Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Who throws most money away?

Tag debatten om ulandsbistand. Anti-amerikanske aktivister og intellektuelle ynder at påpege, at verdens rigeste land "kun" giver 0,22 procent af bruttonationalindkomsten i ulandsbistand sammenlignet med tæt på 1 procent for de skandinaviske lande og omkring en halv procent i Frankrig og Storbritannien. Men disse tal dækker udelukkende over ulandsbistand fra det offentlige. Amerikanske borgere giver markant større frivillige bidrag til ulandene end borgere i andre lande gør. Ifølge tænketanken Hudson Institute bruger USA faktisk 0,98 procent af bruttonationalindkomsten på ulandshjælp, hvis man regner de private bidrag med. Forskellen er, at i USA tager borgerne selv initiativ til at gøre noget, mens europæerne sætter deres lid til staten. (#)
The answer is not Scandinavians or Europeans, but Americans. That is nice to know next time a self-absorbed Danish person tries to promote himself on false pretenses.

Friday, November 09, 2007

USA vs. Nordic countries - who wins?

Do you know someone who is constantly saying that the Nordic countries are "better" than USA? Do you lack good arguments against that position? Then I have your solution! This report is it. Read it!

"...Scandinavians are the poorest people in Western Europe once income is adjusted for taxes and the cost of living."
"If nations are being judged on the prosperity of their poorest citizens, then Nordic nations certainly are equal to the United States."
"...strong economic growth is better than income redistribution if the goal is to help the least fortunate in society."