. Maybe for a couple of decades after WWII, when government felt the need to do right by the generation that came of age in the Great Depression and fought WWII. But when the West sank into crisis in the 1970s, the response of the U.S. government was a new version of the 1920s-style limited government--basically a shredding of the postwar social compact.
"Lawlessness" is a good for it--to a certain extent at least.
8
Yes the AMA had scared people away from universal health care. But now there is an organization called:
"Physicians for a National Health Program - PNHP"
They say: "The answer to our health care crisis is clear. We propose a publicly financed, non-profit single-payer national health program that would fully cover medical care for all Americans."
Where's the publicity on them? I've never seen them mentioned on cable TV news, or in NYTimes columns or articles.
I don't know if our 2020 candidates have used this group as support for Medicare for All. If not, why not?
You would think this group would be an important news item in US media---in the only world democracy without HC for all, even under ACA.
There's also a group called "Patriotic Millionaires" who favor higher taxes on the rich. See multi millionaire Nick Hanauer. He gave a Ted Talk on this.
Hey, US media---where's the coverage on these groups?? Not newsworthy enough? Or does it look too 'left wing' per the definitions laid down by the mega donors to our elections? Who pay for the high cost political ads that bring profit to our media.
Per Wiki-- Many countries don't even allow paid campaign ads on their media. These are the same countries with HC for all, who also don't allow pharma ads on TV either. Imagine that. It all works together---a different planet.
4
Finland is a small country with a political consensus. The US is a large country with no political agreement. Finland works because there is probably 2/3 to 3/4 popular agreement on taxes, health care, employment law etc. In the US there is no such agreement. A sizable part, if not an outright majority of the electorate is opposed to single-payer health care, tax increases or anything else that smells of socialism. Some Americans may want to go the Scandinavian road, but there are more than enough who don't. Socialism is not happening in the US.
9
@r a
The disagreement you describe is the result, not the cause, of the disparities in the US. If there was a proper social safety net in the US, the influence of political and social disagreement would become background noise.
13
@r a It was a political consensus arrived at through years of negotiation, as it was in a multitude of countries around the world. Why not in the US? Figure it out. It's not hard if you check out some history of the country.
6
@SpyvsSpy Indeed. We'd have a lot less petty disagreement if people felt more secure about their shelter, their health, and their children's ability to live life.
Capitalists in the Americas have always divided to conquer, starting with race-baiting in the 17th century and continuing today with red/blue baiting.
8
Funny. The Nordic countries brick and mortar retailers are growing--2%-3%, where retailers in the USA or shrinking. Maybe it pays to have a middle class if you're trying to sell stuff?
50
@Terry Lowman News to me. In Norway these retailers are closing like crazy.
2
@Terry Lowman As Elenore Roosevelt said: "when everyone does better, everyone does better".
@Terry Lowman As Jim Hightower aid: "everyone does better, when everyone does better".
The United States suffers from arrogantly thinking they're the best nation on Earth. This thinking cuts them off from learning from others. There are so many countries doing health care 1000 times better than the United States. If this nation was humble, smart, and open to learning, it could have a think tank devoted to learning how other countries do healthcare so much better than the United States, and start finding ways to implement real change. But no, the United States is THE best nation on Earth and we don't have anything to learn from anyone.
The author has one thing right, America says it's all about freedom, yet Americans are less free in many ways than citizens in most other industrialized nations. Yes they're free to say whatever they like, but they're not free from the corrosive stress of healthcare or debt or starting a new family without any parental leave. They're shackled to jobs they despise, to pay exorbitant rates for healthcare that costs considerably less in other "socialist" nations.
129
@Lisa: “The United States suffers from arrogantly thinking they're the best nation on Earth. This thinking cuts them off from learning from others.“
I wholeheartedly agree. And I feel that my city has that same full-of-itself attitude.
5
If we want Finland we can have it but let’s be clear about the price .
It will primarily fall on the middle class .
In Finland someone making as little as 70,000 a year is taxed at the highest rate of 50%
Even the Fins realize that you cannot tax capital too much. Their corporate tax rates are very close to those in the USA .
They realize that capital is mobile and will to go where it gets the fairest return,it has no reason to stay in a confiscatory environment .
Thus the burden falls on the middle class.
Furthermore I would be very hesitant to trust the USA government with our healthcare .
To get an idea of what it would be like try visiting your local DMV office .
9
@Ben Comparing my experiences with the DMV and Social Security with my experiences with the health care system strongly suggests that it would be a good deal.
21
Not sure, but the last time I checked, the US Gov’t didn’t run a single DMV. Those are state run. And some work quite well and some don’t work well at all.
I’ve patronized for-profit businesses that were privately owned and others that were publicly traded. I’ve used and contributed to non-profit organizations and used the services of both federal and state run ‘public’ institutions. What they all seem to have in common, wether they are privately or publicly managed, is that you have some good employees and some bad employees. You have some good managers and some bad managers. Just because something is a public good or a public service does not make it inherently bad or dysfunctional. I think fire departments and most public schools work just fine at state and local level. I’m glad the Natl. Institutes of Health and the CDC are improving health and protecting us from bad health outcomes at the federal level.
The last time I checked, it wasn’t federal or state governments that caused the Great Recession in 2008. That was the private banks and mortgage related companies. Pretty sure Enron wasn’t publicly run by any Gov’t. Does anyone actually like their privately run...(insert name of 1. Cable provider, 2. Internet provider 3. Cell phone provider, 4. Health insurance provider or 5. frequently used airline?)
8
@Ben The high tax rate _kicks in_ for earnings exceeding around 70,000 US$ in Finland. The portion of income below 70,000 US$ is taxed a lower rate. I do agree that the burden falls on the middle class, but the Finnish middle class arguably receives commensurate value in return. I don’t think you can say that’s true of the middle class tax payer in the USA.
4
This article is very interesting but perhaps a tad overblown -- both in terms of the idyllic way in which life in Finland is pictured, and in the author's glum comparisons with what is true of the United States she has left behind and what will become of it. Obviously it is necessary to rationalize and justify a move of such proportions, but as a senior on a slender budget I could not afford a V.A.T. tax and I am very glad that we do not have it in the United States. Also, I ask myself, what are Finland's immigration policies? Are they yet more narrow than ours? And in what language are these idyllic schools conducted? If in Finnish, is it necessary to learn English, too? What kind of culture is Finland able to sustain, or does it import a lot of it -- from movies to music to (you should pardon the expression) art? In other words, would Finland be able to enjoy its present existence if it were not for neighbor nations that supply a lot of what it may not have?
4
@Piri Halasz Most students in Finland are at least bi-lingual and many are tri-lingual. English is spoken all over Finland. I taught in Finland on two different occasions. Some of my Finnish students spoke and wrote better English than some of my American students.
The Finnish art scene and design scene are both lively and original. Ever heard of Alvar Aalto, Timo Sarpineva, Eero Saarinen, Essa-Pekka Salonen, Jan Sibelius, etc.? Like all other cultures, Finland synthesizes work of other peoples and "exports" elements of its culture, as in the case of Salonen and Saarinen. Finnish folk culture survives in both academic and vernacular architecture, songs, and tales, as well as foodways, dress, and other cultural elements.
9
@Piri Halasz
Finland's ranked higher than the US in the Migrant Policy Index - the data is a little dated but I hope it will get an update soon: www.mipex.eu/finland
If you get to the front page, you can also play with the data and compare indicators between the US and Finland. I'm on my phone so I unfortunately cannot link directly to the relevant comparisons.
As for the culture and art scene, it's vibrant. Annual library lending per capita is over 15 books a year, book fairs are major events where the President comes to hang out among the audience. Besides having the most metal bands per capita in the world (or was it just Helsinki?) most people I know play music, or draw, paint, sculpt, make handicrafts. This is of course based on my own experience, but although Finland's cultural production and export might be limited in some fields by its language, the fact people have free time for these enterprises, which also get support from the state, sustains it.
4
As an addition to my previous comment, I'm linking here another comment about symphony orchestras: https://nyti.ms/2s8zVXa#permid=104030463
1
Great pictures of Helsinki. I found Finland to be a wonderful country on both my visits. The berries are as good as Michigan’s and they have speed cameras so drivers don’t speed as much as here.
2
@Diane A propos speeding in Finland: Fines for speeding are income indexed. They are assessed based on a percentage of your declared income, so they hit everybody equally hard. One of the Finnish millionaires was fined 116000 Euros for speeding on his motorcycle.
8
The argument people here have made that Finland's social programs wouldn't make it here in the U.S. b/c we are not a homogeneous society leaves me confused. Everyone here participates in funding social security and medicare, really the only two nationally funded safety net programs.. So if Congress and the Executive wrote new social programs into law, the population would then have to pay for those too. Just like we pay for medicare and SS. Being homogeneous has nothing to do with it. It's lack of political will that has everything to do with it.
67
@hmsmith0
Very well said. This is a simple and cogent way to discuss a very bad argument!
5
@hmsmith0 I can't speak for others, but my argument about "homogeneous population" being a hurdle is this:
It comes up again and again whenever compared against other nations.
It's thinly-veiled form of racism. It's also a view that is unfortunately held by a significant number of Americans, so it's a real hurdle.
5
Americans want big, loud and noisy. That's what we're taught to want and to expect. In the last 40 years it hasn't been the middle and working classes that have been catered to at all. Nor have the poor been given handouts. It's been the wealthiest businesses, individuals, and families that have benefitted from downsizing the government, tax cuts, and tax breaks. Working Americans have shouldered the burden of a crumbling infrastructure, a failing wealth care system that masquerades as a health care system, an indebtedness for a college education that is ridiculous, and the severe anxiety of watching life's necessities become unreachable because salaries have not kept up with the real cost of living anywhere in America.
But it's okay. The economy keeps on adding jobs. Whether these are good jobs with benefits or temp jobs that last a few months doesn't seem to matter to our politicians. All that matters is that there are jobs and that unemployment is low. It's a wonderful excuse for not properly funding the government, cutting social welfare programs, and telling working or unemployed Americans to shut up and accept their lot in life.
If I were some of these corporations and families and yes, politicians, I'd go read my history of the French Revolution, the Communist uprisings, and a few other revolutions. Revolutions occur when too many people have too little. It's happening here.
12/7/2019 11:03pm first submit
75
@hen3ry, your comments are always insightful.
Americans have been fed right wing propaganda over many decades; "pull yourself up by the bootstraps; shining city on the hill; work hard and prosper; best medical and education system in the world; freedom of personal choice". All of it designed to call into question the need for government policies that actually help people and create a better business environment. Rather they support a myth.
Today's world is complex, requiring higher levels of basic and advanced education with ongoing training at an affordable cost. If people can't affordably access it they become ineligible for a living wage, yet many states have reduced subsidies to all levels of education. Business also reduced its internal training for higher profits.
Healthcare and population health in America is uniquely an individual responsibility, as is the cost. America has some of the most advanced treatments in the world, if you can afford it. If you can't, then it is useless. Spreading the cost is the norm elsewhere. Negotiating at a national level for better prices on drugs, physicians and hospital charges produces savings that benefit everyone, the wealthy included. I don't understand why every American can't see that.
The American model is not working for the vast majority, but Americans are so committed to the myths, they can't see the truth about successful alternatives.
5
As a Canadian there was little in the article I found particularly surprising: not so the comments. It is surprising that so many comments conclude that because America’s population is less homogeneous than Finland’s there is just nothing to be done, as if those who are not - what? - white? - have no interest in better schools for their children, better access to healthcare for their families, parental leave, etc.
136
How honest and refreshing. This should be required reading for every member of Congress, and every member of the current and future administrations.
So often, "socialism" is confused with authoritarianism, intending to make us fear that our lives would be less free. But this shows exactly the opposite. Democracy is much healthier and stronger in the Nordic countries. And the freedoms that we all long for - that allow us to thrive in our daily lives - are far more available there. Please, everyone ... read and learn.
34
@Nancy O'Hagan I agree. But I suspect at least half our Congress members are so soaked in old Cold War bilge and the prevarications of oligarchy that seeks to run the country that it wouldn't make a dent in their skulls.
1
Why is it that those who live outside the U.S. embrace social programs, greater equality and pay for all, universal health care, subsidized child care and so on while the Americans seem to find convenient and phony excuses as to why these programs would never work here? The U.S. is powerful and mighty when it comes to bullets and bombs and offer freedoms galore but badly lacking in essential programs that most Americans call progressive or socialist. The U.S. is so heavily into self reliance along, love of money and stuff and an archaic Wild West gun policy that it's no wonder we continue to fail in so many ways. Media don't help either.
