Sweden Not a Socialist Success

Democratic socialists in the United States point to Sweden as a socialist success. But Swedish historian Johan Norberg says, "Sweden is not socialist."
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Norberg hosts a documentary called "Sweden: Lessons for America?" in which he notes that in Sweden, "government doesn't own the means of production. To see that you have to go to Venezuela or Cuba or North Korea."
John Stossel asks Norberg why so many Americans think Sweden is Socialist. Norberg answers, "we did have a period in the 1970s and 1980s when we had something that resembled socialism: a big government that taxed and spent heavily."
But in his documentary, he explains that big government led to problems: "our economy was in crisis, inflation reached 10%, and for a brief period interest rates soared to 500 percent. At that point the Swedish population just said, 'Enough, we can't do this'" Norberg tells Stossel.
Sweden cut public spending, privatized the national rail network, abolished certain government monopolies, eliminated inheritance taxes, sold state-owned businesses, and switched to a school voucher system. They also "lowered taxes and reformed the pension system," adds Norberg.
So Stossel asks why we keep hearing "that Sweden is this socialist paradise."
Norberg answers: "We do have a bigger welfare state than the U.S. and higher taxes than the U.S. But in other areas, when it comes to free markets, when it comes to competition, when it comes to free trade, Sweden is actually more free market."
He's right, according to the Heritage Foundation's Economic Freedom Rankings. Sweden ranks higher than the U.S.
Norberg also tells Stossel that Sweden's tax system may surprise Americans. "This is the dirty little secret … We don't take from the rich and give to the poor. We squeeze the poor, because rich people might leave."
Even people who earn below average income pay up to 60% in taxes.
Stossel asks: what lessons should Americans take from Sweden?
"You can't turn your backs [on] the creation of wealth," warns Norberg.
"Sweden: Lessons for America?" airs on PBS on October 29th at 7 p.m. Eastern. You can also watch it at freetochoose.tv.

[@JakeLovesSteak]

Time to post this video on Facebook and get yelled at by all my leftist friends...

[@ameyers67]

I don't have Facebook so I'm counting on you to spread the word.

[@bldlightpainting]

Change friends

[@silence-humility-calmness]

No no, keep those friends and be a good influence

[@kennymccormick4878]

You mean they haven't screeched and run to their safe spaces while simultaneously spamming how horrible you are as they unfriend you yet? Damn, those are the most tolerant leftists I've ever heard of.

[@JB-vt5sz]

A friend on the left is no real friend

[@BoomSonicSuper]

I live in Sweden and everyone around me who support socialism still complain :/ Take this from me: Nothing will please people who support socialism in the end. They will continue to complain regardless.

[@squeakersthegryphon5338]

That is until socialism is implemented. Then goverment will get rid of malcontents. People are not normal...

[@kenji214245]

Uh everyone complains. That is pretty much standard for people in general when they are well of. They get petty about things. It's not just socialists

[@Tigerman1138]

You must be a republican: Socialist day you are perfect. You must be perfect. No doubt.

[@RamisDad]

That depends, If they are poor, they are better off in Sweden. The US is the best country in the world for rich people.

[@Discontinuedalready7372]

@@RamisDad _No. Literally. It's hard to find a job in Sweden_

[@blankblank1949]

Bernie : Denmark is a socialist country Denmark PM : We're not a socialist country, we're free market economy

[@theedmaster7748]

Then let's adopt their policies which work

[@theedmaster7748]

@Simon Duvenage first of all, I'm not american. I live in western europe Secondly, you seem to characterise the usa as some sort of empire defending her colonies. It is a Republic and should remain so in accordance with their founding fathers Third of all, in terms of drug development, the American taxpayer could be said to subsidize the low costs for non Americans by paying for a drug with a jacked up price, where tax payer money is routinely used to help develop drugs which are then patented Fourthly, if I was an American patriot, I'd consider it my duty to sacrifice a bit so that every one of me fellow citizens can access healthcare without fear of going due to it being a major expense. Like how in the usa, you sacrifice some money so that all can use a road Fifthly, its more expensive to keep the current model than to adopt public healthcare, due to administration in the private sector. Plus, people going to be treated earlier would increase worker productivity, which would help the economy

[@annemarita4259]

@@theedmaster7748 Not the most simple thing to do. I grew up in Scandinavia and the way these policies are run, are through private entities. I ran a large medical supply business in the U.S. and can tell you that the U.S. cannot do anything like the Scandinavian countries before they kill all the corruption. Just look at all the taxes that are already collected in CA and how none of it is benefiting the Citizens. That's the way Socialism is understood by the American Socialist leaders. And the results are nothing short of a disaster.

[@annemarita4259]

@@theedmaster7748 Unfortunately you are not familiar with the system in the U.S. Not to mention all the corruption and where tax payers money is going. Nothing can be fixed until the corruption is killed.

[@theedmaster7748]

@@annemarita4259 That may be true on a federal level. But I think that the way it could be done is to have the federal government order all states to form universal healthcare systems by themselves. Then states can look to countries with similar population sizes and or densities and see what would work for them Corruption is a separate issue which could have a large part of it killed off by limiting campaign contributions. But this is besides the point Right now, drug companies have a monopoly on certain drugs, so can jack up prices. Insurance companies dictate which doctors you can see. They form an oligopoly. I think it's better that government ration care that bodies with a profit motive (the profit function in the free market, for those who are unaware)

[@TrueBlueAgain]

I'm Swedish and this is totally true. Don't fall into the trap!

[@gologe3328]

I'm true and this is totally swedish

[@generalpahjor2623]

People like to think that being social is being socialist.

[@markcrawford5810]

Temporary comment 3:11

[@vebjrndrefvelin4873]

Norwegian here, i dont like when people call scandinavia socialist. We have social policies but are most definetly free market capitalist economies. I support the right usually, but when it comes to privatising natural resources i have to disagree and say that natural resoursces are meant to be enjoyed by all the population (yes i am referring to all the oil we have)

[@RealScopezZ]

Vebjørn Drefvelin Yeah there is no socialist system in Scandinavia. I think they got something wrong

[@meister5870]

Every country that has social things like a free healthcare system or free universities, etc. is a socialist country when you ask american people.

[@meister5870]

They do not know that in most european countries is a social market economy. This means a free market for producers and consumers but things like the healthcare, school and so on is paid with taxes.

[@RealScopezZ]

meister58 I know but all the thinks that you mentioned Doenst make a country socialist. But indeed more social than U.S. :)

[@JonnyUtah777]

Vebjørn Drefvelin - bad idea. Everything private thrives and makes a competitive market against the others with their private resources-

[@C_R_O_M________]

All Nordic Capitalist systems are market economies with an extended welfare state. Far from being socialist.

[@HammerheadGuitar]

Please tell me more about how horrible the 90's were when neo-liberalism was the dominant economic ideology.

[@homewall744]

But don't most "social democrats" not want socialism, just market economies with a welfare state?

[@dannyvario4776]

From a Finn - you're right. We are capitalist countries with high total tax rate (and lot of bureaucracy). The only exception is that the govt provides the very basic needs of well-being (if needed). I mean, we don't practically have homeless, public healthcare is good quality and "free", and everyone in need is given at least 500€/$550 a month social security. So there is no possibility to starve under the current system.

[@HammerheadGuitar]

Ugitzu The main cause of the crash was because the government started to guaranteeing mortgages of people who couldn't afford their mortgages. That's not neo-liberalism, that's big government trying to 'fix' perceived injustices of the free market and failing miserably as usual.

[@kylekatarn5964]

@@HammerheadGuitar Clumsy government policies always seem to get blamed on the free market, when corporatism and cronyism are *always* at fault.

