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

[sekker]

Lux Interior wrote:
[quote=pdq]We have a lot of oil, too, but no sovereign wealth fund.

We do have a bootstrap fund, though.
You can tap into that AFTER you pay off your college 'loans.'

[samintx]

Norway and me have lost huge $$$in the sovereign fund with an off shore driller. Don't know if it will ever come back.

[OWC Jamie]

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

Did you go into a grocery store and see what they pay for food ? Did you visit any farms and listen to the owners that are still farming lamenting cheap produce being imported ( like Venezuela ) and putting them out of business ? It shouldn't be surprising why cheap frozen pizza is so popular.
Did you buy any products and pay the 25% VAT ? Did you look at what they pay for a car (if they can afford one ) ?
Did you ask how many of their smart relatives have fled the country to work and put some money away ? Did you ask any of those relatives that left if they would go back if it weren't for the North Sea oil money that is funding their retirement program ?


edit:tags
Norway being some kind of socialist paradise is a fairy tale myth progressives who have never been there need to believe in. It doesn't matter if there are any facts to support the myth or not.

[samintx]

I wasn't saying Norway was paradise. If you interpreted my post that way …sorry. Just relating what I knew…from being there. Yes I paid the 25% vat tax and found it strange 99% of the fast food places -- Subway(on every corner). Thought this strange but with your comments it might be Subway sandwiches may be cheaper than a Big Mac etc fast food.

I don't want to live in Norway or think it is a haven.(I don't eat Subwaysmiley-excited001

[Lux Interior]

.

[Numo]

billb wrote:
[quote=samintx]
When I was in Norway I asked what their taxes were and it was something like 43%. They get everything free BUT you must remember the population is only about 4M so easier to govern.

Did you go into a grocery store and see what they pay for food ? Did you visit any farms and listen to the owners that are still farming lamenting cheap produce being imported ( like Venezuela ) and putting them out of business ? It shouldn't be surprising why cheap frozen pizza is so popular.
Did you buy any products and pay the 25% VAT ? Did you look at what they pay for a car (if they can afford one ) ?
Did you ask how many of their smart relatives have fled the country to work and put some money away ? Did you ask any of those relatives that left if they would go back if it weren't for the North Sea oil money that is funding their retirement program ?


edit:tags
Norway being some kind of socialist paradise is a fairy tale myth progressives who have never been there need to believe in. It doesn't matter if there are any facts to support the myth or not.
I've been there and to me, it looks like a very nice place to live. How many people here would trade places to live there if they could? A whole lot. And as pointed out above, the U.S. has natural resources that dwarf North Sea oil. The difference is how the government decides to allocate those resources.

[vision63]

Los Angeles County has about the same population as Norway. Norway is mostly one kind of people. Mostly. They don't have a segment voting to spite another segment based solely on their race like we do.

[Speedy]

vision63 wrote:
Los Angeles County has about the same population as Norway. Norway is mostly one kind of people. Mostly. They don't have a segment voting to spite another segment based solely on their race like we do.

Clearly you have never been there or you would know how they treat ethnic Swedes.

[vision63]

Speedy wrote:
[quote=vision63]
Los Angeles County has about the same population as Norway. Norway is mostly one kind of people. Mostly. They don't have a segment voting to spite another segment based solely on their race like we do.

Clearly you have never been there or you would know how they treat ethnic Swedes.
I have never been there I have watched the Vikings play. I did make one mistake. LA County has nearly twice Norway's population. How many ethnic Swedes we talking about? My main point is that Norway's solution isn't really relatable to any aspect of what we have to deal with.

[max]

Acer wrote:
And, all investment choices are made by the state.

Wrong again, the "fund is managed by Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM)" a set up analogous to our CALPERS. Your state, the politicians, do not pick the investments the fund puts its money in, however they do limit the areas the fund is not allowed to tread.
And you cannot get more capitalistic than the Swiss gnomes being the financial guides for the fund's investments...