35
@Sammy Zoso Good questions. And the "Wild West" gun laws are based almost entirely on fabrications and movies and TV. Cities and town throughout the West in the nineteenth century enacted laws forbidding carrying guns and laws against discharging firearms within their boundaries.
7
What many authors fail to understand is that these pint-sized European countries are so small, that managing all the realities are easier. They have so meagre populations.
America has world's third largest population. Do you think it is possible to have such public schools for everyone in USA?
All the Nordic and Scandinavian or European countries do not have issues related to over population.
Easy to point out problems in a large country.
4
@Nikhil Sharma America is not over-populated. Vast swaths of the country are virtually uninhabited, and not all of them because they are in desert areas or mountainous areas that are inaccessible. Small populations mean less tax dollars coming in, so your reference to country sizes is not relevant; it's national wealth that matters--and the desire to serve all of the population.
8
@Nikhil Sharma You're wrong. They are facing those problems. Danes are questioning their social safety net. Other countries have large Muslim populations.
I think that American politicians lack the nerve to do this. After all, so many of them are bought and paid for by their large rich donors who don't want to pay more taxes even if it might improve society.
You list Mumbai as where you are located. What's India's excuse for its extremes in income and wealth? And if India isn't doing anything to improve things it's a shame. Nothing stirs up unrest faster than being unable to improve one's lot in life unless it's watching others have a good time at one's expense.
1
wait, I thought that the US is the richest country in the world per capita, Why does our total size mean we can't deliver good gov run programs? it's just a matter of good organization. Are you saying we don't have people who can do this?
2
Incredible article. Albeit Finland is a much smaller country than the US, this it’s problema are of a lesser scale, it has found its path as a nation, while keeping the same competitive spirit that characterizes our country, there are many lessons to be learned from them.
6
I lived in Helsinki for three years, and I’m liberal who expected to love everything about living in a social democracy. But a couple moving from a Brooklyn apartment to Finland wouldn’t notice a difference us midwesterners see: Finns live small. One small car for a whole family. A townhouse with one bathroom for a family. None of these cheap. Visiting me in Minnesota, my Finnish relatives think my craftsman bungalow is a mansion with its three floors and three bathrooms. And this is my starter house. There were things I loved and miss about Finland, including the excellent healthcare, the respect Finns have for teachers and education, the elegant public transportation and the trust they have in their government because they understand that they are their government. But frankly those weren’t enough to keep me from wanting the familiar creature comforts of a big house in a country with a big, loud, messy culture.
14
@Jenny have you thought about how much that big house costs? What happens to you if you become seriously ill, lose your job and your health insurance? Big, loud, and messy has a price. If you want to pay it that's great. But don't forget there are benefits to small, polite, and well run. We may be a big country but we can and ought to do better by each other than we are now.
30
@Jenny: “Finns live small. One small car for a whole family. A townhouse with one bathroom for a family.”
Jenny, I grew up in the Midway neighborhood in St. Paul. There were seven of us in my family. Small house: no dining room, only one bathroom. Three bedrooms for us five kids so only one, the oldest, had his own room. While it would have been nice to have had a little more room, we didn’t need the huge house that so many Americans have to have these days.
Living small is better for the planet.
25
@Jenny maybe the days of each of us living in a big old house in the country are over! Maybe that lifestyle is not sustainable any longer! What a waste heating that big old house with drafty old windows! What an old fashioned idea of "Creature Comforts"! Maybe well planned and smartly built small apartments with state of the art efficient appliances will be our only choice in the future if we want our planet to survive.
15
High taxes help give government employees something to do and a general feeling of contribution of wellbeing as they redistribute the fruits of others labors to people who don’t really do anything. This isn’t true of course, it’s just how it feels.
3
@Milton & Rose Friedman (dec.) Uncle Milt never got too far from his office at U of Chicago. Many of his theories looked great in print, but had little to do with actual economic behavior. The economic behaviorists have pretty much knocked the old boy to the mat. And markets do not balance themselves. That clever fable was about as sound as Adam Smith's "invisible hand." What a concept: You can't see it, but it's there. Really?
I don't want my smart children to be stuck in schools with dumb, disruptive kids.
I want my kids instructed by teachers who attended elite colleges.
I don't want to pay for other people's obesity.
To my mind, those are the three thoughts that keep the 1% opposed to giving up wealth (through taxes).
I attended a top 50 university and want my kids taught by teachers who went Ivy (more or less). I want my kids in class with other kids who test well, study hard, and pay attention in class.
My take may be skewed. Most of the 1% people I know are highly educated and super athletic. To them, wealth, education, and fitness are all sides of the same coin.
8
I wish you were wrong, but you’re not. I graduated from multiple top 25 universities. Having a perfect SAT score made this somewhat easier for me. I was also a professional athlete and remain vigorously active. I have instilled appropriate qualities in all of our children.
4
@Milton & Rose Friedman (dec.)
Mazel.
Breckenridge or bust.
Almost all of us are capitalists whose American dream is a Finnish reality .
We are progressing slowly in that direction .
5
When comparing the US with Finland, we can be stimulated by how we can do better. Fund a healthier, happier and supportive lifestyle could also create a more favorable business environment. Just keep in mind that Finland’s population is about that of Massachusetts, and it doesn’t have the same scale of immigration. So when ALL our democratic candidates raise their hand when asked if all immigrants—legal or not—should ALSO get full, socialized healthcare, maybe those of us in the more moderate camp get a bit nervous.
5
I can almost hear an army of angry nay-sayers getting ready to bash every statistic and every study cited in this article to pieces.
But I'm expecting something else, too. One of the excuses you always hear as to why this system won't work in America is there are "certain groups of people" who will ABUSE welfare benefits!
Have you heard this argument?
All we'll end up doing is subsidizing a bunch of "ne'r do wells" who will contribute nothing, and cause soaring government debt and even higher taxes!!
But the correct reply is that the benefits would be for EVERYONE, not just "certain groups of people".
The other arguments you'll be hearing are that we're "too diverse", and "too big". There's too much of a history of local government in this country, too much suspicion of "distant bureaucrats".
These are serious concerns. You'll probably have to redo our entire corrupt election system (and reduce a lot of the military-industrial complex as well) before you could even think about creating social welfare systems like they have in Finland.
But who says there can't be some compromise between federal and state powers in implementing something like this?
We did pull off the New Deal once, after all!
18
As others have noted in various ways, Finland is not the home country of a global military empire, with 700-800 military bases all over the planet and a vast, corrupting "military industrial complex." It is no "superpower" and doesn't imagine itself as the world's policeman.
All empires ultimately decline, quickly or slowly, depending on circumstances; there has never been an exception, in thousands of years. (It is now believed by some specialists that climate change played a major role in the decline of one of the world's first truly large empires, the Assyrian Empire.)
Possibly, the U.S. will become more suitable for Finnish-style government programs after the decline of its empire. ("But what will be left of the place by then?" asks Sennacherib.)
6
‘What we’ve experienced is an increase in personal freedom. Our lives are just much more manageable.’
Endless insipid right-wing attacks on government provision of services just make us all worse off. So depressing. Whether this is a workable American model is irrelevant. Something better is possible. But let’s focus on Q-Anon or Pizza-gate.
21
Finland is a small country. America is big. Finland is filled with Finns. America is 50 nations masquerading as states. Still. A healthy, well-educated populace, with help for parents and children, is what makes a country poised to take on change.
19
@Jenny Finland is filled with Finns, of whom a non-trivial number are folks who came from refugee backgrounds. Finland counts among its citizens now people whose families came from Croatia, Congo, Syria, and Somalia, as well as the indigenous Saami. The rural-urban rift in Finland is shaking up the government and causing huge debates about delivery of social services, like health care. The postal service recently went on strike. It's important not to over-homogenize the country. I agree with your last sentence, for sure, and will add that policies that support parents & kids are *truly* pro-family.
17
@Toaster I saw a lot of immigrants in Finland. I did a double take when I walked by a darkly pigmented child speaking perfect Finn to his equally rowdy pale friends.
Enough about Finland already. It’s a tiny country with a generic population on the other side of the world. Why does the U.S. media not focus on Canada? Same social democracy as Scandanavia, with strong capitalism and extremely an business-friendly environment. As an American living in Canada for many years now, I can tell you that this country is what the U.S. should look to for ideas. Canada sailed through the 2008 recession in part because of our very strong banking system, controlled with laws set by the federal government. In Quebec our educational childcare is world-class at $10/day—diapers and healthy meals included. We have universal healthcare. The majority of companies offer their employees additional private healthcare to cover those costs not covered by Medicare: dental, therapy, massages, etc. And the basic vacation package is 3-4 weeks. As for education, the latest PISA findings put Canada ABOVE Finland, just below China and Singapore. Canada is the country closest in culture to the US. University isn’t free, but it’s pretty darn close. But, no, let’s focus on Finland… or China, or Germany, or France.
47
@Jenny Schumacher Don't leave out Venezuela. The US can't possibly look at any of your ideas for the US because any of the ideas is Socialism, Venezuela was socialist, and Venezuela was a disaster. End of conversation, case closed. Thus, I currently don't see any evidence that the US will be able to fix its ills.
5
@Jenny Schumacher What is a "generic population?"
Everything you wrote about Canada is true and those of us with open minds and many who grew up near the border know that. Be careful, though, you might get loads of Americans wanting to move there, only to discover that your immigration policy favors certain skilled workers. Your last sentence makes no sense. The four countries are nowhere near equal in this discussion. It's about the Finns' beliefs about education, medical care, etc. and the small size of the population that are important here. One last thing: Lots of Finns playing in the NHL these days. I wonder if the number of Finish NHL players per capita is creeping up on the number of Canadian NHL players per capita. Even if it isn't, it's a pretty good showing for a small country with a "generic population, Whatever that is.
5
@Mitch
Venezuela wasn't really socialist. It had too many oligarchs and corrupt government officials who bled the system.
Socialism and capitalism seem to be misnomers, because what the article describes is a democratic society, with basic needs accounted for by regulated health, education, and public safety services, paid for by progressive taxation, and a resulting fertile ground for individualistic professionalism by a well-educated and productive work force. It is only capitalistic in that individual productivity is rewarded above subsistence economically. It is only socialistic in that basic welfare is provided collectively by mutual agreement. It is the type of social democracy where individual greed and commonweal are balanced.
The United States lost that balance in the eighties and now has ineffective production due to lack of basic welfare for the working class, with the wealthy moving production globally to capture more economical and skilled labor. What the country needs is neither capitalism or socialism, but rather a balanced social democracy as described in the article. Given the current governance and jurisprudence, the way seems blocked.
24
The Finns have gotten it right and they agree that they've gotten it right. The USA ia a very different country, though. We have many immigrants who haven't been well integrated into American society, a large number of nativists (the Christian Identity movement and such), a sizeable contingent of gun-rights activists, a widespread abhorrence of anything that looks like socialism, and a solid group of people who believe that Trump is the savior of America.
The problem is not that the Scandinavian model couldn't work here. It could -- if enough people believed it could. And we're very far from that.
Unfortunately.
15
@Paul Abrahams
Finland, like many other countries in the world, is a social democratic country where capitalism does well because they emphasize fairness, NOT the "dog eat dog, winner take all" mentality of America where many millions of people have been left behind in the process. The excuse of culture and size is a red herring. Contrary to all the naysayers who claim that it cannot happen in America because it is different is a result of decades of indoctrination by the "elites" and the wealthiest in America(including the media) whose sole purpose is to maintain the "status quo" at all costs including the "legalized" bribery of politicians whose job is to strictly serve the interests of their wealthy benefactors at the expense of everyone else.
America may have the strongest economy in the world, however, given, among other things, that it also has the most people in jail and the worst inequality of any of the western industrialized nations(including Finland), all of it has come at an extremely high price including, of course, Donald Trump.
28
The truth is Neither Capitalism nor Socialism ( communism) worked or create a society people are all lived well.
Historically, US, USSR,China, India, Brazil have used these systems. So far the the results are at best cannot even produced 1/10th of what is done in Scandinavian nations.
2
@su
Get one thing straight, once and for all, socialism is NOT communism.
1
It's a pretty giant oversimplification.
Not without merit and important points, but still....way too generalized.
Most Americans would not wish to live in the type of dwellings considered adequate in Finland. Most would not be willing to part ways with cars as many Finns have. Most would not be willing to live withing treatment options constraints offered by Finnish healthcare. And so it goes....It's apples and oranges. I am not passing judgment, but rather simply saying it's not as simple and "nice" as described in the article.
Finland also has one of the highest levels of suicide in the world. Climate is brutal.