[@shermanngjazz]

Lenin: "The goal of socialism is communism."

[@MACTEP_CHOB]

@f. m. And this returns

[@MACTEP_CHOB]

@f. m. Check the Claus Schwab

[@pietdezwart2271]

Socialism/communism have the same goal.......a classless society. the difference lies in how to get there. communism uses revolution, socialism the power of parties in government.

[@yeahibecoollikethat]

@@pietdezwart2271 You clearly have not idea lol

[@leswhynin913]

I think Scandinavia could be characterized as free market economy but with a much broader social safety net than the U.S

[@jonathanv5171]

The video is not correct. Sweden has democratic elections and parties that are not socialists have won different years. Various reforms have been left over from previous governments as well.

[@jayeevee1693]

spot on. That's all it is. It happens to be very wealthy so it is easier to have generous welfare and what may work in Sweden will not necessarily transfer to very different countires (like the UK for example)

[@joshuadias2468]

The problem is that people want high taxes only on the rich, and all the government benefits. But the rich can simply move to another part of the world if it saves them 100's of millions. And government agencies have never performed better than private companies anywhere in the world.

[@jayeevee1693]

@Dander Spat its not free. nor is the UK health service. They are just insurance shcemes run by the state... Bernie? Isn't he out of it now?

[@ardeiwann]

For some reason Americans confuse Socialist with Social Democratic, which is what Scandinavia should be characterized as

[@benjaminmcvay9864]

Hahaha love the people on the street interviews. "Ya I've never been to Sweden and haven't done any research, but I heard on the news that they're socialist and I've been told my opinion is that socialism is good." The NPC programming is too strong.

[@chriscunningham6401]

Orange Man is bad! REEEEE

[@gagamba9198]

using namespace swedesgetgibs; int main() { cout

[@bldlightpainting]

Sweden was not founded on biblical truths which come from our Creator as America has been blessed with, so I'll stick with the good old USA. "The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity. I will avow that I then believed, and now believe, that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God." John Adams "The Bible is the chief moral cause of all that is good and the best corrector of all that is evil in human society; the best book for regulating the temporal [secular] concerns of men." Noah Webster "IN GOD WE TRUST" is the official motto of the United States of America, and has appeared on U.S. currency since 1864. "You can't have National morality apart from religious principle.” George Washington "If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under." Ronald Reagan "Intelligence, patriotism, Christianity, and a firm reliance on Him, who has never yet forsaken this favored land, are still competent to adjust, in the best way, all our present difficulty." Abraham Lincoln

[@donh01965]

Some animals are more equal than others

[@sandrothenecromancer6810]

Socialism is always good for the burocrats, metacapitalists and revolutionaires, there is a reason why they always become rich and powerful while everyone with a good background is hunted down.The purpose of communism is to attain power and to keep it forever, it is the theology of power, it is far more than just ideological movement, but a culture and even demonic faith.

[@williamchadwick7948]

"A 102 per cent tax rate? We can do better!"--Bernie Sanders

[@ericdaniel323]

That was misleading. She determined that she paid 102% of a portion of her income. Still bad, in my opinion, because I don't think there should ever be a situation where making more means you take home less, but misleading.

[@josefstalin4532]

@@ericdaniel323 Nothing misleading about it. It said right in the video her top marginal tax rate was 102%, which is factually accurate.

[@josefstalin4532]

@Brett Madison Yeah bernie is a major league dumbass. He has said many times that the workers should own the means of production. We have already seen where that kind of thinking leads.

[@vothaison]

But can we.. (play vsause theme music)

[@basspig]

With property taxes my tax rate is over 102%.

[@jerrywitaj]

“The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money”. Margaret Thatcher

[@halleffect5439]

Libertarian: Sweden is not socialism! Me: Ok, can we have their health and education system. Libertarian: No, thats socialism.

[@jerrywitaj]

Hall Effekt overall Sweden isn’t a socialist country, but having the government run healthcare is socialist.

[@halleffect5439]

@@jerrywitaj Ok, now im confused. Your american, right?

[@jerrywitaj]

Hall Effekt yes I am. I think you can have what’s called “soft socialism”, where certain entities are owned by the government, such as healthcare or mass transit, etc. Every country has some entities that are publicly owned. A completely socialist government, where everything is publicly owned would be places like Venezuela. Sweden tried much more aggressive socialist policies in the 70s and 80s, but it failed miserably. They’re capitalists now.

[@user-yw4fz6xk2j]

Thanks God the bitch is dead but sadly all her smart talk will stay forever in the minds of imbeciles... I also would like to quote one of her other wise phrases... Anyone who doesn't own a car by 30 is a failure... Think about these wise words in a traffic jam!!!

[@jimda4910]

I'd like to see Stossel do a video on how successful their government is in providing service. Drive around, trash on the streets, homeless camps on the sidewalk ,potholes, four and a half hours at the DMV to file a piece of paper, Healthcare. It's not the taxes we pay that were angry about,its the value we get, it's the taxing you for one thing diverting the money and it vanishes. It's not the city tax, it's the 800 people at the city council meeting telling their employees how they want things run and then the employees doing the exact opposite. all this socialist talk is a diversion from the inefficiency and how fed up we are.

[@garylangley4502]

One of the truths I have in my life is that if you want something done in the least efficient, least effective, and most expensive way, get the government to do it.

[@eahemming]

@@garylangley4502 that sounds more like a feeling than a truth

[@garylangley4502]

@@eahemming I have based that on years of observation and dealings with bureaucrats.

[@tharparoberts1139]

There is the most homelessness in America in the most liberal cities. Who'd a thunk it!

[@DeadAbeVigoda]

“Fascism, Nazism, Communism, and Socialism are only superficial variations of the same monstrous theme-collectivism.” -Ayn Rand

[@NewBeginningsThePunchNews]

100% right

[@nadinadi8385]

any rand is no philosopher, just a selfish bitch who wrote a book and lived a miserably.

[@ivanvolkov4469]

They didn't mention guns wat about the guns

[@deusherbert-noel2424]

@Yuri B Because capitalism is privatization which is individualistic, not collectivist. Know your terms.

[@deusherbert-noel2424]

@Yuri B But an individual owns the corporation. Same with the money and the property.

[@JohnLeePedimore]

Sweden also has less than 10 million (EDIT,actually 10.1 million) people. Comparing America(over 325 million) to all of Europe is more realistic.

[@akivaabraham7739]

Not terribly. It is merely a microcosm.

[@ivercingetorix1367]

And it is historically monoethnic. Until the last decade.

[@Paul-ue7fo]

@User4321 snowflake

[@MsCaleb79]

Sweden has more than 10 000 000, get a life.

[@andrew-paulclements1502]

@@Paul-ue7fo r/woosh

[@martinolsson858]

I am from Sweden, I am a liberal, Johan Norberg that is featured in the clip is also a liberal, a somewhat radical one. This clip is very bias and alot of facts is left out or is just outright wrong. Not everything of course, so please take it with a pinch of salt. Whoever made this is clearly biased. First one is, if you make 37 000$ then you do not pay 60% in taxes. Depending on where you live, you pay between 20-23% on the income. The lower income you have from there, the lower your taxes are. The 60% might be from the report calculating in VAT, which can be as high as 25% (Luxuary products) but as low as 6% (Grocery, necessities etc) so the actual tax would be between 26-48% for someone earning 37 000$ We do not have a pension-system that is soley private. Swedish workers still get a pension from the state. BUT at many workplaces they also earn additional pensions due to agreements between the employeers and the union, where the employeers are forced to pay in to the private funds of the employees. So you get a pension from the state, one from your employeer and then one own private pensionsystem you can setup yourself. There is also a popular myth about Astrid Lindgren having to pay 102% in taxes. This one is false, and happened due to certain circumstances, mostly due to her being self-employeed. It is based on an amount she has to pay into the social security network back then, called "egen avgifter" which all companies that pays out salary have to do. But the case is that it is a deductable amount and would not result in 102% in taxes. It would have resulted in perhaps 85-90% in taxes over a certain amount. Which yes, is very unreasonable. Sweden is a very safe and good country to live in due to Socialism. And Sweden IS a socialist country, the description of the state owning all the means of production is a communist state, not a socialist one. The last couple of decades we have however seen problems with socialism that can be solved with a more open and free market, but that still don't take away the fact that alot of good things come from socialism, but every system has their flaws.

