(05-14-2020, 09:42 PM)mikesez Wrote:

(05-14-2020, 09:24 PM)Last42min Wrote: Norway is as close as it gets.They have a very transparent government, which makes it an interesting case study. Still not fully socialist. It's a mixed economy. They control a few (major) national industries, but they are largely free market.

Right.  Norway is similar to Venezuela before Chavez.  Chavez greatly increased the benefits promised to citizens, and it's easy to say, well that was too much, that's why Venezuela broke and Norway still hums along.  But to me, it's something else.  Because I think Norwegians enjoyed more benefits than Venezuelans before Chavez. Certainly a poor Norwegian wouldn't have switched places with a poor Venezuelan back in 1996.  Chavez did something, beyond just handing out more money, that broke Venezuela.

He took over the economy.  

Redistribution of wealth and the free creation of wealth are two separate concepts.  The state is incapable of managing risk and producing goods with the efficiency innovation and dynamism of the private sector.

Smarter social democracies have low regulation to allow innovation and dynamism in creating the wealth they need to redistribute.  That's why there are nordic countries held up for their social safety net that rank higher than us in terms of economic freedom.

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