There is one more issue which bears mentioning: For more than 100 years Finland has benefited as a commercial buffer between Russia and the West. A lot of money flow through Finland because of where it is and because it's literally an hour across border from St. Pteresburg. That's a unique benefit few other countries have.
It's a great life if you are willing to live within certain constraints and limitations. The sort that many Americans would struggle with and consider "unamerican".
12
While you make a few valid points, I don't agree with them all. I've been in Finland many times ... and would happily live in any of the dwellings I visited (except maybe student apartments). The educational and health care systems are superb. The worker benefits lead to a good work-life balance. And, it's considered one of the happiest countries in the world.
27
@Yuri Vizitei We live with different constraints and limitations. For example, we must support our cars because the only transportation infrastructure we invested in was interstate highways. We don't have employment mobility because our healthcare is tied to our jobs. Our younger generations can't buy houses because they bought expensive degrees when they were barely twenty years old, and must spend most of their lives paying for them. See how that works?
12
@Yuri Vizitei Finland's main benefit from being next to Russia was to make it clear that national cohesion was crucial to keep the country from suffering the fate of the Baltic countries. Even losing huge numbers of war dead and a tenth of their territory, having to resettle Karelian refugees, and paying a large war indemnity was better than having the country undergo occupation, Stalinisation and mass colonisation. The Finns I've spoken with don't consider their long border with Russia to be a unique benefit.
7
Thank you for this article. Having traveled extensively to Sweden over the last ~40 years, I've had similar observations and experiences.
What stands out for me is freedom from the tyranny of privatism that Swedes enjoy, along with the Nordic countries in general. These countries embrace regulations, mores and sanctions that protect people from bearing the externalized costs of other people's private benefits. There is so much we could learn from them, but ignorance will ensure that we don't.
35
@JH
Unfortunately, the vast majority of Americans have never owned a passport, as such, they will never experience the advantage of travel and if they did, what they might find would probably shock them.
The reality is, outside of the very wealthiest in America, when it comes to the real quality of life issues that are the most important to the vast majority of Americans, compared to many of those countries, America is well down the list.
19
I lived and worked in the nordic countries for several years, and agree with most of this article. A key aspect of the nordic public support system is the high level of taxes imposed on almost all levels of income. Everyone owns and helps pay for the system. Contrast that with Ms. Warren's proposal for universal health care, where she has had to go to great lengths to ensure that most Americans will not see higher taxes as a result.
13
Great article, which has obviously made many people think about the relationships between government, the organization of value creation (the "means of production"), and the distribution of that value... what it totally misses is that the Nordics are completely different culturally than the US, which has attracted a diverse collection of people drawn to American's wealth, as well as a variety of Americans who vary greatly in their capacity to create value. American could look like Finland, if we had Finland's population... From World Population: Finland is very ethnically homogeneous. Finland does not keep official statistics on ethnicity. Just 3.5% of the population is made up of foreign citizens." Time to think about our diverse population and the initial differences in education and value creation capacity and how we can improve, given this population -- that is our reality.
3
@RGB
It's actually around 7%, hasn't been at 3,5% for decades. In Helsinki, about a quarter of the population will be foreign language speakers by 2035. Yes, the majority of the country is homogeneous, but if anything, social homogeneity is more relevant to this conversation than ethnic homogeneity.
3
When confronted about other countries successes in various areas, I find it rather bizarre that Americans are constantly making excuses as to what others might do can never apply to America, yet, really, nothing could be further from the truth. In smaller countries big ideas and changes such as those described in the column can be more difficult because of their limited population and resources, NOT the other way around and essentially culture has little or nothing to do with it. In almost all cases it is electing those that have the political will to follow through with the policies that the majority of the electorate want, not the lobbyists or corporate donors who dictate the agenda at the expense of everyone else.
Since money is the prime driver of government policy in America it seems to have become very easy to fool Americans into thinking that they are exceptional and always have the best ideas and the solutions to all its problems. It would seem the election of Donald Trump(who was 40 yrs. in the making)proved otherwise.
26
"Even more peculiar is that in Finland, you don’t really see the kind of socialist movement that has been gaining popularity in some of the more radical fringes of the left in America, especially around goals such as curtailing free markets and even nationalizing the means of production. The irony is that if you championed socialism like this in Finland, you’d get few takers"
Who?
Where?
When?
Why/How (if applicable)?
I realize this is an op piece. This statement is not attributed by any facts in the piece. But I need to know who is advocating these goals so I can be prepared.
2
I find always entertaining USA comparison to Scandinavian countries.
What is the use?
Where are the Scandinavians on the world nations league?
They are developed western democracy.
Where is America?
We are in giants league, We are democracy too.
Giants league is nothing to do with western developed nations.
USA, China, Russia, India, Brazil.
I do not see any resemblance nor any lesson to taken.
USA is giant and has a very different destiny.
5
@su
When confronted about other countries successes in various areas, I find it rather bizarre that Americans are constantly making excuses as to what others might do can never apply to America, yet, really, nothing could be further from the truth. In smaller countries big ideas and changes such as those described in the column can be more difficult because of their limited population and resources, NOT the other way around and essentially culture has little or nothing to do with it. In almost all cases it is electing those that have the political will to follow through with the policies that the majority of the electorate want, not the lobbyists or corporate donors who dictate the agenda at the expense of everyone else.
Since money is the prime driver of government policy in America it seems to have become very easy to fool Americans into thinking that they are exceptional and always have the best ideas and the solutions to all its problems. It would seem the election of Donald Trump (who was 40 yrs. in the making) proved otherwise.
BTW: I copied this comment from "Deus" (from Toronto), because I agree with it 100% and I couldn't say it better.
5
What kind of Destiny?
@su
America is now an Empire and history tells us that empires eventually overextend themselves and collapse.
You have to be specific if you talk about "high taxes"
Sweden eliminated the inheritance tax in 2005, the wealth tax in 2007 and taxes on residential property in 2008.
The corporate is at flat rate of 21.4% and will fall to 20.6% in 2021.
Sounds like a capitalistic dream ? Not so fast.
The Nordic model is very, very simplified to have everyone accumulate capital but then to level high progressive income tax on what that capital generates.
That income is transfered from the "rich" down to the "poor" , The motivation is to reduce income inequality (which is different from wealth inequality)
There is something to be said for this model. For example, a forest that does not generate income is not taxed, but should the owner you log it, than her profit is taxed.
This makes it easier to conduct a responsible environmental policy. Not everything around must generate profits
9
FINNISH WINTER MAKE YOU HAPPY? I bought into most of the ideas in the upbeat, highly important article. But 6 months with very long cold dark nights? Happiness? NAH! When Ronnie Ray Gun foisted his con on the US, I was sure it was a declaration of war on the middle class, which it has proven to be. The 99% here in the US has been ripped off to the benefit of the 1% of the millionaires and billionaires, who get far more government welfare than the rest of us. Trumps most notable and dangerous accomplishment is to cozy up to the world's worst dictators. On top of impeachable actions--high crimes and misdemeanors. It remains to be seen whether he will destroy the US for 4 or for 8 years. His treatment of employees is deplorable. No hope for social advancement there, or elsewhere in US business, for the most part. I wish that the Nordic countries could teach us some lessons in fairness and good governance. Meanwhile, when I visit Finland, it will be in the good old summertime!
3
This article just illustrates the great liberal strawman argument. They berate conservatives for dismissing Scandinavian "socialism" and ask why this couldn't be applied in America.
But they miss the point. Scandinavia isn't as much "socialist" as it is collectivist. Yes, government services are far more expansive - but they are generally universal (rather than means tested) and funded with fairly flat taxes. The article states, "Finnish capitalists also realized that it would be in their own long-term interests to accept steep progressive tax hikes." But the data belies this point. In Scandinavia, the top income tax rate applies at only 1.2 x the average income compared to 8.5 x in the US. Moreover, everyone pays a flat VAT (sales tax) of 25%.
https://taxfoundation.org/how-scandinavian-countries-pay-their-government-spending
The problem for this liberal dream isn't conservatives. Even in blue states like VT and CA, citizens resist increases in broad flat taxes to pay for services. Instead, the only way liberals can try to pass new programs is with the Marxist idea of "from those with the greatest ability to those with the greatest need". In CA, for example, half the budget is paid for by just 1% of the population.
If liberals really want to try to emulate Finland, maybe they should honestly call for everyone to pay broadly higher taxes - and see how many still support them.
12
Should we compare range of incomes in Finland and in the US?
4
The Finnish economic model is sustainable, the U.S. model is not.
20
@Bert
Right Bert, that's why its been going on for 250 years and turned an agricultural backwater into the richest economy in the world that produces most of its innovations.
7
Well, it could not be done without socialist correction (see Great Depression), some help from geopolitics (WWI and WWII) and by misery of the American population that have none of the safety net of the Europeans. Considering that, what do you mean by 'great economy'.
1
@Dave That was the past. The future doesn't look nearly as rosy.
1
Finland is a lovely place. But it differs from the US in significant ways.
It's a country of only 5 million people. It's one of the most homogenous countries you'll find anywhere. And they do not need to lead the world in anything. Most notably, not in defence spending. Because no one is looking for them to defend the free world. They can comfortably rely on the US to do that. But also, not in technology development, R&D, pharmaceuticals or medical equipment. And not in post-secondary education. The US leads in all of those fields; and must.
That doesn't / didn't happen in America by accident.
Finish people share cultural values. People can rely on the safety net. But they know they must contribute to it, so they feel socially responsible to act responsibly. It's part of being a small country. Everyone pays high taxes. Not just the well off.
Certainly there are things to learn from each other. But you are comparing apples and oranges.
12
I am not buying that at all. Nobody forces the US to lead anything. The US WANTS to lead despite limited capacity, because it is obviously could not lead and keep its citizens happy, but that IS THE US CHOICE. The article makes the case for other choice that could make Americans more happy and the World more safe.
6
The population of Finland is 5.53 million.
The population of the US is 327.2 million.
If you want to compare Finland with the "Republics" of Wisconsin, Minnesota or Colorado", that would make sense as each state has a population close to that of Finland.
The population of France is about 67 million.
The history of Finland, its position and role in terms of geo-politics is so different from that of the US that it is hard to understand where the basis for any comparison is.
This is not apples and oranges. This is apples and e.g., chayotes or salaks.
Anything can be compared.
Not everything should be.
12
@Joshua Schwartz
There are more than 15 different countries in the EU with different cultures and languages whose total population exceeds that of America, yet, ALL of them have many similar social benefits as do the Finns, yet, they are still capitalist in nature.
The constant excuse of similar culture, small populations, yada, yada ,yada, is a fiction put forth by those that just wish to maintain the "status quo" in America and it has been going on for decades.
8
@Deus And we have seen how German solutions worked for Greek economic problems, just to cite one example.
Population does not matter?
Estonia just overtook Finland in OECD education 2018 results.
Perhaps the US should copy Estonia?
Population of Estonia: 1.325 million.
I am not against comparison.
It should be, however, apt. Finland and Estonia are not apt examples for the US.
3
@Joshua Schwartz I would point out that you have presented zero logical argument why a larger population necessarily makes moving in the direction of more government services impossible. You first give a "fact" about Estonia that may or may not be relevant given the particulars. You offer a red herring that population "does not matter." No one said it doesn't. Then you merely repeat your conclusion about smaller countries not being "apt" examples. You simply haven't made a sound logical argument based on facts.
3
This is an excellent piece! I shared it on FB in hopes that my trumpy family will read it. I’ve been studying the Nordic systems for years, and no one can conclude anything other than they are much more successful then we are in the US in providing a better life for their citizens. Their version of capitalism is the future. Some say we are too diverse and too big to emulate them. Well then let’s do M4A and regionalize it, break our healthcare into 6 zones, let the experiment begin! And let’s Give all students the same financial support, not just kids in rich towns. Lastly, let’s spend much less on defense. Thanks for this opinion piece.
37
"But the poll also revealed that Americans feel deeply pessimistic about the nation’s future and fear that worse political conflict is coming. Some military analysts and historians agree and put the odds of a civil war breaking out in the United States frighteningly high."
I'd like a reference for the military analysts and historians who have said this, please...(I tend to agree....)
3
Let's admit to ourselves that most Americans live a fairytale dream of becoming multi-millionaires. They buy into the fantasy that a just society would not be one that they could ever live in as a millionaire. Like small children who aren't fully formed, many people complain that socialism would take away the dream. MOST of America pays the price for our undeveloped national psyche. We can do better than childish dreams and laissez faire Capitalism.
