[QUOTE=Kraken;187937]The Nordic model would not work if the population did not trust the goverment. And the tax form is no big deal, everything is reported by the employer anyway.[/QUOTE]
I’m with Ben Franklin: They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.[I].[/I]
I’m with Reagan(and the Russians he got the phrase from) : “Trust, but verify.”
[QUOTE=Lee Shore;187938]I’m with Ben Franklin: They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.[I].[/I][/QUOTE]
How is an auto filled tax form that you can verify before you return it giving up liberty? The state is just an extension of the people.
[QUOTE=Lee Shore;187938]I’m with Ben Franklin: They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.[I].[/I][/QUOTE]
It’s in the US Bill of Rights: The right to free speech, the right of association, the right to bear arms, the right to hide your earnings, the right to vote, and the right to not self-incriminate.
Does the right to bear arms include crossbows? What about nunchaku? Swords? Brass knuckles?
[QUOTE=tugsailor;187906]Compared to most other places, America remains the home of the free. We have lost a lot of freedom as we have become more of a Euro-style bureaucratic nanny state, but it’s still much better here than almost anywhere else.[/QUOTE]
Found these on the free net: https://www.buzzfeed.com/mjkiebus/murica?utm_term=.woq2XW2gB#.cp7LjKLWA
No, it is NOT a comment from my side.
[QUOTE=Emrobu;187943]It’s in the US Bill of Rights: The right to free speech, the right of association, the right to bear arms, the right to hide your earnings, the right to vote, and the right to not self-incriminate.
Does the right to bear arms include crossbows? What about nunchaku? Swords? Brass knuckles?[/QUOTE]
It includes everything except the right to arm bears.
[QUOTE=Lee Shore;187973]It includes everything except the right to arm bears.[/QUOTE]
Nobody wants to exercise that right. Did you hear about that geezer from Ontario who fought off a mama brown bear by engaging her in a boxing match? Chuck Norris never did that. Vladimir Putin never did that.
[QUOTE=Emrobu;187983]Nobody wants to exercise that right. Did you hear about that geezer from Ontario who fought off a mama brown bear by engaging her in a boxing match? Chuck Norris never did that. Vladimir Putin never did that.[/QUOTE]
He’s damn lucky he was in Ontario. A Norwegian bear would have punched his lights out.
[QUOTE=Lee Shore;188000]He’s damn lucky he was in Ontario. A Norwegian bear would have punched his lights out.[/QUOTE]
No doubt. You see bears are endangered, and therefore the Norwegians use petro royalties to teach them self-defense. Norwegian bears are well-known mui thai experts. Luckily, they are also weel-versed in the metric system; so if you’re careful to not come within 5 meters, the Norwegian bear will not kick your ass all the way to Sweden.
[QUOTE=Emrobu;188004]No doubt. You see bears are endangered, and therefore the Norwegians use petro royalties to teach them self-defense. Norwegian bears are well-known mui thai experts. Luckily, they are also weel-versed in the metric system; so if you’re careful to not come within 5 meters, the Norwegian bear will not kick your ass all the way to Sweden.[/QUOTE]
Your deep understanding of the inner workings of the Norwegian philosophy of life is beyond reproach. If I am not mistaken, after six months of successfully knocking out wayward Canadian tourists, bears are provided with lavish estates and all the caviar they can eat for as long as they live. They spend a lot of time watching American TV and looking down their noses at us dumb yanks.
[QUOTE=Lee Shore;188007]Your deep understanding of the inner workings of the Norwegian philosophy of life is beyond reproach. If I am not mistaken, after six months of successfully knocking out wayward Canadian tourists, bears are provided with lavish estates and all the caviar they can eat for as long as they live. They spend a lot of time watching American TV and looking down their noses at us dumb yanks.[/QUOTE]
Important safety advice to hikers in the Norwegian backcountry: Never walk between a bear and her tv set. If you find a bear acting aggressively, drop the lutefisk and slowly back away. Do not run, and do not attempt to have the last word.
[QUOTE=Emrobu;188008]Important safety advice to hikers in the Norwegian backcountry: Never walk between a bear and her tv set. If you find a bear acting aggressively, drop the lutefisk and slowly back away. Do not run, and do not attempt to have the last word.[/QUOTE]
Our bears are prone to eating Anglos, so be aware.