[@mac5917]

Det är sant att du inte behöver betala 60% om du tjänar $37k om året, däremot kan du behöva betala uppemot 60% i skatt om du tjänar en bit över 100 tusen/månad (sista steget e väl 125 tror jag)

[@martinolsson858]

@@mac5917 det är mer runt 50% vid den lönen, men man kan komma upp i 60% i skatt om man har månadslöner över miljonen. Vad jag ogillade i klippet var att man försöka skapa bilden av att "genomsnitts svensken" betalar 60% i skatt, det är helt felaktigt. Johan Norberg säger även att Sverige är ett samhälle där vi inte tar från de rika och ger till de fattiga, utan att vi helt enkelt tar från de fattiga. Tråkiga jämförelser.

[@alfredvonhofsten4010]

Tack för att du sa det så jag inte behöver

[@mac5917]

Martin Olsson fortfarande sjukt att betala över hälften i skatt dock

[@asdfgasdfg8006]

"Sweden is a very safe and good country to live in due to Socialism" Everything said in this sentance is wrong, im moving to Denmark or Canada where socialism actually works and where you dont die waiting for months for healthcare promised to you by the government. Ah and the elderly people who almost starves to death because the government keeps putting the money that they need, in places where its not needed. And the part about it being safe? I read the newspaper a day ago and apparently 2 boys (yes fucking children) were being tortured in a graveyard for hours by 2 20 year olds, just a minute away from my house. And criminals usually only gets a 1-2 years prison sentance for cold murder or brutal torture, and sometimes barely no sentance at all, they just get to walk our streets freely again, and that is not even rare. This is just normal stuff I read every single day. But I guess if ur rich and live in a nice rich swedish neighbourhood you wont get affected by any of this.

[@ardeiwann]

The term everyone's looking for is social democratic

[@CrashLanded18]

Yep

[@marossi]

take away the social and im in.

[@imperialpatriot6693]

what? Do you mean you support democracy? Because that is a way of governing not a political ideology.

[@abbedurgut3743]

@@marossi the leading party in sweden is literally called the social democrats.

[@marossi]

@@abbedurgut3743 Yea, but the leading party does not really mean anything at all since they only have 30% of votes. They need to cooperate with the rest of the majority. For example, for Socialdemokraterna to keep power, they had to adapt to the request from centerpartiet and Liberalerna. In fact, Liberlerna and Centerpartiet have more power currently than socialdemokraterna, since if they stop supporting them, the goverment collapses.

[@davester1970]

The problem with socialism is that it punishes those that work and produces and reward the lazy and unproductive.

[@nicholasgross4115]

So TRUE!

[@gaidzin2]

This is not true.

[@davester1970]

L P - Actually it does. In order to pay for the "free" stuff, governments must heavily tax those who work and produce.

[@maxigol1977]

The idea was that it's within a person's heart and conscience that he/she wants to work and produce. But when a person says: "I am extremely happy to eat, drink, sleep and hang out on my stoop or watch TV and that's it. Thank you, you moron ( tax payer), for providing this paradise for me", the whole system collapses. Same goes, on the other end, for the corporate raiders of the 80s. It's not capitalism or socialism the problem. It's people.

[@MAXAREUOS]

That's why socialism can only survive with an iron fist.

[@mcmilk107]

Wait so free markets raise the standards of living?! Who knew

[@mrofnocnon]

Everyone except politicians with vested interests.

[@christopherhand4836]

Jimbo no thanks...move t Sweden BYE

[@tekay44]

Shhhh, don’t enrage the commies.

[@amihere383]

@Jimbo Not necessarily. I believe it was Bush's tax cuts that actually resulted in higher government revenue because of the change in tax brackets of so many people

[@adamfondak5068]

The free market on health care in the US works really well. The opitomy of freedom is where 40k of Americans die annually because a lack of health care. That's some Freedom right there

[@knazibaz]

As a swede, I have to say a lot of this is “truth with modification”, as we say in Sweden. The right wing privatisation reforms of the early 90s and 2010s made our schools worse. Results are going down, and we are dropping down in international PISA surveys. This is, according to the OECD, because of privatisation and loosing the government’s grip over schools. Our healthcare system is good, but waiting lines for treatment are long. Nurses, etc., working in geriatric home visits have timed visits, which means they have to finish the visit within a certain time. This means that old people are being rushed, in their own homes, to get fed, washed, clothes, and medicated. It is the also the right wing parties who is keeping the taxes high for poor people, since they won’t accept any tax raises for the rich, for corporations, or for big banks. This leaves the government without much choice. Final remark: Johan Norberg is a Swedish right wing lobbyist, so his opinions should be taken with a grain of salt.

[@bean5848]

Trevligt med en rationell röst i detta hav av borgerlig misinformation och propaganda

[@hampustornros]

Also, the "60%" number combines the employment tax with your own personal tax. The average personal tax rate in Stockholm in 2019 was less than 30%, which is very comparable to several states in the US. Employers have to pay a value of 30% of you salary before taxes as a tax to employ you. This doesn't necessarily lower your income though, as Sweden has very comparable salaries to pretty much all western countries. The "60%" number is completely disingenuous and that argument hasn't been used in Sweden for a long time now since our population knows better. It's literally only used in videos like this where people with political affiliations attempts to make us look bad. I live in a fairly expensive city in Sweden, I earn basically min wage because I don't work full time, yet I'm very comfortably able to save up to $500 a month, and that's with me ordering food frequently and before corona going out every other weekend or so. I've heard drastically different stories from friends that I have overseas which makes me appreciate our system more and more. Yes, in several regions there's long wait times to get treatment, but while it might happen a handful of times a year, it's exceptionally rare for you to not get an appointment quickly if you are suffering something that's actually deadly and it's also pretty rare to have to wait if you're suffering from something that is more than just a little inconvenient. Do you want to know what's worse than waiting in line to get your gallbladder removed? Paying $25K-100K to remove it.

[@greenstr1ke470]

Agreeing with everything you say, but the you’ve got to understand why we don’t tax the big companies so heavily. We earn so much money from IKEA even with a low tax and if we tax heavy they will settle in another country and we will have lost a lot of money yearly because of it.

[@wxo]

Don't forget the part about pensions: Even though it's not handled by our government, employers are still required, by law, to pay a certain amount every month to the employees pension funds. We only have the option of choosing how to place our money within a limited amount of placings. I also really do not like calling our schools or hospitals privitized since they still run 100% on government money and therefore will always show a result that will bring in money (teachers giving higher grades, medical results being falsified, and old people being treated like cattle).

[@outchord958]

As a swede currently in school, I wish that it was state driven like old times. At least middle-school. Everything looks good on paper, but believe me, not only the students cheats. Schools are giving out too high grades, a bit like inflation.

[@KennethSee]

Geez, I can't imagine 60% of my income going to the govt. Why work at that point?

[@ilovebutterstuff]

Seems antiproductive at that point, doesn't it? Especially when you have to replace suspension parts in your car every month cuz all the streets are in a state of disrepair.