29
Oh, and they aren't mired in squandering a huge portion of their budget on senseless military spending, supposedly making us more "secure." I'll bet an awful lot of people would feel genuinely more secure with fewer medical expenses, no student loans, and a greater concern for the environmental apocalypse awaiting us if we don't wake up.
26
I am curious by an apparent dichotomy. The article makes a point of saying that Anu became a US citizen, yet based on the article, I see no reason why they might move back to the US in the future. This leaves them with the complex tax disadvantages of being an expat US citizen. Her book, written in 2016, suggests that they were aware then of the advantages of living in Finland. I do not doubt what they write. So, why then, become a US citizen?
1
I think they actually wanted to live in the US while they didn't have a kid,but the they realised Finland is better when you do have kid, so they moved where the life is better. Isn't it how capitalism is supposed to work?
4
For some reason, “economy of scale” doesn’t seem to apply to social structures. I’ve long felt that the U.S. is just too large and bulky to be effectively governed. The Nordic countries are all relatively small, and yes culturally homogeneous but with growing multi-ethnic immigration. Maybe small is more efficient. We do have our smaller units of states and cities, but for grand social safety nets, it has to be “all in”.
I’d love to live in a society that provided for the healthcare, child care, education, housing assistance and general well being for all citizens. The U.S. is becoming a harsh dystopia, with no signs of turning that around. But most of all, MOST of all, I’d love to feel safe, without the constant fear of mass attack by firearms and the constant background of petty crime engendered by poverty. I just want to feel safe. That’s the most basic function of a social structure and we aren’t doing it.
I’d move to any Nordic country in a heartbeat, but I doubt they’d welcome a retiree no longer in the work force.
23
For those who believe that Finland's success is not applicable to the USA, there is another Nordic country they might look at. It is called Canada, and it is a blend of Finnish winters, socialism, caring for each-other, as well as American diversity, capitalism, and entrepreneurship. The author rightfully brags of Finland's ranking in world happiness, education and health; Canada is up there with them, ranking in the top 5 for health, happiness, and PISA student results.
I have many reasons to love the USA, and no doubt that it will pull out of the tough patch it is in at the moment. Yes, America, you can do it. And thanks Finland for making light of the long winter nights.
20
I think it is insulting to suggest that the US with all its innovating spirit could not make its citizens more happy than tiny Finland. I guess we just should demand it, and we will get it.
1
I didn't notice mention of overall tax rate in this article; are these authors aware of the rate? Perhaps not. It appears the cumulative tax rate is fairly low in Finland (around 31%), and the corporate tax rate is still lower than the current rate in the United States (20% in Finland). Property taxes are also minimal. See wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxation_in_Finland There is also no mention whether one would have to pay out of the pocket for a serious health problems, although routine medical checkups and procedures might be covered that is also funded by a medical care tax in Finland. Additionally, Finland does not have as diverse of a population as the US with big disparities in capabilities, and the Finland government might be operating much more efficiently when it comes to allocating and managing expenditures and regulation allowing more to assist its general population. Basically there is no such thing as present day US democratic party dysfunctional policy in Finland that this article does happen to mention.
3
@sh
See Table 1. https://www.oecd.org/tax/tax-policy/revenue-statistics-highlights-brochure.pdf
Finland tax revenue as a percentage of GDP is 42%. US = 24%. OECD average = 34%
One of the major reasons is a VAT tax responsible for on average ~20% of tax income for OECD countries. The only except exception? US = 0%.
But no, this is too "regressive" (despite being shown in every oecd country to be highly efficient and implementable) for the far left populists in the US so we get proposals of failed wealth taxes.
If we had taxes at just the average levels that's an extra $2T, Finland levels that's $4T. Tell me again how we couldn't afford universal programs because we're too big/diverse?
@Alex
To start, higher taxes are not good - you seem to think that. Second, VAT = Sales Tax (about 9% is California). The OECD figure is relative to GDP, which is about 46K in Finland 60K in US (in google, enter per capita GDP for finland, US). There also has to be larger larger disparities in tax payments in the US relative to Finland due to income equality that separately biases that number - the SD is much higher from the mean in the US. The OECD figure also does not appear to account state income taxes, which as you know is excessive in California. Overall the taxes appear to be about the same in the US and Finland for those at middle income and perhaps also above. We just get less in return at middle and above income levels
I can’t speak to GDP or to any relationship between GDP and taxes, whether fact or fiction, but I most definitely can speak to matters of efficiency, education, and how they correlate with healthcare. Not one is even scarcely acknowledged as inherently untenable (and proven so time after time) when left to competitive forces in the so-called open marketplace to be resolved. I have no doubt that equally professional or dedicated individuals under even similar demands and duress can be found in a labor force anywhere but the military, maybe...or with a more immediate and constant grasp of teamwork. The opinion that any of this is sustainable or can be harnessed to the machinations of a system incentivized by profit is daily proven to be unfounded in hospital administration, never mind the juncture of hospital administration with the marketing and sale of healthcare products. Growing old, getting sick, and getting injured are as inevitable as they are public.
5
Some people have put forth an argument that Finland is not comparable to the U.S.
Here is another (supporting) question: if it is so obvious that the Finland model is as strong as depicted, then why haven't all other countries and societies rushed to implement this model in their countries -- not just the U.S. And, what are the examples of failed implmentations of this model?
This is a great first-hand account, but far from a convincing or conclusive argument.
I would suggest a day-in-the-life series, in video format, that compares people of similar socio-economic backgrounds and their experience in the US vs. elsewhere. Sort of like a day-in-the-life, including where people live (apartment vs. house), their incomes, how they use their cars, spectator sports (yes, that too), etc.
A couple from Brooklyn, with one child, working as freelancers, who then move to Finland, is far from representative of the entire U.S.
5
@AW Perhaps not, but what they describe as the lifestyle and support services is pretty much the same throughout the western world.
Everywhere except the good old US of A of course.
If you don't like it, compare to somewhere like here in Australia, or New Zealand, or Germany, or somewhere else. You will likely find while there are differences around the edges, our lack of terror around governments providing essential services allows us a lot more freedom than it allows you.
24
@Flossy
You raise a good question. It is perhaps underappreciated , when looking at the level of non-interaction that many Americans have with the U.S. federal government. For example, for many, many people, the interaction is one time per year, to pay federal taxes. Setting aside opinions on existing US federal social programs, the lack of confidence in the U.S. federal government to administer or regulate vast social programs and the lack of interaction with the U.S. federal government are observed together. Having been this way for so many years may mean it is so for a good reason.
The request remains: lets see day-in-the-life comparisons, so that the trade-offs are clear across comparable people. No system is perfect -- each has its benefits and downsides. Lets see the comparison, including job mobility, social mobility, taxes, housing, etc.
Lets also be realistic about size and complexity. The U.S. is extremely diverse in every dimension, extremely complex, and 'global' in every respect.
1
What represents America? Unemployeds? Homeless? Low-waged workers? Billionaires? Identify what group you think most represent the US and let's compare.
1
1. You're preaching to the choir. 2. Finland is virtually a homogeneous country, so there's one less hurdle to go past.
7
@John : Waiting for someone to write that. Its population is also much smaller. Finns don't talk very much, and recall Finnish saying,"An empty can makes too much noise." Late friend, Ned Stewart, author of "Ballerina" and other works whom I knew in Paris in early sixties went to Finland to get away from it all, to be able to write. But it is not only a homogeneous country population wise but almost everyone is white. They have turned out some great hockey players, Jeri Kurry, Rajo Ruitsolenan, Peti Lind, "the flying Finns!"But Finns don't have the problems we have in the states. No comparison.
1
Why? Do you think that other nationalities/races are so diverse that they can not find a common ground?
@John Not quite. The Finns have the indigenous Sami, and many migrants from Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Helsinki has a chain of great Nepalese restaurants; just down the street from one of them is another run by a Vietnamese.
1
The author conveniently neglects a fair amount of research that has been done on the so-called "Nordic Model".
First - after correcting for wealth-transfer strategies in the Nordic countries - the rates of social mobility are remarkably similar to the good ol' USA.
Part deux - the Nordic social system is based heavily on the power of labor and the homogeneity of the population. Both have been changing since the late 1990's - so let's see what happens in the next few decades - you can already see the backlash appearing in Sweden right now.
You honestly want to see the future of the Nordic Model - look no further than France today - that is exactly where they will be in a couple of decades - just in time for the author to move back to the States to escape the madness and get her kiddo into a good university.
13
Yeah, tell us more about 'wealth-transfer' in the US and Finland to compare the two system. I am not exactly understand what do you mean by homogeneous population? Do you refer to the systematic oppression of the part of American population? Yes, you are right this oppression didn't happen in Finland , but still we can correct for that as well. Finland was able overcome the civil war with much more United population
4
@SteveRR "You honestly want to see the future of the Nordic Model - look no further than France today - that is exactly where they will be in a couple of decades "
That simply total nonsense.
@SteveRR Please site your sources -- " a fair amount of research" is a lot like Trump's "people say."
1
Can we be smart enough to go in this direction? Maybe we truly need to elect Elizabeth Warren.
96
That all made sense.
Keep Making Sense.
I thought this phrase was key: “Finland’s capitalists cooperated with government to map out long-term strategies and discussed these plans with unions to get workers onboard.”
Emphasis on long-term strategies. This sort of thing can’t happen overnight. Rome wasn’t built in a day and all that.
Timing, form, and sequence will matter a lot. We’ll have to figure out just how to go about this. To do that we’ll have to figure out how to steadfastly pursue our broad goals while being flexible about how we achieve them and while remembering that others may have some good ideas (and some of our own favorite ideas may have flaws).
7
Wasn't it Reagan who said the "government is the problem." I guess the Finns wouldn't agree and for good reason. And they have the proof on their side. All we have it Trump.
26
@Don
Reagan was the problem and we all pay the interest on his capitalism-run-amuck disaster.
3
This article states the obvious -
1. A healthy population is good for productivity and business
2. An educated populace is good for business (and government)
3. The best way to achieve #1 and #2 is to pay for it using taxes
It’s striking how many people can object to these facts, just like some object to ramifications of climate change
591
@M ….yes...I saw that point made the other day on the TV show Democracy Now---they interviewed Mikael Törnwall, Swedish author/writer for a Stockholm newspaper, on how they tax Swedes for social supports. The taxes are worth it, he says and gives examples. The transcript is on line.
He says a country is actually more competitive, not less, if citizens have good health care and education, which are affordable.
That makes sense. People are less sick, disabled, more trained, more productive for their economy and society. And also they have less political/social polarization.
America is seething in polarization.
Even with ACA we have about 37 million uninsured, and millions more burdened with high costs.
Our college tuition debt is a scandal.
Millions of US jobs have been sent to low wage countries, to increase corporate profits.
Some of these increased profits end up as mega donations to politicians, who then pass laws insuring profits increase even more.
It's a system.
26
@M
American capitalism doesn't operate like Finland. ours is a wild form.
1
@M And those who object cite "homogeneity," as if the Finns were a nation of clones programmed to be nice to one another. I take "homogeneity" as a code word for white superiority.
8
There has been a complete brainwashing of GOP politicians and supporters as to what "capitalism" and "socialism" actually mean. They have absolutely no idea.
The belief that taxes = socialism and government programs of any kind = socialism are intellectually dishonest and completely wrong. But, of course, none of these thought leaders likely ever read any recognized authority on political or economic theory. They get this nonsense from Rush Limbaugh, Fox News commentators, Breitbart and various GOP PACs and (non)-think tanks.
96
We are not opposed to well thought out, cost effective and corruption free programs (if we can ever find them).
1
@tom
Sorry, Tom, but that is more Fox News propaganda. The idea that every single government program is a poorly thought-out, corrupt waste of money is nothing but a conservative media talking point.
Sure, not every government program works perfectly and many can be improved. But some evangelical churches have pastors who steal from their churches, and many businesses wind up in bankruptcy (including a few run by President Trump). But you don't hear Democrats say we should ban religion and businessmen.
6
@tom
Look in Scandinavia!
3
As a Trump voter and a Finland lover (I even learned a bit of Finnish), I enjoyed this article and wish it could be so simple. I am afraid that if healthcare in the US was made universal, it would be captured by commercial rent-seekers participating in this new entitlement and would bankrupt (or further bankrupt) the nation. I don't trust the lawmakers and commercial interests to take the long view. What a shame since we appear to be heading to the edge of a cliff. I am all for studying successful examples, the key is in the planning, implementation and oversight - and in having at least some degree of national consensus.
15
@Chris O'Neill Chris, can't we be smart enough to do it well? You mention the concern "...it would be captured by commercial rent-seekers participating in this new entitlement ..." So, let's consider that in the planning and make corrections along the way. Is it really better to give up and go off the cliff?
