Norway's [public] pension fund is now worth over $1 trillion

[Numo]

Stupid socialists. Comes to almost $200,000 per person (after free health and education). At the same time here in the U.S., our government is doing everything it can to reduce it's commitment to citizens, especially to those who can least afford it.

http://money.cnn.com/2017/09/19/investin...index.html

[NewtonMP2100]

....Norway.....??

......NO......Way.......

[Speedy]

That's a lot of oil! It also helps that you generate lots of renewables and give away a lot of that to run battery powered vehicles tax-free.

[gabester]

Someone else beat me to the math... all I can think is how nice it would be to live somewhere there's a natural wealth that is shared broadly amongst the people who inhabit a land of such wealth.

Let me get back to trying to squeeze gold from stones.

[max]

Ammo wrote:
Stupid socialists. Comes to almost $200,000 per person (after free health and education).

You are right, Ammo, the "stupid socialists" would have not let it happen.

The reason these guys are worth so much is because "stupid Socialists" lost the 1997 election and the Norwegian government shifted to the right.

The reason these guys are worth so much is because in 1998, the now centrist government excluded Socialists and allowed investments up to 40% (later raised to 70%) in the global stock markets.

The reason these guys are worth so much is because the epitome of capitalism, its very engine, the stock market, is what grew the fund at 5% year since their decision to invest.

The reason these guys are worth so much is because "stupid Socialists" had been sidelined and had nothing to do with it, showing them to be, indeed, stupid.....

[samintx]

When I was in Norway I asked what their taxes were and it was something like 43%. They get eveerything free BUT you must remember the population is only about 4M so easier to govern.

[Acer]

"The fund has generated an annual return of 5.9 % since January 1998, a figure that is reduced to 4% when management costs and inflation are included."

That's nice, but well off the "10-12%" figures usually touted by market hawks.

At 4% a year, it would take 72/4=18 years to double an initial investment.
So, very generally speaking, about half of that trillion is principal, or in this case, profits from state-owned oil revenues and taxes.

And, all investment choices are made by the state.

There's some capitalism there, for sure, but that is NOT the product American capitalists are trying to sell us.

[Lux Interior]

Ammo wrote:
Stupid socialists. Comes to almost $200,000 per person (after free health and education).

The stupid socialists built up the wealth. Now the right has come to power on the issue of (what else?) immigration & tax cuts. Sounds familiar, right?

I'm sure they'll put that money where it belongs...in the hands of the already wealthy.

[pdq]

Speedy wrote:
That's a lot of oil! It also helps that you generate lots of renewables and give away a lot of that to run battery powered vehicles tax-free.

We have a lot of oil, too, but no sovereign wealth fund.

[Lux Interior]

pdq wrote: We have a lot of oil, too, but no sovereign wealth fund.

We do have a bootstrap fund, though.