[@J040PL7]

guess its better to have 40% of something then 100% of nothing, but its brutal nonetheless xD

[@MaxMustermann-mu2jg]

Because it means you'll get others benefits in different categories.

[@DIVISIONINCISION]

That's not America.

[@ssiipp7848]

That tax-rate applies to money that you could only dream about having. Normal income tax is around 30%.

[@aarayacr]

High IQ people and Free Market, a recipe to success...

[@Olhar.Internacional]

Indeed

[@ninjagaro.]

any tax being voluntary and boom economy success

[@patroscher6240]

I would say honest and moral people and a free market are more of a recipe for success than high IQ. The main issue with free market , especially if you have no oversight coruption breeds. Sweden did privatize but the government has a lot of oversight to make sure that business stays in line for what is best overall for the country. When you let corporation run wild they become very corrupt and greedy and pollute the political landscape.

[@ivanvolkov4469]

But wat about the guns lol

[@FProductions64]

Yes, but free market without capitalism

[@Jim-xu4mz]

Sweden has a free market. Thats not what 'social democrats' are advocating.

[@MsCaleb79]

AV8B AV8r. Sweden has a ”free” market

[@bldlightpainting]

Sweden was not founded on biblical truths which come from our Creator as America has been blessed with, so I'll stick with the good old USA. "The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity. I will avow that I then believed, and now believe, that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God." John Adams "The Bible is the chief moral cause of all that is good and the best corrector of all that is evil in human society; the best book for regulating the temporal [secular] concerns of men." Noah Webster "IN GOD WE TRUST" is the official motto of the United States of America, and has appeared on U.S. currency since 1864. "You can't have National morality apart from religious principle.” George Washington "If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under." Ronald Reagan "Intelligence, patriotism, Christianity, and a firm reliance on Him, who has never yet forsaken this favored land, are still competent to adjust, in the best way, all our present difficulty." Abraham Lincoln

[@soyboystan5858]

I’m pretty sure that is what social democrats are advocating for actually... markets regulated so that they can remain free and a social safety net to help the poor. If by free market you mean unfettered capitalism aka corporatism/crony capitalism then no that’s not what social democrats want.

[@phukyerpheefees]

@@soyboystan5858 Who considers corporatism to be a free market? A free market is one that is only regulated minimally, with as little gov't intervention as possible. AKA laissez faire economics. Corporatism is as opposed to laissez faire economics as socialism. Both corporatism and socialism require strong gov't control over the economy in order to function. Corporatism is dependent on heavy regulation by gov't to keep small businesses from being able to compete and take market share away from the big corporations. Socialism depends on complete gov't control of the economy. Neither of those systems are compatible with a laissez faire system because a free market means little to no gov't intervention in the economy, allowing businesses to run themselves and compete against each other with little to no interference. Corporatism=/=free market capitalism.

[@sandrothenecromancer6810]

No one loves free market more than a commie, in fact why do metacapitalist fund the revolution through the world?

[@chef_moquin9535]

I could double my retirement savings if I did not have to pay for a social security plan that most likely not be around to benefit me when I retire 40 years from now

[@jay-xj1om]

If people understood this they wouldn't support that nonsense.

[@chippledon1]

Chef_Moquin95: And that's exactly what the left wants. They are trying to make us all go broke. Take your money - take your freedom.

[@chef_moquin9535]

@Doug Joseph So if many professional investors can not maintain an investment account, then why do you think the government will be able too? Essentially social security is the government version of the 401K. Plus I do not believe your claim in the first place. If that was true then you are saying most peoples' 401K's are worthless because they would have lost all their money because as you say "the average person cannot effectively manage an investment account over many decades". And yes people may benefit from receiving money from social security, but in the end that's just their money they are getting back from the 40+ years of giving it the government in the first place. When they could have been investing that money in their own 401K's or Roth IRA's. It is not that difficult to mange either.

[@chef_moquin9535]

@Doug Joseph How is that a stable system of people getting more money then what they put in? Who is making up for that loss? And yes there is the risk of the stock market going down for sure, but the market always bounces back and there are very low risk investments to keep your money safe as you get closer to retirement. And lets say I didn't take that extra money and put it in my 401k but instead a high interest savings account where the money is guaranteed no matter the market fluctuation. How is social security a better option then that?

[@chef_moquin9535]

@Doug Joseph Exactly there is a deficit in the system, where as if people did not have to pay into the social security and saved there money themselves, they would not have to worry about a system running out of money that they have no control over

[@TheBanjoShowOfficial]

I love how this is contrary to almost every single detail democratic socialists have put out there.

[@Guztav1337]

You don't know what you are talking about. The Socal democrats have ruled the country for more than 70 years. You don't get to define what we are and aren't. The goverment does.

[@svensvensson1085]

Comtrary as in not true?

[@Redmanticore]

@@Guztav1337 yes, but they are _social democrats_ , not _democratic socialists_ . extreme difference, that is the point. one believes in a free market, another one does not. the difference is so extreme, that the Finns and volunteer Swedish men fought against the _democratic socialists_ trying to cross Finnish borders from the soviet union to try to take the Finnish farmer´s private lands and put the Finnish _social democrats_ into the Siberian gulags.. twice. they fought to death so they would not be _democratic socialists_ , they wanted to be _social democrats_ , as in normal people with a normal system, that makes sense in practice. when I first saw the American term _democratic socialist_ , i had never heard of one, I thought they had must have just mixed up with our well known and how we have lived for almost a century now term, _social democrat_ . but nooope. it was _democratic socialist_ also the idea of social democracy developed much more organically for us, in Finland we almost starved to death many times in 1500-1900. we lived under rule of great kingdom of Sweden and great kingdom of russia, which of neither cared zero about us, only used the people as cannon fodder for their imperial armies. we were like snow africa of old. the idea of sharing your wealth for your fellow man was never alien. everyone were farmers, everyone could die from "bad times" easily, our imperial lords surely did not want to make our land better. that land and climate was bad for farming, practically only potato grew here. also our demographics were constant, ( as in pretty much 100% white ), that made people feel as unified people. in USA they have never experienced things like "talvisodan henki", those kinds of unity feeling are totally alien to them, as the people of their nation. you could argue their whole idea was never national country, or culture, but more of an idea of freedom. well, total freedom meant death for us, it meant free to starve in bad times. The USA politician Bernie Sanders is a _social democrat_ , not _democrat socialist_ . that factually makes him a proponent of free markets and private owning. and not a socialist. - even if in USA culture if you are for any kind of taxes for anyone, that makes you a "u.s.s.r socialist that wants to murder everyone". its because in USA, if you are without a job, and so without the coverage of healthcare insurance from that job, you will actually die, like our farmers of old. if you dont have 100k yearly in income, you practically cannot live a normal life for you and your family in USA, even when just 10% of people make 100k.does that mean USA can also be 3rd world country like we were? maybe, yes. though in practice they just don't pay the healthcare bills because they don't have the insurance, making it higher who do, like 200k hospital bills just for ordering ambulance. if sweden is not socialist, and even more free than america in its economy, more enterpreuners by capita than america, social mobility is better than in america, and everything just works and schools&healthcare is paid from taxes even without squeezing the rich etc., then it would be no problem adopting the swedish model then, ja?

