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Showing posts from February, 2016

Venezuela economic challenges today; Is Venezuelan socialism to blame partly? Are Scandinavian social democracy/welfare state success stories true?

Last updated on 18th Feb. 2018 I came across this article a day or two ago, Traveling Through Venezuela, a Country Teetering on the Brink, http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/09/world/americas/a-reporter-travels-through-venezuela-a-country-teetering-on-the-brink.html , Feb. 9th 2016. I have given below some comments I made on a post that I wrote on the Facebook timeline of a person who used to live in Venezuela earlier but now has moved to USA. [Hope going through just my comments in the comment exchange is not that unpleasant. I think it does convey my limited view of the matter and that's why I decided to put it up as a blog post.] My God! Are things that bad in Venezuela today! Hmm. Part of the reason surely would be the collapse in the price of crude oil as mentioned in the article (main source of revenue for Venezuela, I believe). But there would be other reasons too. Perhaps your view is that Venezuela style socialism has to take part of the blame? ... Sorry to know about

Some observations about Denmark today by a European

Last updated on 16th Feb. 2016 Some observations about Denmark today by a European:     - free health care     - free education     - abortion allowed     - homosexual marriage allowed     - socially very liberal     - hardly religious at all     - very high taxes     - excellent social safety net     - high unemployment benefits     - good pension system     - most equal country on earth     - supports alternative energy (currently 20+%, aims for 50% in a decade or two)     - just about everybody knows that evolution is a fact     - just about everybody knows that climate change is a fact     - people are happy On top of that     - rich     - high business climate index     - high personal freedom index     - least corrupt country on earth     - running a net economic surplus     - high rate of home ownership     - a free press     - a working democracy According to some "theories" such a socialistic country (Denmark) should be a bankrupt dicta