4
@Chris O'Neill
We’re heading for a cliff, we either change course and try something radically different or go over. Your choice.
Once again...all countries are not alike. If you have a country that is homogenous and everybody largely shares the same culture and values a system like this can function...for a while. But if you have a multicultural society in which the citizen don't have the same culture or values, this cannot work. Those who embody the "horrible and destructive" Protestant work ethic would wind up carrying the water for cultures who like to take time and smell the roses. Ultimately this would lead to resentment and destabilization.
20
@Dan Nelson Nothing diverse about Finland.
The total number of people in Finland with an African background is 51,645, which is 0.94% of the Finnish population. Homogeneity may make governance easier, but it's not for those who value diversity.
10
@Dan Nelson
Diversity is America’s greatest strength and source of innovation.
1
@Dan Nelson This is exactly right and you can expect to be excoriated for stating it here. Finland is the size of California with 1/8 the population, one language and a culture with a high degree of trust. There is no way that their system of a generous welfare state will ever be implemented here.
5
One important aspect of American life that the article omits is the extent to which Americans live a leveraged-life on credit and the life-stresses it produces. In many ways, this is a result of government policy and a lack of state-support. Educational loans, because people cannot pay for their college education. Home loans because US cities, unlike most countries, are zoned for single-family homes, not apartments. Auto-loans because the public transport system is rotten and cities are not organized around it. Outrageous health-care costs that can bankrupt even a well-off family in a heartbeat. The result of all this is an utterly "slavish" relationship of labor (i.e. employees) to Capital (their employers) because they are just one job away from being homeless on the street (no unions). Clearly, you can win in America only if you are a capitalist i.e. your money works for you and not the other way around. Very few Americans, however, own any capital. They have not benefited from either the stock-market boom or the housing boom. For all the immigrant-bashing in America, it is the only first-world country that gets highly talented immigrants chasing the American Dream, while providing no social-services in return. It comes across as an elaborate scam, and perhaps that is exactly what it is.
228
I've spent some time in the Nordic Countries and worked for a while in one of them. Every time I've returned to the US I've been struck by the fact that I live in a curious amalgam of the first and third world.
514
@Steve - Exactly, as I confirm by my annual 3 to 4 weeks in my USA - New England - NY State in June.
But Mount Philo State Park is great.
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
Citizen US SE
11
@Larry Lundgren ; in terms of income inequality, the US today is a third world country.
45
@Steve Yup. Have spent a fair amount of time in Sweden and Norway over the past five years due to work, and it saddens me to see how the American value system simply doesn't care about the public good. There are countries that take excellent care of their most precious resource - their people - and it's a shame that a country as wealthy as ours presently cares most about how the powerful can better exploit its people.
I really wish more Americans were more aware of the world outside our borders. I still run into many people who think the Nordic region is a gray socialist tundra devoid of prosperity. Too many of us have sadly been brainwashed with the "USA #1" myth, and the only way to break out of such silliness is through first-hand experience.
61
We need an education system like Finland. Schools of education in Finland are very competitive and it's not easy to get accepted. That's why teachers are well paid and respected.
Teachers in the US will achieve similar status when we reach the point that some students majoring in education change their majors to engineering because it's easier.
24
Teachers in CA have been required to major in an academic subject since 1965, mine was History!
1
@J. Waddell But that can only happen when teachers here are treated as professionals, with respect and support...and I don't just mean higher salaries. Teachers are often treated badly by administrators, politicians, and the public.
5
About the only downside to Finland seems to be the long winters. :>)
And just think, you are on the doorstep to Europe!
32
There will always be those who say it can’t be done here. Or that health care is not a right. And on and on. This is and always has always been the propaganda of the rich. The greedy rich and their corrupt government. And, in the words of Jim Jordan, guess what? We don’t have to freeze in the dark to make this a decent, humane, capitalist society.
46
And I see the homeless men and women in out little city begging at the stop lights, there has to be something better here in the states. I sure those people would love to have a roof over their head and a job that paid a living wage and some health care and a society that cared about them.
74
@scott t
Bend? God, what a shame. I fished the Deschutes , went to graduate school at Oregon State more than 40 years ago. Sorry for your (and their) troubles scott t.
Part of my youth was spent in Denmark. I'm considering seriously retiring there. I visit regularly. I may need the health care. And, the one time in my youth when I visited a doctor in Denmark he was clearly the kindest doctor and the most willing to explain what was happening that my life has exposed me to. My education needs are minimal. My financial needs are covered. Since I'll be living off my retirement funds I'll probably actually be a net gain for the Finnish economy. Yet, this article reminds me of so many elements of Scandinavia. For me it won't be about the government services, yet I can understand how this was important to the author, spouse and child. To me it's about a way of facing life that I think would benefit everyone. It is completely lost in the United States if it was ever there. Nonetheless, this article should be required reading.
119
The Finnish “miracle” cannot be replicated in the U.S. for a simple reason – immigration.
The U.S. population consists of about 14.3% foreign-born residents. The vast majority of these are low-income, low-education immigrants, legal or illegal. The Finnish population consists of 5.4% foreign-born residents.
Modern social welfare systems cannot support mass immigration of low-wage workers. This isn’t xenophobia or bias, it’s just math.
On the other hand, Finland is a rapidly aging country, which could also undermine their social welfare system. Over time, immigration could mitigate the impact of this.
The bottom line is that the long term sustainability of the Finnish model is unclear.
But it’s a wonderful country with great people, so I wish them the best.
18
@John Sweden has a much higher foreign born population and it works there. All of western Europe has high immigration and they all have universal health care and free college. I just don't see the connection.
63
@John I live in California, and every day I see these "low-income, low-education immigrants, legal or illegal." They cook meals in cafeterias and restaurants, clean offices and houses, and pick food in the central valley. And when they can't find more steady work, they stand outside of Home Depot, willing to go off for a day or work where they may have no breaks or good access to water or sanitation. Please enlighten me as to how it would be a bad idea to make sure these people have healthcare and to educate their children.
23
@John Immigrants pay taxes. Government spending on immigrant families does tend to be higher, because they have more children in school. But the adult children of immigrants tend to pay more in taxes than other Americans—the details vary by state. The greatest federal spending, by an immense margin, is for Social Security and Medicare (and defense, of course). Those benefits are paid mainly to people born in the United States, using taxes drawn from both immigrant and native-born workers. Strong immigration is one of America's key economic assets.
6
A cheery story, but it leaves out a lot.
To start with, Finland is a small country, less than 6 million. And it is a relatively homogeneous country. Both contribute to people feeling more connected to fellow citizens than in the US, so you don't have the bitter resentments that "they" are looking for gov't handouts that has been so often discussed here in the NYT.
Second, while the article discusses the tribulations following the war with Russia, it leaves out important details. The Finns understood they are small relative to Russia and have followed a policy of accommodation. They maintained relations with Russia during decades when the West shunned Russia. They media self-censored and didn't report on Russian atrocities during the war, nor did they publicize the failures in Russia or their interference with other countries.
The point is Finland is not America. What works well there may not work here, and vice-versa.
22
@Mike T. But what works well here? That is certainly not clear anymore, is it? Almost half the population cannot meet basic living expenses and another 40% can only do so by going into permanent debt. What does work here? Unfettered capitalism and minimal taxation is a brutal experiment that is failing. But it is also enforced by those who benefit and by the government infrastructure they have built. We are at a tipping point here in the USA. Which way will we tip?
34
@Mike T. The differences you mention do not seem to be relative to the social/economic intent of this article. Of course they have a different relationship with Russia, but how does that mean their economic/social system couldn't work (perhaps with some adjustments) here?
6
@Mike T. - are you not able to perform multiplication?
The Wall Street Journal made a similar point in an editorial within the past week or two. The Nordic countries are aggressively competitive capitalist economies with a large welfare state.
But the author neglects to mention a few crucial details. The corporate tax rate is 20% - even less than in the US. It's the Finnish citizens who are funding the welfare state. VAT (i.e. sales) taxes are 24% (with a reduced rate of 14% for food.) Pension fees (equivalent to US Social Security) are 23% compared to about 15% in the US. There are also excise taxes on certain products (especially high on autos) and health care taxes.
2015 estimates put the total tax burden on an average wage earner ($3,600/month income) at 44.5% Liberals want a Nordic style welfare state, but aren't willing to implement the taxes required to do so. Contrary to what Elizabeth Warren says, generous welfare benefits can't be funded just by soaking the rich.
29
@J. Waddell Just a caution - comparison of nominal corporate tax rates could be misleading on it's own.
It's the EFFECTIVE corporate tax rate that matters. We know for instance that many very large and successful U.S. corporations pay essentially no tax. Although their nominal tax rate might seem high, they employ tax avoidance strategies that reduce their EFFECTIVE tax rate to something much lower.
I've seen statistical breakdowns that show U.S. nominal corporate tax rates often do look high, but when you look at what is actually paid, the U.S. effective corporate tax rate is actually pretty low compared to other nations. It would seem the U.S. provides excellent corporate tax avoidance opportunities. However, I don't have a link to provide for that information right now.
25
@J. Waddell The citizens are supporting it, but also benefiting to a degree greater than their individual contribution. Read the article again - Finns aren't the wealthiest individuals, but they are living better lives than we are.
11
@StatBoy I think you're missing J. Waddell's main point. What he's saying is correct; the really big taxes in Nordic countries are on individuals, not corporations, and a lot of those taxes are very regressive. The VAT hits you harder the less money you have. It might all be worth it, but in the United States we don't get the full picture from most people who argue for expanded government services.
3
"Capitalist Paradise" sounds like an oxymoron. This great piece does not account for one variable: American's distrust in it's public institutions--and their willingness to act in our best interests. It's difficult to imagine our higher taxes will be used efficiently. Robert Reich's book "The Common Good" illustrates this point well.
8
That’s right, I have almost no trust in my government, regardless of which party currently occupies the White House. I live in Illinois which defines corruption and insolvency. Then there’s Cook and the collar counties. Cook has Democrat corruption while you’ll find some Republican examples in the collar counties. Do I have to mention Chicago? However, to be fair, the local municipality is halfways decent. On the federal level, I have personal experience with regulators and can’t say much good about it. The fact that the job is pretty much a sinecure doesn’t breed competence nor does the political ideology frequently on display. No thank you. We are not now and are unlikely to ever be, Scandinavian
4
When I first went to Finland, I had all the fears that any US citizen would have, having been steeped in the constant anti-socialist propaganda that we get daily in the USA. After having lived there for over a year, and in nearby Sweden for about 4 years, I was a total convert to the Nordic way of life. I then made the worst mistake of my life, that of returning to the USA after the events of Sept. 11, 2001. Life here is miserable compared to life in Scandinavia, and I only wish that I had the opportunity to escape the US and return to one of the Nordic countries.
361
@Total Socialist I'm sorry! I taught English in Finland about fifteen years ago right out of college, then studied/lived in Sweden for two years, and reading this similarly pains me! Though I didn't have the fears you did, at the time of my departure my father suggested I would be living below the poverty line with my new job, despite not understanding their economic, health, or social structure at all. He's still not interested, offended by my relationship with Europe, and voted for Trump.
83
@blw I too returned thinking that Obama was the change that would make everything right again. He was blocked in every way. I wish I had not returned! Planning to leave as soon as possible and will not return to the US.
29
I gave out at least a dozen copies last year of Ms. Partenen's book "The Nordic Theory of Everything" to all of my 20-something relations with the inscription "this is what we need to be fighting for." We lived in Finland for a year (on my husband's Fulbright) when our kids were 4, 6 and 12 and it was a huge eye-opener in many ways. Kudos to Anu and Trevor---when I finished Anu's book, I thought "if I had written this book, I would leave and raise my child in Finland" so I'm glad they did!
55
I wonder what makes the United States so different other industrialized countries? Why doesn't the US provide affordable higher education, parental leave, health care for all?
A theory is that the United States has spent the decades since World War II building empire and fighting wars over oil and being the world's policeman and so has wasted much money on this. Other, smaller countries like Finland, spent that time improving the lives of their own citizens.
Can we change the course? I hope so. This article doesn't mention the climate crisis. But passing and enacting a Green New Deal would raise the standard of living for many Americans while also acting on the climate crisis. If we are to listen to the United Nations, we have 11 years to do this. All hands on deck.
47
Finland doesn't have a massive military-industrial complex like the U.S., demanding constant feeding? Finland invested in its citizens? It all seems very un-American.