[@Chris-xt8io]

@@Redmanticore the problem is, that you don’t know America. You don’t need 100k to have a prosperous life in America, that is where you lost me. You also believed in the myth that people are paying 200k for a medical bill. That is stupid, you can negotiate with the hospital if you don’t like the price. I have seen hospitals take 1/10th of the original price, just so they can get paid. Many people call bullshit if they want to. Also in the Nordic countries, you get capped at a certain amount of money, roughly 1,000,000 dollars, before you have to start paying out of pocket. You also have supplemental insurance as well. The average progressive American doesn’t believe in free markets. They believe that the rich must’ve stolen from the poor to be rich. Bernie Sanders advocates for a wealth tax which is basically stealing wealth, which could be land from other people. He has advocated to be more like Cuba and praised Russia, he has a hatred for the rich. They also believe in completely outlawing private medical insurance which employs millions of people, doctors and nurses. We have the most expansive research all over the world for medicine and some of the best cancer treatment. Living in America isn’t always a dog eat dog world.

[@spearfisherman308]

@@Redmanticore nope sanders is a socialist he says it.

[@briandamage5677]

John Stossel = Mythbusters. But is anybody really listening?

[@timtrainage]

I am

[@rexcrockett6110]

Me too!

[@goodcitizen6193]

Check!

[@hshs5756]

Every time he speaks!

[@arnoldshmitt4969]

just 158 people watched it till now stossel need millions of views to make any meaning ful impact since sheep will be sheep led by wolf ( politicians )

[@Chief-wx1fj]

I live in Sweden and I can confirm everything in this video,

[@Chief-wx1fj]

White Ice Tv One of many concerns

[@robertray3746]

Thanks too bad democratic socialists won't listen to you

[@PMMagro]

Except Sweden is not a socialist state...

[@charlesvan13]

It's silly for politicians like Bernie Sanders to consider Sweden, with a population of 10 million, as a model for America with a population of 325 million. Homogeneous countries always have more collectivism, for obvious reasons.

[@charlesvan13]

@White Ice Tv But you're not going to counter what I said.

[@camillaa_ek]

3:35 that's so simplified. Due to competition there's a lot of private schools giving "happy grades" to make their school seem better. Also, the free school choice has made school segregation worse as rich families choose to put their kids in these "good" private schools while a lot of lower class families or immigrants aren't educated enough on the system and are stuck with the schools that are in their area... all of a sudden kids are grouped based on social class in different schools. In the end that effects the future of these kids' educations and it's not something the kids have any power in when they're younger, which means that they don't have equal opportunity - which is usually what liberalism strives for. So, there's some work to do there.

[@29-arnavsamant97]

I dont understand how this somehow means they don't have equal opportunity? especially if the public schools are good. What you are saying sounds like equity.

[@dansw0rkshop]

I don't know what you mean by "happy grades" -- the claim by private schools that I usually hear is that the private and charter school students score better on the same or TOUGHER tests. The school I graduated from used the much tougher achievement tests from some years earlier, before they were dumbed down so that the public schools didn't look so bad. If anyone is fudging the grades it's the public schools.

[@UlulvarCape]

I really love this. I always hate it when idiots call Sweden, Norway, and Denmark a "Socialist paradise!" If it was truly socialist, I never understood how the workers never owned the means of production there, and now I heard that Sweden was nearly socialist at one time, it makes me realize that socialism is inherently evil and Sweden is far from what it even was from that time.

[@terradraca]

Put socialism in charge of food and we get the worst famines in human history. Put capitalism in charge of food and our poor are fat. End of discussion.

[@silence-humility-calmness]

Yep,,,,,the rich get richer and the poor get poorer is a socialist quote against capitalism, but actually fact in sociolist country's,,,the true quote for capitalism is the rich get super rich and the poor get less poor and sometimes rich

[@rogeronslow1498]

Well said.

[@billmoyer3254]

so, WalMart brand Cheetos is the benchmark for affluence in your backyard thinktank?

[@uss-dh7909]

@@billmoyer3254 I will take Walmart branded Cheetos over worms and maggots anytime.

[@declanh2314]

@@billmoyer3254 better than what the majority of humans in all of humanity had they would've loved the opportunity to get fat.

[@themasterrocks557]

No mention of the demographic makeup of Sweden? Well I mean before they became Muslim.

[@gustavnilsson7125]

Became Muslim?

[@erikhasselholm1344]

@@richystar2001 This is complete and utter bullshit. Pure disinformation.

[@mattkreiser5895]

Sweden has an easier time than us because their population is wildly homogenized, meaning basically everyone had the same culture and morality .

[@mattkreiser5895]

@Tarik Pasic until recent years with migrants, Sweden is densely populated by white people and so is the rest of northern Europe. What in the world are you smoking?

[@mattkreiser5895]

@Tarik Pasic and since they let in people who don't want to adopt western culture, their country has been turning into a shit hole.

[@mattkreiser5895]

@Tarik Pasic so the UN didn't say that sweden is on track to become a third world country?

[@randyzhu8797]

I can definitely say in Canada, while some on the left and right claim we are either a socialist hellhole/utopia; we are a capitalist company. We have pretty homogenous views overall in Canada.

[@twentysecondcenturywoman]

@@mattkreiser5895 oh man that sounds like America. You bring refugees here, then America is like everywhere else. People can’t see to get that.

[@halcyonboii]

There's so much wrong with this video..

[@skandinaviskman]

@JC Denton For example: in fact a person with average income 2020 paid 29% income tax. Sorry that the video gives everyone the impression that an average tax payer pays 60% tax. Another is with the school voucher system. There are several examples of shitty schools where the money ended up in the owner's pocked while at the same time not good quality of the education.

[@Bigdog302V8]

The big problem with socialism is running out of other people's money. modern day Venezuela is a shining example of the failures of socialism.

[@sammysam2615]

So you would agree that the Trump tax cut is nothing more than corporate socialism? Because it's the same thing, only going to a few instead of all

[@deaddycruel]

There is and there was no socialism in Venezuela. If you hear about socialism in Venezuela punch this liar in his head. Political regime in Venezuela is Kleptocracy mimicked to Socialism to steal money from the country. This country owns the most big amount of cheap oil in the world. Do you need more explanations to understand primitive things? Stop repeating TV bullshit and start to use your own brain

[@creegy3778]

If you look it up it’s actually socialist

[@deaddycruel]

@@creegy3778 If you start to use your brain you will know that it is not socialist in any way

[@creegy3778]

It’s stated on Wikipedia that Venezuela is a United Socialst party and if u use your brain you can that Sweden is a free market

[@BigOldScout]

I live and work in Germany. In the US, if you earn less than 24K per year, you pay 0% Federal Income tax. In Germany, starting at 9K per year, you will pay 17% income tax. So, tell me again what country "Taxes the Rich" as the Democrats try to tell people.

[@dannyvario4776]

Honest question: With your salary (the amount of it is irrelevant), do you get more commodities in Germany, or in the US? After paying your rent. I mean, that is what matters to us as a consumer/tax payer: What can you get with your salary.

[@BigOldScout]

I'm also a US Citizen that lived in the UK, and can speak for three countries. (The US, Germany and the UK). The cost of living with what "Stuff Your Dollar buys" is equal to the United States. So, I would technically have a little bit more in the United States as I would pay fewer taxes than Germany.

[@garyla3584]

Do you get more free stuff? It isn't free -- you pay higher taxes. My cousin in Italy thinks he gets free healthcare. But he pays 2500 tax on a 12000 salary. I always tell him that's the cost of free healthcare.

[@BigOldScout]

I hope your reply isn't to me on my answer to what my salary gives me after taxes. :-) What you said is true about the different "Entitlements" people get. Now, I can only speak for the healthcare in the US, Germany and the UK but the German one is the best of all those I've seen. All the companies are either 100% Private with restrictions on who can get them, or Privately run with government subsidies supporting. If you are in a Government subsidized Insurance company, you will pay between 8 to 9% of your pay check to the insurance company, and your employer will cover around 50% of that to you. Example: 9% of your pay is $270, then $270 is automatically sent to your insurance provider, and you get an extra $135 insurance subsidy from your employer. Of course if you are an Independent Contractor, you pay the full $270. The nice thing is, if you have cancer, no matter what kind, your insurance company, even if you just switched companies, will pay for all of it. Now, I really do not see the system as it is in Germany in the US, for various reasons, and would need another discussion platform, but this does gives a small picture of what I'm talking about.