[QUOTE=Lee Shore;188007]Your deep understanding of the inner workings of the Norwegian philosophy of life is beyond reproach. If I am not mistaken, after six months of successfully knocking out wayward Canadian tourists, bears are provided with lavish estates and all the caviar they can eat for as long as they live. They spend a lot of time watching American TV and looking down their noses at us dumb yanks.[/QUOTE]
The only problem is to teach them how to squeeze the caviar from the tube:
Besides, we are a non-discriminating country. Not only Canadian, any North American of whichever persuasion will do.
Canada tops the Lagatum Personal Freedom subindex for 2015: http://globalnews.ca/news/2314236/canada-ranked-first-for-personal-freedom-by-annual-prosperity-index/
USA ranks #15 and Norway #3
Norway tops the over all index. Canada is #6, while USA doesn’t appear on the Top 10 list (USA is ranked 11th over all)
Singapore is 1st on the Economic subindex, with Norway #2, Canada #8 and USA #11
USA tops the Health subindex, (somewhat surprising maybe, except on health care costs) Canada is #11 and Norway #4
Is this another another anti-American post by me, or bragging about Norway and Singapore?
No, just facts put out by a reputable and independent institution.
[QUOTE=Kraken;188012]Our bears are prone to eating Anglos, so be aware.[/QUOTE]
I’m more afraid of your long history of ferocious drunken moose-elks than the bears.
(See Tycho Brahe, see that one that ended up on YouTube after eating too many rotten apples and got stuck in the tree.)
We also have a dangerous moose-elk problem, but (despite being the freest nation on earth, apparently) we don’t allow our moose-elks to imbibe.
Notice what the top countries share in common? In general: smaller populations, weak militaries, easy to invade and have been overrun or saved from being overrun in the recent century.
Once President Trump withdraws the United States from NATO, abandons Syria to our new friend Vladimir and financial instability and military insecurity take hold across the continent let’s revisit that ranking. You know, once Norway has to spend your tax dollars on defense and not Tesla car chargers. Just sayin…
[QUOTE=Lee Shore;187930]I don’t remember being in anything lower than 39% bracket but we have a ridiculously convoluted tax system so it doesn’t mean I pay 39% of my income in taxes. We have a zillion tax deductions to explore and experiment with. And we have scammers who know how to siphon off the system as I am sure you do.[/QUOTE]
It is also a matter of what you get back for your tax $$ in the form of services and benefits.
If you pay only 10% of your income in pure taxes, but still have to pay for health insurance, education for your kids and secure your own pension through private institutions, this may add up to more than 30% in total.
If you rely upon your employer to cover you, you may find that there is no employer one day, as many in the Marine industry do right now.
In the Norwegian system you are covered from “cradle to grave”, even if you are not able to take care of yourself for whatever reason. There is no such thing as “self-inflicted”, or “pre-existing condition”, to let your insurer off the hook.
As one that hasn’t lived in Norway, nor paid taxes to Norway, for most part of my live, I do not reap the same benefits as those who have, but that only fair. I have lived in a system somewhere between that of the US and the European socialized system. I do not complain.
Now that I’m a resident I’m entitled to some of the benefits, like near free health care, with a minimal contribution in the form of tax on my pension. (Thanks heaven I’m not in need of any at the moment)
This applies even if I am not able to find work. I cannot claim unemployment benefits, though, since I haven’t worked in Norway for many years.
Like all system, it works best if you fit neatly into a “box”. If not you have to take it as it comes.
[QUOTE=DeckApe;188046]Notice what the top countries share in common? In general: smaller populations, weak militaries, easy to invade and have been overrun or saved from being overrun in the recent century.
[B]Once President Trump ([I]is able to[/I])withdraws the United States from NATO,[/B] abandons Syria to our new friend Vladimir and financial instability and military insecurity take hold across the continent let’s revisit that ranking. You know, once Norway has to spend your tax dollars on defense and not Tesla car chargers. Just sayin…[/QUOTE]
Let’s hope that day NEVER comes.[B][/B]
4 posts were split to a new topic: A definition of the kilogram based on a fundamental constant of nature
Came into this topic rather late but after having the metric system for many years the stability data on the El Ferro caused a headache with feet and inches reappearing.
I have observed that since the introduction of the metric system and changing from pounds shilling and pence people are now less able to perform mental arithmetic. Often expressing a value as a fraction makes it easier to perform a calculation.
Years ago there was a disk jockey in Minneapolis who refused to give winter temperatures in Celsius. His reasoning was that the system didn’t make sense. When it’s 0 degrees Fahrenheit it’s cold. When it’s above 0 degrees it’s not so cold. When it’s below 0 degrees it’s very cold. 0 degrees Celsius isn’t cold at all (in Minneapolis terms).
Cheers,
Earl