28
@R. Law Correct, Finland's two core military strategies over the last century have been "Hope that the USA will intervene" and "When in doubt, defer to Moscow." These are not high dollar cost strategies, but I don't recommend them as viable for us here in America.
14
@Rex Nemorensis There's a difference between having a robust national defense, and maintaining a de facto empire as the world's policeman. We have the latter, but could opt for the former, you know.
4
@Rex Nemorensis Rex, I understand. But at least Finland has only 'deferred' to Moscow. The U.S. currently is completely kowtowing to Moscow.
11
Would be nice if the health care industries really did put the American patient first and supported Medicare-for-all and govt negotiated pricing.
5
I have a key employee who makes close to 100k a year and besides his taxes through an unfortunate set of circumstances we have been paying about 36k a year to insure his family!
Do the math on that 36k and you get effectively a tax of 36% on top of SSI, State and Federal taxes plus co pays and out of pocket, which I am sure exceeds the tax costs of most Nord’s!
I would love to outsource my healthcare to the federal government!
60
@Joe Jensen
Lucky for him you consider him a keeper. In my years working in Mega Corps I’ve seen employees whose health care became too expensive let go.
10
The real key to the Nordic model may well be that the people in these countries missed out on the worst excess of the Protestant Reformation--namely, the ethos of Calvinism, which absolutely afflicts the socioeconomic philosophy of the United States and Britain, even if many of its proponents have forgotten the religious underpinnings of their Social Darwinism.
Calvinism, you may recall, posits that one shows one's worthiness to enter heaven and evidence of God's favor--be a member of the elect--by accumulation of wealth in this world. If one does not accumulate wealth, one is obviously not favored, and one should not be charitably helped, as one does not deserve that help, as that only drains resources from those that do deserve them.
One sees this attitude in our oligarchs who think they should accumulate any and all, and believe the poor are poor through their own lack of effort and intelligence ("if you're so smart why aren't you rich"), and that institutional practices have nothing to do with who makes it and who doesn't.
In some way, the Nordic nations managed to escape this equation of wealth with worthiness, and kept the idea that one was deserving of a degree of security even if one wasn't in the top tier of wealth. The relative homogeneity of the population likely plays a significant role in this; most people see most people as "one of us".
One more thing: Nordic nations, for the most part, publicly fund election cycles--one more thing those taxes go towards.
60
@Glenn Ribotsky
Quebec has gone from pre Revolutionary France to 2019 Finland during my lifetime with an almost bloodless quiet revolution. The homogeneous/heterogeneous debate still takes away too much of intellectual energy but the political and social balance of our public and private sectors function rather well. The we are hiring signs are everywhere and we look forward to a better future.
14
@Montreal Moe Um. Quebec is one province in a nation. I fully support the low tuition fees and subsidized daycare that Quebec residents get. I think all Canadians should have the same. But let's not kid ourselves that Quebec is some bastion of 'capitalist paradise'. Quebec will get somewhere in the neighbourhood on $13 BILLION dollars in transfer payments collected from taxation in other Canadian provinces this year alone.
5
@Glenn Ribotsky I strongly agree, but it might be useful to explain that the Nordic countries at the time of the Reformation adopted Lutheranism, which combines the best features of Calvinism and Roman Catholicism. Lutheranism embraces both a strong work ethic and communal values.
3
I've never understood why American business leaders have not DEMANDED that the government provide education, vocational training and healthcare. Surely as a business you would be better off with healthy, educated, trained employees and not have to worry about all that within your business.
186
One of the main costs that brought down GM and put them into bankruptcy was their health care costs. And yet they were never in favor of government providing healthcare to its workers and just taking this enormous expenditure off their books. Most corporations, including Walmart still are opposed to this notion which seems to be helpful to companies
17
@Pat Tighe
It wasn't GM that opposed government healthcare for its workers, it was the unionized workers. Why pay for a Medicare-like system when the union negotiates a gold-plated health insurance system.
7
@J. Waddell you are correct. What is collective bargaining going to look like if healthcare is not tied to work? If they don't have to focus on healthcare maybe they could turn their energies towards better pay. Unions depend on members to voluntarily pay dues - they need to show they are indispensable to the worker and there has been no better way to do that then negotiating robust healthcare packages.
6
"...people in the United States have been peddled a myth that universal government programs like these can’t coexist with profitable private-sector businesses and robust economic growth."
Many Democrats have recently scoffed proposals such as Medicare for All and tuition-free public universities as though they were unaffordable and even impossible. But, until the United States guarantees to all it citizens a decent education and affordable healthcare, our capitalist economy will never be even remotely fair. And, as Anu Partanen and Trevor Corson point out, businesses benefit when workers are better educated and healthier. I cannot pick up and move to Finland, but I would love to see the U.S. adopt some of the wise, humane policies described in this essay.
107
@Chris Rasmussen we need much more affordable health care, child care, college, etc...not "free"....
3
@Jim
The key word is "affordable". As long as the cost of health care are more than 200 % higher than of the average of European cost level you can´t establish any working health care system no matter which system you choose. NHS style (UK), Medicare for all, ACA, mandatory insurance (Israel), a mix of private and public insurances (Germany), a combination of public aid system and insurance for co-payments and remainng gaps (France) or whatever - without massive cost cut all this is a bottomless pit no matter how it is labeled as private or public. In all cases It´s too expensive for everyone who has to pay the bill in effect. It´s almost the same with tuition and public transport
It´s a disaster that "progressives" are always talking about welcomed widening and never about indispensable structural reforms to reduce costs to some 40 %. Finland and all other countries in Eastern and Western Europe who have similar systems in fact could never maintain the system correctly described in this article without rigid cost management because otherwise tax burden would increase without limits. It´s plain to see.
So if you want to know who brought the health care funding to it´s knees in US just look at those donors who have obstructed effective cost cut mechanisms up to now.
It´s a tragedy that Ms. Warren and Mr. Sanders do not address this crucial issue properly. Ms. Warren is definitely able to understand. But she doesn´t. Maybe she fears to loose the rest of party support.
3
@Jim Agreed.
Gee, did not even mention the balanced budget every year.
18
I find it hard to believe the authors that those ideas can be transplanted to the US.
Let’s be honest here. Socialism is a code word these days, in America, and is a proxy for uncomfortable realities of race/religion/ethnicity we have to contend as voters and as a nation.
2
For a country less than the size of the city of Los Angeles ,California,comparisons are rather vague.I just want to go in a closet and cry.
10
the number of stories written about 'gee, there are other countries that have higher taxes than the usa and they actually FUNCTION' is beyond tiresome.
apparently many americans are so provincial and brainwashed they have no clue that other countries not only exist but people aren't permanently scarred by paying higher taxes.
perhaps one reason is because they get something for their taxes--the list is too long to say what--and they're ok.
54
It's called civilization. It's also Elizabeth Warren's message. Please listen and investigate.
By the way, in a generally inferior book -- for him -- Jared Diamond's chapter on Finland in "Upheaval" was very enlightening.
13
It all depends upon how you define capitalism. If you define it as the rich robber barons getting richer at the expense of everyone else as we do in the United States then very few of the rich who control the system will agree to anything that makes the lives of the rest of us better even if you tell them it will help them in the future. If you define capitalism as a part of a system where people compete with each other to make the best goods and services possible in the context of everyone sharing a piece of the pie and being protected as best we can from the outrageous slings and arrows of fortune as you do in Finland then everyone gains and a working society becomes possible.
18
Thank you for the article. I knew that Finland is among the top countries to live in and for the happiness of its citizens, but have never seen such an analysis as to how it came to be so. A model we should strive for. I would say, however, that such a model may be more difficult to implement here in the U.S. because of our large size, diversity, and that it may not work as well here as it does in Finland. Certainly something to strive for - to have as a goal to achieve at least some of its goals.
7
@javierg i love the long time excuses of other countries being too small or diverse--which often is isn't true--so the usa cannot be compared to any of 'em.
much of this is just american ignorance of the more than 95% of the world--poor them--that isn't american.
1
Here is the thing.
Finland does not have "High Taxes" in the American sense. In the United States, high taxes translate to high taxes on corporations, given the current mindset that corporations are not paying their fair share of taxes. Not on individuals. In fact, try raising taxes on the middle class or anyone in America and that party will lose the election
In Finland and across Scandinavia have historically had low corporate taxes and high income taxes. In Finland the corporate tax is 20 percent and the highest it has ever been is 26 percent before 2012.
Meanwhile individual income taxes ,when you factor in municipal taxes can exceed 50 percent.
This also goes for payment of utilities. Danish companies pay for energy at rates similar to France and China at 7 cents per kilowatt hour but domestic users pay more than 30 cents per kilowatt hour, a rate many consumers in the US outside of Hawaii would find scandalous.
Essentially, Scandinavians actually subsidize corporations, the very same ideal that has been demonized in the United States.
As such, in order for the United States to be like Scandinavia, we would have to cut the current corporate tax further and nearly double the tax rate for virtually every working American(both rich and poor) and introduce a VAT tax on top of the sales taxes we have in every state which in Finland is 24%.
Yeaaaaah!! I do not see that happening even under Warren and AOC.
6
@Gerald Just citing a flat number for corporate tax rate is deceptive. The US nominal corporate tax rates conceal a convoluted array of incentives, subsidies, and rebates on both the state and federal level. One needs to look at what companies actually paid, particular large corportations like Fortune 500.
Incidentally, under Trump's 2017 tax cut, the nominal federal corporate tax rate in the US is 21% vs Finland's 20%. But again, one needs to look beyond that one number at the fine print...
17
@citybumpkin -- Are you -sure- the new Trump corporate tax rate is 21%? Because I think I read that Amazon, and GE, and a few other really, really big corporations paid 0%. Which is even lower than Finland, for sure. So maybe we need to raise the tax -compliance- rate, to make sure -all- our corporations really pay "their" 21%? Honestly, I don't need to subsidize Amazon any more than I already do... :-p
1
"The top marginal tax rate in 1960 was 91%, which applied to income over $200,000 (for single filers) or $400,000 (for married filers) – thresholds which correspond to approximately $1.5 million and $3 million, respectively, in today's dollars."
Unfortunately, too many Americans have been told a lot of lies over the years regarding taxes. The fact remains that GDP growth was far higher under higher historical tax rates.
Dec 31, 1969 2.05%
Dec 31, 1968 4.96%
Dec 31, 1967 2.67%
Dec 31, 1966 4.50%
Dec 31, 1965 8.46%
Dec 31, 1964 5.16%
Dec 31, 1963 5.16%
Dec 31, 1962 4.31%
Dec 31, 1961 6.40%
If we actually want to make the American economy 'great again' we need to return to fair tax rates and not overburden the middle class with oppressive taxes.
28
I don’t think there is a correlation between taxes and GDP. I’d love to see data proving this and until then it’s simply political rhetoric.
2
@Linus tell that to the Republican Party. They've been saying taxes kill jobs, investment, innovation, etc., for 40 years now. It's all intended to suggest taxes and economic growth are directly related, and they use different synonyms to scare different folks (e.g., "jobs" for the blue collar set).
8
@Linus
I agree there is no correlation.
And probably the growing baby-boomer population was a big factor along with manufacturing and good paying union jobs.
On the other hand, it shows that higher tax rates don't stop high economic growth rate.
Reagan cut taxes and got 16 Million jobs. Also a big increase in the deficit. It is the reason they put the debt clock in Manhattan. And Reagan added 200% to the debt.
Clinton raised taxes, balanced the budget, zero deficit. And we got 23 Million jobs, almost 50% more than Reagan.
W Bush took that zero deficit, gave use two "tax cuts for the job creators" and we got 3 Million jobs. He also added 100% to the debt.
And from that zero deficit, W Bush handed Obama a whopping $1.4 Trillion deficit. Also the worst recession since the Great Depression.
Obama got us through the Great Recession, cut the deficit by almost 2/3 to $550 Billion and we got 11.5 Million jobs, almost 400 % more than W Bush.
And that was with the "jobs killing" Obama-care. And 20 Million got healthcare.
All of which to say, corporations paying taxes doesn't hurt the economy. And we have examples of just the opposite.
20
Henry Ford, for all his faults, is rightfully regarded as a capitalist hero for instituting the $5 day, a generous wage in those days. He recognized that people couldn't afford to buy Fords if they were only paid subsistence wages. He would recognize the wisdom in the Nordic system. Why can't our modern capitalists see this?
21
@jrh0
It wasn't Ford's generosity that caused him to raise pay to $5/day. After all, Ford vehemently fought the unions throughout the 1930's. Ford's problem was that the assembly line was so soul-deadening that he had worker turnover worse than that of any fast-food restaurant today. He had to raise pay to that level to keep workers.