[@istvanglock7445]

BigOldScout You seem to be under the impression that taxes just disappear into the ether. In the US, that does seem to be the case, and why many Americans are so anti-tax: they just don't seem to get anything in return. In Europe that's not the case, what the government gives you for your taxes is very visible, tangible, and beneficial.

[@Henkibojj]

Where do they get the idea that us medium to low income earners pay 60% tax? That's absurd! Depending on income, the normal values are between 18 to 30 percent. I've made $42,000 a year at best and my tax rate was less than 25 percent. But sixty? That's specific occasions when you've got your own startup company and need to pay all the social security fees on your own, and that reduces over time.

[@oiuytrewq7]

The income tax is around 30%, but nowhere in the video I can recall that they say that swedes pay 60% in INCOME tax. According to a report from Swedbank back in 2012(Google it). Total taxation is almost 70%. Monthly salary of 25 000 SEK generates 17200 in taxation for the government.

[@PointNemo9]

That's total tax, not just income tax.

[@alex66868]

Since when did we pay 60% in taxes? Thats not missleading its straight up false...

[@m00nif]

We do if you calculate everything, income tax is around 30%, payroll tax that your employer pay is 25-30% and when you buy stuff you pay VAT/MOMS.

[@TheDwagonHD]

Its depending on income, im guessing they took the highest level to push their narrative. Isnt it like 30%ish?

[@m00nif]

@@TheDwagonHD 30%ish is only income tax

[@MrBrouwerPower]

Mattias its true if you think of it that way, but still quite missleading because people think they mean 60% of income tax

[@m00nif]

@@MrBrouwerPower What people think shouldn't matter though. They never say income tax is 60% so if people don't understand and get mislead it's their fault.

[@MrBuschi531]

"Socialist Success" is an oxymoron

[@cadenhood]

True that.

[@ellis2500]

Soviet unión

[@notagoodpilot8161]

alfredo konuma lasted less than 100 years.

[@lateksipumppu]

Finland.

[@classonbread5757]

And an alliteration

[@robertcabrera3989]

Socialism is cruel. Canada has free health care and my stepson needed an operation for a torn ACL in his knee. Despite the pain, the government health care scheduled his operation for a year after the injury. We brought him back to California and signed him up at Kaiser. The doctor examined him and said: when do you want the operation scheduled? He also added that for a young person, this operation should not be postponed.

[@steffenebener7332]

Even our (german) healthcare System is better, wtf?

[@ausintune9014]

because canada is shit, here in NZ the waits arent fucking 1 year, more like a few hours. or days

[@ryanray6215]

Since when " Canada has free healthcare " ??? Don't you pay taxes in Canada ?

[@ivanduvalierveryevildictat8940]

you Americans are simply illiterate, and confuse the concept of "socialism / capitalism" with the concept of "paid/free", and also - "private/ state" . if I have a toothache in Russia, I take my health insurance card and go to the clinic. should I go to a state clinic or a private one? given that in the state clinic, every nurse and every cleaning lady likes to pose as a "great official - arbiter of fate" in front of patients... I'm going in private . here you are always welcome, sign the contract, and in 2 minutes you are already sitting in a chair. after the operation, you sign the list of services rendered to you, without looking at the prices, and go home to drink vodka to your bear. who pays for it, Gazprom, or Rosneft-I do not care at all.

[@dickiewongtk]

There is no private hospital in Canada?

[@jackhackett80]

John I have always thought you were a decent and fair journalist. There needs to be more of you. Thanks for your content!

[@fredrikwallin1691]

Medicare 4 all, childcare, paid maternity leave, child support is not socialism. It’s the right way to run a country.

[@billystanton1522]

Medicare for all is a joke. Why is it better than the Beveridge model and Bismark model for universal health care?

[@PointNemo9]

Only if you can afford it

[@christianosborn5453]

The thing that bothers me the most is that people to this day still believe that Sweden is a socialist country.

[@boboddyb2217]

Those people being zero. Any socialist knows social democracies are capitalist countries. The only time where Sweden is called a socialist country is by conservatives preemptively strawmanning leftists on the economic debate. The only people that should piss you off are those that attempt to retain the myth people actually believe or had believed Sweden is socialist...

[@nicol4578]

@@boboddyb2217 no, I do hear people say Nordic countries are socialist, in fact, I have just read a handle of comments saying so

[@niklasmolen4753]

Olof Palme (Prime Minister of the 1970s and 1980s) is a big reason why Americans thinks Sweden is socialist. He supported all socialist revolutions in the world and everything that was anti-US. High taxes and a comprehensive welfare system make it easy to get people to think that it is socialist.

[@jeremyjirasek4658]

@@boboddyb2217 I talk to people on the left (social democrats) every day who claim Sweden is socialists. You'd have to bury your head in the sand not to see them. They're literally filling the comment section of this video. You're right tho, that true socialists dont even make this claim. Ironic.

[@paulingvar]

People tend to mix "Welfare state" with socialism.

[@justthink5854]

but but but Bernie says.....

[@oldmanfromscenetwentyfour8164]

Bernie is a Communist, NOT a Socialist. People can have Social Programs that help everyone which do NOT need to be controlled by the government without cutting the balls off individuals or companies that generate tax money and jobs. No one wants to do that, they'd rather take from people who they think has too much money, regardless of the consequences down the road for the economy. The Democrats/Left want total government control of peoples lives, they want a Dependency State. They do not want anyone to be wealthy and independent. Other the other side Republicans/Right wants everyone to get rich, BUT they have to it themselves. Everyone has skills, talent and abilities that can earn money, USE those skills, earn the money, invest that money and make the money work for YOU so you won't have to work for it later. Basic choice: Work 40 hours for a loaf of bread, a block of cheese and a pound of meat ... OR Work 40 hours and buy what the fuck ever you want.

[@soyboystan5858]

Yeah, turns out Bernie isn’t as extreme as the media told us. Turns out he’s faraway from being a communist and all that jazz. This piece sort of accidentally shows that.

[@oldmanfromscenetwentyfour8164]

stoon poyalis+ Universities hired a few "Liberal Left" Professors years ago, just look how toxic our Universities have become with that type of Professors. Taking away a persons EARNED wealth is not the answer. What happens when there is no more money to be taken? WHO will create money and jobs? There is no incentive. Our city had, in the 50's a Socialist Mayor, he held office for 12 years and did a good job, BUT he had balanced the city budget, controlled spending and there was very little "welfare" paid out. What money was given out was only to assist people NOT pay for everything for multiple generations. If you were working age you HAD to get a job, no excuses. If you didn't you were a BUM. You were NOT a victim of corporate greed, racism or political corruption, you were a BUM. There are too many BUMS in the world.

[@frkk8925]

LOL

[@JW-do2wc]

Just think BERNIE DOESN'T HAVE A BRAIN TO STAND ON.

[@Poopbutt2134]

A socialist complaint about taxes 😂 PRICELESS

[@victorc8553]

Why do people mix Social Democracy and Democratic Socialism?

[@bigtim3060]

Yea most people here seem to think that social democratsy, democratic socialism and communism is the same thing...

[@xhawkenx633]

Because people are uneducated pieces of shit

[@martiniversen4898]

Because they only watch MSNBC and they swallow everything they are told whole, without question.

