Where's that standard of living coming from? What's paying for it? What's funding the welfare state?
They're pumping oil out of the Earth. You know -- that stuff that causes the greenhouse gases that Biden, Kerry and AOC claim not to like.
They main thing they were doing before North Sea oil was fishing.
Ohhh, and how long ago were renewables not an option?
And if they're an option now, then what are the Norwegians doing still pumping out the black gold that releases CO2?
Oh yeah? What do they export from that?
Ahh, so they're living off their wealth. Their productivity has come from pumping wealth out of the ground (North Sea) like Saudi Arabia pumps it out.
And after that they're just living off the interest -- how productive of them, Not.
So any billionaire in the USA gets called out for being rich and living off their wealth. But the Norwegians get exempted from that, just because they're not in the US?
Yes, by giving that money as tax rebates back to the citizens, it allows the citizens to then individually decide what to do with the money.
It doesn't get swallowed by a state bureaucracy which then becomes its own favorite beneficiary cause.
The people of Alaska have made their own decision on what's best for them.
Speaking of being biggest receiver states -- NATO partners in Europe are the biggest receiver states, being recipients and beneficiaries of US spending on NATO, which far exceeds all the others.
Trump's call for NATO partners to spend more again shows itself as prescient and wise, even though it triggered the fake Russia Collusion Hoax against him
Yes, the people of Alaska chose to fritter their oil wealth away, and save very little of it.
”Yes, by giving that money as tax rebates back to the citizens, it allows the citizens to then individually decide what to do with the money.
It doesn't get swallowed by a state bureaucracy which then becomes its own favorite beneficiary cause.”
And that kind of bumper sticker right wing talk radio “thinking” is why Alaska is a welfare state, and expected to get a lot poorer.
In reality, in contrast to your simplistic fantasy, “bureaucrats” in Norway invested their oil profits, and the earnings are there for everyone’s benefit.
Sorry but a smart strategy to make an entire society prosperous is a whole lot better in the long run than frittering it away, which is what you support.
And, You can pay their bills. You do already.
You don’t pay Norway’s bills, regardless of your empty false parochial ranting.
Norway kept the oil money and invested it on behalf of all Norwiegans. And now you’re bitter because they invested their money and people who think like you decided to fritter it away.
Which is why it has a higher standard of living than you do.
And they have the money to keep it that way.
BTW, Norway is going to discontinue fossil fuel development and significantly reduce its use in the next few years.
You ask what they produce?
Their windmill industry is the world leader.
Next time you want to comment in world affairs, try learning something first.
I doubt that the average trump dead ender could find Norway or Ukraine on a map.
