By Daniel Waterborne | The Plaid Zebra
For the twelfth year in a row, Norway has been named the best country on earth to be a human in. According to the Human Development Report, Norway ranks the highest in life expectancy at an average of 81 years. Norway also ranks highest in education and standard of living. The country ranked eight places above the United States and fourteen places above the United Kingdom.
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It’s no mystery why Norway is a consistent overachiever. While other countries focus on promoting pursuits of personal capital, Norway puts precedence on social capital. The result is a sense of cooperation that vaults the common good. The country is home to some of the best paid blue-collar workers and some of the worst paid CEOs. In the United States, some CEOs make 300 times more than the typical American worker. Norwegians have long since realized that an unfairness of income results in limitations placed on social mobility. This can lead to a bubbling of mistrust and political instability, which can affect not only the overall health of society, but the individual health of its citizens. By not excluding citizens from education or healthcare based on income, by employing a system of progressive taxation, Norway closed a wealth gap and stopped letting citizens fall through the cracks.
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If you visit Norway, you will be hard pressed to find the towering glass-skyscrapers and the retail mecca of sprawling department stores. The country has chosen to forgo the “I shop therefore I am mentality” and has ditched the dangling diamond encrusted carrot-stick of materialism. Rather than embrace excess, Norway has embraced modesty. Two key-predictors of the happiness of a population are social support and generosity. While countries with lower rates of taxation may enjoy similar healthy-life expectancy, GDP per capita and freedom, social values promoted by Norway’s social structure have helped secure its place among the happiest countries of the world.
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Kathinka Marie Natvig Majda Pasic ??
I love England.
Are you accepting US refugees, trying to escape a disgusting system that murders it’s own citizens and bows to the world bankers ?
Going the same place in my thought also.
I am happy anywhere I go. When you move, you take yourself with you.
Yes Most people don’t realize this truth.
Well said.
I’m going and i hope they accept refugees from the US
Crystal Jacqueline Presttun sure sounds great! Hope you’re enjoying the holiday season! All the best to you and yours.
And to you dear friend 🙂
Way to go Norway. Beautiful.
If you’re white and norweigan
why do u think that? I’m asian and Norwegian.. ignorant
Based on my own experience
Haven’t been many places. But hope to change that this year.
They heavily tax citizens 45% compared to US at 25%. They are 86% Caucasian. You can’t compare them to the US.
I live and work in Norway.
I pay 32% tax, which includes full social benefits such as cost free hospitalization (everything from having a wound stitched to a heart and lung transplant), education from the age of 6 and up all the way through university, to name just two.
Five weeks of paid vacation per year, six from you’re 60, plus days off in conjunction with public holidays such as Christmas, Easter etc.
Minimum wages are around US$18 per hour.
The only drawback I can think of are the long and dark northern winters.
Electricity costs 3/4 of a U.S. cent per kWh, and tap water is virtually free 🙂
Nice to hear that
Part of the issue is America is extremely diverse and different. What is good for New York is not good for Texas. What works in Texas is not good for Florida. Each state is Unique and filled with people of all races. t’s hard to create a system like that in America. There are so many people abusing the government services in the US. The averaged tax payers are fed up.
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America has 319 million population. Norway is 5 million. That a lot easier to have a socialist system.
It’s also matter of prioritizing and political will.
Equal opportunities for all to education and health is a priority here.
Hence these two are offered free of charge equally to every citizen.
It isn’t “a socialist system”, but a compassionate one.
Knut E. Arnesen is your electricity subsidised in Norway its very cheap?,In Ireland it’s between 15 to 18 cent per kwh!
It isn’t subsidised. It’s 100% renewable hydropower, and the price reflexes the actual production and distribution costs: 6 Norwegian øre per kWh, i.e. about 0.6 of a euro-cent / 0.7 US cents.
I’m moving to Norway i hate California
If only I were a Native Norwegian.
Ray, you’re full of crap. Norway may only have 5 million people, but they also arent the richest country either. We are. We are a country of greedy douchebags. The rest of the civilized world gets it, you and those like you don’t get it.
If they can do it we can too,but in this country there is a political party, that is beholden to the all mighty dollar, and they lie and fear monger to win elections, when they aren’t stealing elections and knocking legal voters from the voting rolls, or committing election fraud.
So why is cities like Detroit going bankrupt and Chicago has the worst crime? Are they not run by democrats top to bottom. Most blue stats are in fiscal trouble. You can’t give out more money than you collect. It’s not corporate greed it’s politicians making promises they cant keep to buy votes. Stop blaming capitalism for ignoring politics and finances.
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No ways
I like to go here and work……thats what im looking for
I guess you can thank Slarty Bartfast for those fanatic fiords.
My favorite place is where my family is.
Who writes these articles? Norwegians aren’t any better https://time.com/4133035/norway-wolves-hunting/
Sounds like a great place to live
Ruben Andre Waage
Sonja this made me think of you
There is no secret formula, it’s simple! Always has been!
I’m half Norwegian, got room for me and my wife?