[@xhawkenx633]

@JB WR ofc social democracy is a thing. It is a democracy which releases socialistic policies. While democracy is not an economic system, it sure can be a captialist or socialist oriented political system, which is a system which would enforce a socialistic economy or would allow a capitalistic one

[@victorc8553]

@JB WR Social Democratic Capitalism

[@91Durktheturk]

I am from the Netherlands, which has an idiotic progressive taxation system, similar to Sweden. What leftists forget to tell is that in the Nordic countries, and countries like NL, the middle class is basically the milking cow to finance the state. If you are poor you receive lots of benefits, and if you are rich you receive lots of benefits as well. However, if you are in the middle class, the government takes 40% of your income away, and 20-25% on every euro you spend via VAT. It is often better to earn a below middle class wage, as you would receive more benefits. This seriously hampers the economic potential of a country. The only reason it works is because large corporations and the wealthy basically do not pay taxes. My country, NL is a tax haven, as are other European countries (e.g. Luxembourg, Ireland, Switzerland). The Nordic countries also have policies which are very friendly for the wealthy, e.g. tax cuts for home owners based on the value of their mortgage (basically a 'villa subsidy'), in Sweden there is no inheritance tax, in Denmark, Austria, Sweden, Germany, Luxembourg and Finland there is no wealth tax. With regards to redistribution, in NL it has had the effect that many people do not prefer to invest in their career so much, as they would fall in a higher tax brackett if they would do so. Also, we have so many people now dependent on the welfare state, that refuse to find a job. For instance, in a city like Rotterdam, around 30-40% are dependent on welfare and refuse to find jobs, whilst their are loads of jobs available in the nearby Westland in the agricultural sector. But apparently they feel too good to do that work, AND, perhaps more importantly, their welfare payments are on par with the minimum wage. They even receive benefits to go on Holiday! That is the attitude you create. It has also played a role in the destruction of marriage. Right now we basically give social housing and welfare to people that divorce, as quite often one of the two partners ends up in poverty otherwise... I do not wish to subsidize divorce with my taxes. Another factor is high house prices due to the oversupply of social housing. In the main cities, 50% of the housing stock is social housing. This makes the house prices in the private sector artificially high. The middle class is priced out of places like Amsterdam and Utrecht, quite often you pay twice as much for private housing as compared to social housing. So, if you are in the middle class, you are screwed by the government, because they take away so much of your money, secondly you are screwed again on the housing market, as you have to pay twice as much for your housing. These are not proper economic incentives, and above all, they are unfair. A free market would work much better. Also, due to the cronyism associated with these socialist policies, the wealth inequality in Sweden is on par with the USA. The difference is though that in the USA the wealth inequality arises due to voluntarily transactions, and in Sweden due to theft by the government.

[@ThePp12345678]

Ecclesiastes 2:24 Sounds like the problems that we have in UK. People have to check whether they are better off working or on benefits before accepting a job. You know it's a failed system when people have to do that as it should always be the case that people are better off working than on welfare

[@91Durktheturk]

@@ThePp12345678 Indeed, though the UK has a much better tax system than NL. The first 11k are tax free in the UK, and taxes above that are 20%. Only when you earn more than 45k you start to pay into the 40% brackett. This makes the labor market much more competitive in the UK. And I think one of the trumpcards that the UK holds in the negotiations about Brexit, is the threat to turn the UK into a massive tax haven.

[@ThePp12345678]

Ecclesiastes 2:24 Yes we have that. What I am against is the 93 billion plus a year spent on corporation welfare . Big businesses like amazon being given free land building free and pay low wages to workers and pay little or no tax. They are all things that have to stop. So many things being funded out of taxes when it could be used to give the workers a reduction of taxes and/or offer better healthcare services. Hospitals closing, GO surgeries overwhelm and under so much pressure people cannot get an appointment to see doctor. On top there are not enough doctors and nurses trained in UK. It's one thing after another that's gone wrong in UK and on top costly regulations from EU that is putting small businesses out of business. Then only large corporations we will have left and they will have the monopoly and tax benefits too. Messed up system!

[@91Durktheturk]

@@ThePp12345678 Well, I agree with you. The problem is though, that European countries have made themselves dependent on big corporations. In NL its the same story. We are a tax haven for the biggest companies, however, we have no choice if we want to fund the welfare state. If we start taxing these companies, they will leave the country and take many many jobs with them. And indeed, EU regulations are an enemy of small business owners.

[@ThePp12345678]

Ecclesiastes 2:24 the can only leave because of free trade all over EU. Just like in USA under NAFTA businesses moved to Mexico for low wages and could bring their products across the border without taxes. When Trump threatened tariffs on items & promised tax cuts to large corporations, hundreds of companies have moved back to USA. Also due to tax cuts for businesses wages have increased, as they have passed this onto workers. The likes of Amazon Trump is tackling too. In USA jobs gave increased not decreased and they are doing opposite to the EU

[@zid_just_zid]

Swedish guy here, we are being overrun by immigration and sunk because our generous welfare state is also generous to the citizens of other countries. There was just a report by the MSB (Emergency Response Coordination Centre) says that the systems in our country, that is healthcare, schools, police, judicial etc, are scaled for a population of 8 million, we recently passed 10 million. Of those 10 there are about 2 million that are born or have two parents born in another country. We are among the top of the high tech countries in the world when it comes to taking on refuges, this year it looks like we will be letting in about 130,000 refugees, just a little less than the last couple of years with the migrant crisis. Another recent report said that each refugee costs Sweden an average of just over 8000usd per year of their life spent here, they are a HUGE drain on our system, we have 100s of thousands of them and even if they do get jobs, that is taken into account by the above number. Thats about half of the total tax burden an average worker here, for every two of the 100s of thousands of refugees, the full contribution to the state by a single worker is thrown away on feeding the unproductive. According to the most recent reports it takes an average of 9 years for an immigrant to find work here and that is up one year from the last report, a year or so ago, on average they are unskilled and most dont speak English or a Scandinavian language so they are useless in the job market for a long time. The type of society we have here in Scandinavia works with a populace with a similar level of human capital, yet we are flooding our society with people from the middle east and africa, places where the level of human capital in much lower on average. Its very visible because the BNP/capita growth is at an almost record low even though we are in the midst of an economic boom here in Europe, the crunch will come and might bring on hostilities along racial lines when the welfare cuts come.

[@xperax7250]

I hope you guys do have some sort of war those parasites dont belong there

[@ferraridav]

Ziddan - Shut up and relax your sphincter, it'll hurt less that way.

[@RoberttAvro]

It is critical to vote for right wing parties everywhere in the western world. We are not opposed to having some people from other countries living amongst us, but their numbers should be limited to protect the demographics and cultures of the people already living in western nations. Never vote left wing. A vote for any left wing party in this era is a vote to end European based cultures anywhere they may be found around the world.

[@chris532008]

Ziddan - and that s not counting the effects and cost of crime

[@aiahzohar5636]

@Ziddan We in the US are heading the same way. I don't understand why our countries are making these decisions. Resources are limited. We can't care for everyone. Worse, those who most need help are also those who're most contributing to the problem by creating more needy beings. It's as if sentimentalism is over-riding rationalism. Worst of all, the rest of us are extorted into financing all of this.

[@chadkrueger7538]

Big lesson...…..excellence comes from competition.

[@naman8704]

I live in India ,even we have welfare schemes eg: free healthcare for 500 million people ,free housing , subsidies . But economy is approx totally managed by Private enterprises .

[@YorickReturns]

Sweden and the United States are both mixed economies, albeit different mixes. In some ways, Sweden is more capitalist than the US.

[@mayainverse9429]

fucking China is more capitalist than the US.

[@lkwalden7]

@@mayainverse9429 I'd love to hear the facts that support that statement.

[@BuddyLee23]

fucking Soviet Space Nazis were more capitalist than the US!