8
Henry Ford raised the wage for two specific reasons:
1. To ensure a stable workforce.
2. To boost sales of Fords to the workers.
4
Having worked in Sweden and Norway, it is not all that great. Sure, the people have much more economic security, but the winters with all that dark and cold is not my ideal.
6
@gratis
I felt the same way about Colorado when I spent a winter there in 1970-71.
14
@gratis, Then we can have a better economic system for our country that promotes more economic security for all while not having the Nordic type winters that are dark and cold. If you are happy with the cold of Colorado in winters, then a large swath of the country is much warmer and brighter than Colorado in the winter.
5
@gratis That's a bizarre take. The takeaway from the piece is about the benefits to Americans would accrue from taking a more Nordic approach to public services. The weather has nothing to do with it.
13
Finland is tiny, does not have the ethnic, religious and racial makeup the US has. It does not have the vast and highly expensive climate change challenges, infrastructure problems or expansion of sustainable energy or sustainable agriculture. It does not have
The concept of "compassionate capitalism" is not even on our radar for most of our people. So please don't use tiny, rich countries who use petroleum for most of their energy, have to import quite a bit of their commodities, as well as labor, to be an example the US or any large country. We have social problems that won't be solved with people flush with cash. And the people who elected Trump were middle-income voters, not the poor.
Our corporate structures and our markets have no sense of morality or care for the future. Until capitalists invest in a sustainable and compassionate code of ethics, we are on the cusp of an economy and society that will collapse.
24
Call it socially responsible capitalism, or call it smart long term capitalist self interest - it works. In 1914 Henry Ford (hardly a socialist) doubled his workers wages. In 1922 he implemented the 5 day work week. In 1926 the 40 hour work week. Why? Workers could afford to buy what they made, and did. Productivity and labor stability improved, and increased leisure time stimulated demand for cars. The result was a new path to the middle class, one that benefitted Ford, its workers and the nation.
11
Get the feeling there are more than a few good examples of how to run countries around us, if we’d care to look. Corporate interests prevent us from moving forward, though. Too bad there isn’t a candidate talking about changing that. I mean, other than Elizabeth Warren. Right, fellas?
40
The GDP of Finland is roughly one sixth the size of the state of New York.
The author is comparing apples and oranges... or in this case herring.
15
@Robert :
So, why are the roads in better shape. The size of the country is huge. The population is scattered. But the people are so much more economically secure, To me, it seems to be a matter of good vs poor management.
40
@Robert
All I ever get from conservatives are excuses.
And we are the richest industrial country GDP / capita on the planet.
So much for American Exceptionalism.
13
@Concerned Citizen
85% of the Finnish population lives in urban areas, which usually have well-developed public transportation systems. Take Helsinki: in the dense, hip center, car ownership is at around 30%. This is not because people there can't afford it, it's because we don't need it. Public transportation in Helsinki is modern, covers the area excellently, bring me faster to most places I go than I'd get with a car, and costs way less than having a car to maintain and park in the first place. When we need one, we rent one. I've read so many stories of people in the US having to sell their car because they are not able to afford it and need the money, yet I have never once encountered a similar story here.
6
Our billionaires have known of this for years. And so do the overseers they employ, say about 20% of the population. But it's the overseers not the billionaires we have to fear the most. And the billionaires probably fear the overseers more than they do the rest of us. And who are the overseers? For one the GOP, a significant portion of the military and police, mid level corporate types, the religious right and right wing para- military groups. Given the odds, the majority of billionaires would probably bet on them than on us.
No the odds of civil war are far higher than political reform of the kind the article describes. And the Finns did have to endure a civil war on their journey to the end they now enjoy. An end we are unlikely to see.
18
One item that might be keeping Finland in relative better economic/financial shape than America is the fact that Finland doesn't have the bloated defense budget and military spending known to the U.S. since the end of World War Two.
This fact allows much greater resource and expenditure available to the Finish government to spend on the people of that nation with the end result that its citizens enjoy a high standard of living overall.
54
@Cate
And them with Russia right on their doorstep.
My sentiments exactly
When everyone says free college in European countries it is not what they think. College in the US has been dumbed down to the point it is basically high school with a little more freedom. Many who get into college in the US would have no hope of qualifying to go in Europe. The testing to get in is exceptionally difficult to keep out all but the best students. There are alternatives in terms of trade schools to attend that are easier to get into. Most US parents would not be able to stomach their child(ren) not making it into college and having to “settle” for trade school.
Entry requires significant
There are difficult tests to take to qualify college. Many of the the
41
@shiv, others. I too can confirm MN is a great place to live, but even if all your numbers are correct, the median MN family could be wiped out by a costly medical issue, and I think this produces an anxiety in many people that simply doesn’t exist in Finland.
My overall question is one raised by others - can the Finland style system work in a country as large and diverse as the US?
13
There's a question I ask my educated friends who abhor socialism: How does the wealth distribution in socialist countries, like Sweden and Denmark, compare to the US?
I point out that these socialist countries have much higher personal and corporate tax rates, and more burdensome regulations and laws, such as paid parental leave and free education for all. Shouldn't it be next to impossible to become wealthy in those places?
The majority of people don't believe me--indeed, they often run to Google to prove me wrong--when I tell them that the wealth distribution in these countries is nearly identical to ours. What's missing, of course, is our abject poverty.
87
Republicans and Fox News always say the left wants to make the US a socialist country like Venezuela.
I even saw Ron DeSantis use that against Andrew Gillum in the Florida governor's race.
They never say a country like Finland or Denmark.
Republicans and Fox News count on the ignorance of their voters / audience.
And they aren't disappointed.
And when I talk with individual Republicans and they have to acknowledge the things we read here, all I get are excuses - those countries are small, it's a less diverse population.
Yet we are the richest industrial country GDP / capita on the planet. We have the money.
So much for all their talk of American Exceptionalism.
330
@Independent
We are the richest, and think we are the smartest, after all fearless leader has unmatched wisdom. So why can’t we figure this out. Easy. The minority still in power don’t want to.
29
So business-friendly? I'm with you there. But let's get to brass tacks on the taxes. People earning the equivalent of ~$3600/mo. have an *effective* income tax rate of 44.5%. They also pay separate state income taxes, social insurance taxes, and pension taxes. Corporate income taxes are *20%*; that is right--lower than US corporate income taxes. And there is a 24% VAT on everything. That may or may not be good, but don't suggest that only the "rich" will pay.
10
@James
Agreed.
On the other hand while I pay lower taxes, they don't have out of pocket health care costs. And if you don't have employer provided health care, it can be $2,000 a month for a family of four.
And if parents want to send their children the quality schools described here, pay $15,000 a year in a small city. Maybe $30,000 a year in New York.
Then there is university costs, maybe $60,000 for a four year state university.
They don't have the poverty we have. They have better economic mobility.
I don't mind paying taxes to help others and live in a country without poverty. Kind of sounds like a Christian and the teachings of Jesus I learned, what you do for the least of my brothers is what you do for me.
Perhaps most importantly, is their quality of life. We can see it in this article.
For some of us, we don't mind paying taxes like that and feel we are getting our money's worth.
140
@James : That is one way to look at it. The other side of the coin is that regardless of the taxes they pay, the Finns have more disposable income at the end of the day. They can take a $1000 sudden economic hit in a way that the majority of Americans cannot. What you miss is that it is not what you pay, it is what you have in your pocket after you have paid everything.
And here the Finns win.
424
@James
Egads! Taxes. What you fail to mention, or apprehend, is that after paying their taxes, Finns pay little or nothing for health care. They pay close to nothing for quality child care which would cost at least 20K per annum after taxes in the US. They pay nothing for schools that we can only dream about. They pay little or nothing for university. And they don't need to amass a minimum of a million dollars in a 401K.
And you think you're getting a "great deal" because you pay 10% less in taxes.
A perfect illustration of typically poor American understanding of math.
21
Poverty is the great tragedy inherent in the American capitalist system. Poverty has made our country unsafe and unstable due to the desperation it has caused among the less fortunate.
I would gladly sacrifice some of my retirement income to increased taxes in return for living in an America where it is safe to go to a shopping mall, church, movie theater, or nightclub.
86
@BJ Kapler, So true. In our visit to Sweden, Denmark, and Norway couple of years ago we were so surprised to see much less presence of security personnel than here in the States. One night, after sightseeing in Stockholm, we changed one train, and a bus, then walked for 30 minutes to reach our Airbnb apartment near central train station around 1:30 AM - a city we were visiting for the first time and did not fear for our safety one bit. Imagine doing that in any major city in the U.S.
4
The authors seem to miss the fact that the article proves conservatives’ point: business-friendly policies are good. The article itself notes that Finland, despite higher taxes, is much better than the US in other areas of business friendliness. Imagine how successful they would be if they lowered taxes and spending too.
7
@Anonymous Terrible logic. You’ve missed the point entirely. Businesses are already successful. The point is that businesses aren’t hurt by high taxes. Those taxes underwrite the cost of securing high-quality, healthy employees.
195
@Anonymous
They would not be successful if they lowered spending.
They are successful because they spend on education and healthcare and parental leave, etc.
With that, they don't have the poverty we have and don't have the welfare and prison costs we have.
And since a larger percentage of the population is not poor, people spend more money which is good for business.
Take a look at poor urban black and poor rural white America up close. Walk the streets and towns for a couple of days.
Then take a trip to Finland sometime (but go in July).
Let us know what you think.
1
@Anonymous : You turned all the facts in the article on their heads, and came out with a completely false conclusion.
1
I grew up in a medical family and have worked in surgery for over 27 years. There’s been no end around me anywhere ever to the talking up of “American Healthcare”- much worse seeming the lip service it’s paid by non-American general and professional staff at any level, only to be told or to hear later and in private that it’s just their way of smoothing their work relationships with their American counterparts. When I regard the hardships and frankly the tragedies that have afflicted so many lives here because of obscenely high costs of care (and uneven care at that) and take into account how by virtually any measure Americans cannot distinguish fact from opinion in their reading skills alone, any summary of the efficacy of “our” healthcare is surmisal at best.
41
In the U.S. the shift started with Ronald Reagan with its infamous self-fulfilling prophecy - government is the problem.
With government being the problem, the solution was to make it smaller and defund it. That sure made government programs ineffective, so more defunding was in order and the cycle continued. That’s where we are today.
Now government programs need to be recreated from scratch and that costs a fortune for which nobody wants to pay for.
61
@BWCA
"There’s a big lesson here: When capitalists perceive government as a logistical ally rather than an ideological foe and when all citizens have a stake in high-quality public institutions, it’s amazing how well government can get things done."
Hopefully one day, a critical mass of voters will shake off Reagan's narrative that government and freedom are mutually exclusive. It has put us at least 30 years behind much of Europe.
20
@BWCA "Now government programs need to be recreated from scratch"
That's absurd. The federal government is much larger than it was in 1980.
@BWCA
You can hardly imagine how deeply this flawed and oversimplified reasoning has penetrated American culture.
It stands in the way of virtually EVERY effort to reduce our growing inequality. Its a primary reason Trump supporters keep dreaming that the jobs of the 1950s should be brought back--only they can't be.
2
This article seems quite biased, as there is no data given about the amount of taxes paid by people in Finland for these services. The price that Elizabeth and Bernie are putting on these things are enormous - $30T for healthcare alone - and (for me personally) would constitute a $20-40K increase in taxes, even though I cannot afford a home or child.
2
@Brian The taxes are pro-rated based on income. Finland does not tax people into poverty.
33
@Brian And what is the cost we pay for our current system, every bit and more than that.
5
@Shane Judge I'm fully aware of how taxes work and clearly did not make the strawman argument that your comment projects. There is a massive difference between taxing someone into poverty (strawman argument) and taxing someone to the point where it's detrimental to them being able to achieve their humble aspirations. Many middle class people or, in my case, "rich" people in cities with very high cost of living, would potentially be in the latter bucket with the level of costs being proposed by Elizabeth/Bernie.
2
The writer has gracefully omitted all the very sad facts about Americans health, and mental health. Suicides, mass shootings, anxiety, depression...Americans outrank the planet in these areas.
I just like to live the last 20 years of my life without having to fear that the government is falling apart and I may end up in a tent somewhere if I can scrape together enough healthcare to live that long!
250
Fantastic. We spent a week in Finland on our honeymoon back in 1973. It was great then, and it's great now. Time to get back for a visit!
17
Great article.
I've seem some recent polls that put the US in the bottom half of industrialilzed nations in terms of happiness and livability.
I have almost no confidence that it will improve. I think it will be dissolved.
26
Also remember reading about the teaching profession in Finland. It is tough to become a tecaher. Teachers are respected and paid very well. The result is it is competitive, very bright minds who love children and youngsters become tecahers. When I was a graduate student in a larghe public university in the midwest, I met an undergraduate majoring in education. Asked her why she chose education. She responded saying she was not accepted for major.
21
Let's face it. Americans have been sold a rich man's fairy tale.
Whenever someone floats the idea of providing universal health care or subsidized child care or family leave or higher education or, heaven forbid, a reevaluation of our military, the cries go up that we cannot possibly afford it. Instead, they say, tax cuts for the wealthiest will solve all of our ills, and trickle down on all of us. Who do you think benefits most from that message?
Something has to give.
1441
@avrds Well said. We have all heard that story over and over. I would like to suggest a new tax cut plan "trickle down to Rob". This tax proposal makes sense to me :).
38
Not only benefits, but offshore-hoards their cash to perpetuate that system. By so evading (yes, EVADING) taxes, government is starved and unable to provide its services and stay accountable, the inmates of the vile GOP run its asylum, and the rich can tell us now-poorer non-corporations "you're not working overtime enough!"
Nostradamus got nothin' on that self-fulfilled prophecy.
78
@avrds , It doesn't stop amazing me that so many americans buy the idea that any constraint on the market economy always implies the government ownership of the means of production, and dictatorship of the proletariat. A la Venezuela or North Korea.
I believe it was precisely the similar constraints which made the US so successful in 1930's - 60's. And combined with the otherwise free markets.
81
Finland is pro wealth creation (anathema to the left) and pro wealth sharing (anathema to the right).
Sounds just about perfect!
119
@Will.
I have never heard of anyone on the left being against pro-wealth creation.
35
@Will.
The left is not against wealth creation. Just wealth hoarding at the expense of other citizens.
33
@Will.
Hey! The whole "left" is not against pro-wealth creation. A lot of think that Warren's and Sander's plans, even though we like the general idea, are too much, too soon.
A lot of us DO recognize that we have dynamic wealth creation along with some means to share that wealth!
But the question is: do we want our health-care system to be based on dynamic wealth creation?
4
All things in proper proportions and balance. Why can,t our Capitalists see that a healthy and stable population is more cost effective than the constant chaos and low wage system we have now. If the Powers that be think that running a country by trumps standards of keeping everybody in chaos, constantly paying pennies on whats contracted and owed or not paying at all will get us the same future that trump has experienced, bankruptcy, not just of finances but also bankrupt ethics and failed standing in the world. A little socialism , like that which Warren or Bernie propose, would go a long way to stabilize our society provide a prosperous environment for a growing economy, an economy for all.
27
Our two-party system is non-functional. The last really positive legislation passed were the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts. That was almost forty years ago. Otherwise we've just gone back and forth arguing over the same issues ( gun control, abortion, etc) without result. Other important issues (child care, for instance) haven't even been addressed. Yet the whole time the "burden" on the upper classes has been gradually reduced until the tax revenue simply won't cover the costs associated with a modern civilization.
As it stands now the great majority of American voters have no one actually representing their interests in Washington.
233
@laurence
I disagree that the Clean Water Act was the last good legislation. The Affordable Care Act was not perfect and left alot undone, but it has move the needle tremendously to where many Americans are talking about some sort of universal healthcare and most believe the government should be doing more about healthcare. That was unthinkable 10 years ago. Everyone who is disappointed with it doesn't remember what life was like before: coverage for pre-existing conditions is just part of what we got, but it's huge for families that have a seriously ill family member.
8
I wish I could like this comment more than once!
2
I really enjoyed reading this article. I am Slovenian, like Melania Trump and here we also have a public health care system (my husband and I we pay about 60 € / month for our family of 3), we have an excellent public day care center, that provides 5 healthy meals a day (180 € / month) and the school system is free from 6y-26y.
The problem lately has been because the housing prices increased enourmously given the average income (average salary is about 1100 € / month), but it's still not as scary as reading what some people experience in the USA. In Slovenia you can always apply for the governement founded housing - it can be take a lot of tine, but still, at least it exists.
88
Anu Partanen's book completely changed the way I consider freedom. Why in the world cannot those intelligent, well-intended people pushing for universal health care, strong unions, affordable education, affordable child and elder care stress freedom since, here in America, freedom is everything?
As long as we continue to wrap well-intend arguments in the mantle of welfare, we will fail to progress. Freedom is what sells here. And freedom is what Partanen and Corson are telling us about. Really, really ought to listen.
Read "The Nordic Theory of Everything". Read it again. Consider the lessons.
189
@operadog --so right...I gifted over a dozen copies of her book to many of my friends. Also we lived in Finland for a year with our kids (4, 6, and 12 at the time) and saw it all in action. I'd move back to beautiful Turku, Finland in a heartbeat.
22
@operadog Freedom from want. Freedom from fear. There's a lot more to freedom than just being able to do whatever you want to.
13
Capitalism can work for all of us if we make it work for all of us. This style of capitalism is in line with what Elizabeth Warren is campaigning for for America. Her focus has been on raising wealth taxes, but a higher corporate tax coupled with reducing tax loopholes and corporate write offs would augment her push toward a capitalism for all. I’ve never understood why Republicans are against universal health care that would allow people to shift jobs and follow their personal entrepreneurial whims without the yoke of employer-based health care restricting their personal freedom. It seems obvious that businesses would be better off without having to closely manage employee’s health care options, and with a well educated population to recruit from. I pay a lot in taxes but most of that is spent on weapons and interest on debt instead of health care and education. We’ve strayed far off course with capitalism and it’s time to re-set. Warren shares this vision of how capitalism can thrive for all of us and that’s why I support her campaign.
670
@AW
One plausible explanation is that Republicans in office serve a Republican donor class that thrives through crony capitalism and which would prefer to have a workforce of indentured servants. The money guys and their lackeys really have no interest in the wellbeing of the American people as a whole. What's more, they don't even believe in the free market ideal they preach.
67
@AW "This style of capitalism is in line with what Elizabeth Warren is campaigning for," also applies to Bernie Sanders, Sanders having far more experience in the political arena and consistent over the years in what he stands for.
33
@fishergal
Thank you.
Agreed.
3
Ive been to Finland, love it. But if you cherry pick the US., like Minn.Wis, you can make similar comparisons. Good luck in Finland getting mental health drugs, buying a car without going broke, and a few other things. I also witnessed a number of extremely intelligent, multi lingual individuals in dead-end jobs where they would dominate if they moved here. Federalism is the answer for this country where if the federal tax burden was reduced to the basics, people could afford to pay more taxes at the local level which would be more productive for people.
12
Helskini looks like the twilight zone in the images. I spent the night in the airport there once and can confirm that it kind of is...
4
@AC agree. There is a stark coldness in the photos that are off putting.
1
This story would have more relevance if neither person in the couple were a Finnish national
I agree that Finland has an overall better environment to live that that of US. But Finland is such a small country with homogeneous population, which is very easy to manage. And it is good for middle class citizen to live there because rich people will pay for the services.
On the other hand, we have such a large and diverse population, which is very difficult to manage. And it is good for rich and poor people to live here. Rich people will avoid paying taxes, and poor people has nothing to pay. And middle class citizen will bear the burden of the society.
Depending where one stands in the society, one can easily pick which country is the best to live.
16
@Usok I get your point but Finland has its fair share of wealthy people trying to avoid paying taxes.
In fact, in the late 1990s it was possible to handle your finances in a way in which your effective tax rate was 0%, although you were earning hundreds of thousands of euros in capital income annually. This loophole was fixed in the early 2000s but the prevailing gap between the tax rates on income tax and capital income tax has largely benefited the wealthy. This has, in turn, resulted in the upper middle class having a relatively higher tax rate than the richest 1%.
This comment might seem quite hypocritical coming from a law school student who will most likely find himself in that upper middle class or even that wealthiest 1% in 15 years. However, it just feels unjust to me that during the first 5 years working as an associate at a big law firm in Helsinki my income tax rate could be about 35-45%, whereas 15 years from now working as a partner in that same law firm my total tax rate could settle to about 35% while making about 2-3 times the amount I made as an associate.
My solution would be to increase property taxes on the rich since in Finland it's practically impossible to avoid paying property tax when acquiring real estate and I think that the people who are buying second or third homes can also afford to pitch in in the funding of our welfare state.
13
A quick Google search reveals that median annual household income in Finland is ~$30,000 and that the country’s population is ~5.5 million. The country is essentially mono ethnic.
The size and ethnic composition of Finland is very much like Minnesota.
Minnesota’s population is ~5.7 million, and is ~90% White. The state has a median annual household income of ~$86,000, ie almost 3 times that of Finland. The average Minnesotan gets to keep more of their income as well as taxes are lower than in Finland.
Even if health insurance costs are higher in Minnesota and day care more costly, most Minnesotans come out far ahead of most Finns.
With respect to the authors’ other points, many large corporations are headquartered in Minnesota, and fancy cars are hardly rare there.
Seems like the authors should have moved to Minnesota.
31
@Shiv
Minnesota is a nice place to live. Can confirm. However, I would gladly pay more taxes for all the great benefits mentioned in this article (universal health care, affordable child care, more generous vacation time, tuition-free college, etc.).
451
@Shiv I think the median houshold income is more like $50 000 in Finland. But I don’t think cherry-picking like that is very relevant. If you pick your favorite region of Finland the numbers would be completely different. The point is that everybody is on board with this system.
Source (2017): https://www.ceicdata.com/en/finland/average-household-income-and-number-of-household/average-household-income-per-household
30
@Shiv You forgot to mention :
1) Poverty in Minnesota is 10.8%, Finland 5.8%
2) Life expectancy in Minnesota is 78.7 yrs. Finland = 81.78
3) Infant mortality Minnesota= 5.0/1,000 births. Finland = 1.7
I could go on an on with all sorts of metrics, but please, the quality of life is not measured in raw $$ or the ownership of fancy cars.
If I had to choose between bad weather Finland and bad weather Minnesota, Finland wins hands down.
308
This is an excellent and well thought out op-ed and simply confirms my own decision to leave the US as it follows a downward spiral of mass inequality and is rapidly losing developed nation status on just about every metric.
823
@Bob
I'm seriously considering the same. I hate to see what is happening to this country and fear what will happen next if Trump wins reelection.
137
@Bob
I am considering doing the same thing, going to South or Central America or Europe upon retirement. The advantages of this move greatly outweight any disadvantages.
46
@Bob
Yes, I truly believe we are on the way to becoming a country with living standard on income polarization on par with Latin America
44
This sounds like Elizabeth Warren's vision for our economy; yet she is vilified it even by mainstream Democrats. I guess having two major candidates with similar visions having signficant amounts of public support is at least a starting point for Americans for discussing the issues.
504
@Larry Figdill She is villified because of the costs of her plans, and her lack of transparency about how they will impact our economy and many of us individually. For example, up until recently, she was sticking to the line "the net cost will be the same" re: single payer, which just is an attempt to obscure the fact that taxes would increase and some folks may end up paying more. Why couldn't she just be honest about what an average family vs high earner would be paying? Similarly, some of her policies on corporations would be overly restrictive to the point where they would discourage job creation and investment. For example, paying capital gains tax every year, even on investments that are not liquid. Imagine working for Uber when they were still private and having to pay 40-50% tax on gains, even though you can't sell your stock. That could bankrupt you, or force you to take out crazy expensive loans to pay for taxes when it's not clear that your company will ever even succeed. Who would be able to work at a company like that (besides the 0.1%)? She has a lot of policies that could be good if they were not taken all the way to the extreme, but she pushes to the point where they're incredibly destructive. Worse, people may only see the good parts but not the bad, so we will get whiplashed when the negative effects come to fruition.
5
@Brian
With two exceptions, corporate investment in the US hasn't been happening for a while now, even with the recent tax cuts. The exceptions? Defense and surveillance. I fold Uber into that latter category, and even with massive capital investment Uber remains a zombie firm. Without the differential between capital gains and income taxes, Uber's market valuation would not have been so inflated so your concern that it would have been washed out by gains taxes is dicey at best.
But I tire at concerns expressed for our surveillance industry. We don't make shoes. We don't make clothing. We don't make furniture. We produce megatons of bad food. We don't provide for our children or for the parents who scramble to raise them. Firms have been leaving the US because of corporate attacks on its people. Firms that need healthy, focused people have found other countries better bases for their operations.
27
@Brian Go look at her latest policy numbers. But in any case, ask yourself could she be any worse than what Trump and the Republicans have delivered for you — which is basically less than nothing and making your life harder and more precarious every day?
29