[@daw162]

Mana Montana, ever set up a business there and find that you have to have a Chinese owner so that you don't get shut down? That's really capitalist, isn't it?

[@daw162]

Luke, they don't. The Chinese economy is a crony capitalist economy full of low-level corruption.

[@mvunit3]

Thank you Sweden . . . For your contribution to METAL \m/. I'll enjoy it here in the U.S. ;).

[@jackcarraway4707]

Scandinavia as a whole has about 26m people. Texas alone has 29m. Another thing to factor in is that Scandinavians generally have a better lifestyle than Americans. They don't have an obesity crisis and aren't under chronic stress like us. If we swapped the Scandinavian and Texan populations, the Texans would overwhelm their healthcare system and drive up the cost.

[@Dieselpwr]

First thing to go is truth

[@Tyo-yw9jh]

How do you get taxed over 100%?

[@michaellundgren6949]

Income tax is slightly higher than your Net income.

[@barleyeducated8714]

Usually a combination of income, sales, and property taxes can make it over 100% at certain points.At home here I've seen situations where an increase in income results in over 100% effective rate if you count a decrease in social benefits like medical, food stamps. There is also a narrow window where a deposit to an IRA can result in a greater than the deposit tax refund increase.

[@henryq9390]

You have a savings or estate

[@Tyo-yw9jh]

Jesus, so by living in the country you are actually losing money?

[@markanthony3275]

You hand over your entire years earnings plus a penalty.

[@AGTsakumis]

I so love your channel, John. You truly speak truth to power, and demystify much of the schlock that passes for journalism today.

[@simmethaboi5232]

I live im Sweden and I dont no what mainstream media is telling Usa but the point is that that politic is not working in this new generation

[@TTS-TP]

I remember this little documentary. It was great, I shared it all over, and actually forgot about it.

[@franklinnose]

You forgot to mention the NO GO ZONES and the RAPES!

[@styxzero1675]

@Jonathan Warren Sometimes when you have no idea what you are talking about its better to not comment. You have clearly never been to sweden and all you know is from american right wing media.

[@Theseus9-cl7ol]

I'm really starting to think that Democrats just want to destroy the country in order so they can install full on communism.

[@Hirnlego999]

Well, perhaps they would want the red states to take their heads out of their asses so the richer blue states don't have to pay the poorer red states welfare. It's a bit silly to keep on voting for the same thing hoping one day the states will not be fly over states.

[@Theseus9-cl7ol]

@@Hirnlego999 You're brainwashed and have no idea what you are talking about.

[@Hirnlego999]

@@Theseus9-cl7ol The red states should do better since they opt for more capitalism and not less. But they aren't exactly doing better are they. And US healthcare should be among the cheapest in the world if capitalism helped it, instead it is the most expensive. This is is the country after all were lots of people do not dare to take vacations because the corporate strangehold on the population is so vast. "The analysts found that when controlling for the power of economic elites and organized interest groups, the influence of ordinary Americans registers at a "non-significant, near-zero level." The analysts further discovered that rich individuals and business-dominated interest groups dominate the policymaking process. The mass-based interest groups had minimal influence compared to the business-based interest groups" truth-out.org/buzzflash/commentary/most-non-rich-us-voters-have-near-zero-level-impact-on-national-policy-new-study-concludes It's a bad deal, and largely also because the Democratic party is bought by Wall Street. The Republicans are just worse, so bad that you'd expect people to want the party to be extinct. Just look how they used the caravan nonsense to scare the bezeesus out of you folks, after the election it all went quit. Oh wonder why.

[@Theseus9-cl7ol]

@@Hirnlego999 You are a moron totally brainwashed by liberal propaganda.

[@keivanazarbar5131]

@@Theseus9-cl7ol @Hirnlego999 is hitting u with facts but u're coming with insults. You sir, just lost the argument

[@aggressor6609]

The only thing that I don’t like about the privatization is that the communes are responsible for the schools economy which makes some schools poor and others rich depending on the size and population in the commune. We get food lunches like my favorite “cornflakefish”

[@nilsjohansson1860]

Im reading this while studying in my free school after a free kidney transplant in my large villa, and I could basically go anywhere at night and feel safe. Oh, also I'm 16 and get money for going to school

[@gawfdawg1]

Most Americans are so clueless, clotted and coddled. Thankfully we have people like John

[@Xeno_Solarus]

Do i hear generalizations? Racist comments? Oh boy, that's great.

[@sammysam2615]

The Trump tax cut is corporate socialism. Hypocrite

[@dashausdesamadeus9557]

What Sweden? You mean Swedistan?

[@pruule5651]

Swedistan means "land of the swedes" so thats not even an insult to the swedish people.

[@mumbairay]

The results we have seen is *are the infamous no go zonees

[@ShawnJonesHellion]

Sweedisrael - libertarians = deceptive jews - not white

[@danhantheman]

Blitzk rapewomenistan

[@ahrlj24]

paranoid victim. islam is the fastest growing religion. get mad. 😂

[@larrydye2152]

There aren't any socialist or completely capitalist countries. There are hybrids containing elements of both economies.

[@ollesundin9025]

I just found this video randomly and realised that it's my school they went to and filmed all my classmates

[@mr.mr.3301]

Best reporting I've seen in a while.

[@jacobs3671]

Business is the only thing creating new wealth!!! Without it, the state goes bankrupt! That’s why taxes should be low and government small! Make things attractive to business!!!

[@RogerCillion]

Yes, it really should be Free trading in human, kids, animals, forest... and devour the whole world. Because, ego and greed can. Do you have the slightest idea what infrastructure, police, hospital, school, mafia, organized crime is ? Damn people are naive.

[@theallseeingeye9388]

Couch capitalistic or socialist models both will only work if there is liquidity in the system. Both will collapse if there is not enough cash in circulation. Circulation of currency happens when the people and their collectives ( collective means a business, private enterprises, government or private sector ) consume goods and services. The model will have dips and booms but the adjustments will be inside a band and the swings up and down will not be huge or volatile. The problem with democratic socialist states like Venezuela is that their wealth was generated by oil. A natural resource that is finite and pricing based on demand and supply world wide. While Chavez had invested heavily in educating his people and ensuring their living standards was improved, very little was done in the private sector so that all the investment in education and infrastructure could pay back the state. Matter of fact when government controls the health and public works sector without private sector involvement, people cease to do business as the government is the face of business too. So oil price drops and the entire system crashes. Capitalistic countries are mostly all in the verge of going into massive decline, in many cases 1 step behind venezuela. Reason being is wealth accumulation is an exponential growth module when wealth is passed down and inherited. That than goes to become a larger pie for the following generation to step up. Ignoring the few tech company miracles, 99% of wealth today was built on wealth of yesterday which stays in the family. So wealth tends to end up with a select few. And again capitalism is dying because the incessent need to show profit year after year. The working class no longer have an opportunity to climb into the middle class because wages have stagnated but cost of living kept pushing newer heights. The system will collapse because the ultra rich hoarde their wealth or spend it on pushing back the middle class by buying them out when they cant afford then upkeep. Cash becomes tied when they deny the middle class a chance to buy back. Example is gentrification of the city centres. Where rent and price per square foot has become ridiculous that an average household can no longer afford it.. All these cash are now stuck. Circulation becomes less and less as a reason. The capitalistic module where the shareholders profit margin are sacred will collapse suddenly unless the world collectively decides to go to Mars by say middle of this century. Blind consumption phase we are at now will run its course in about 10 to 15 years max. Otherwise we are going to need another module to regain back the liquidity from the 1% and decide on another model of circulating the cash. How did we recover or reclaim back the wealth that had ended up concentrates in the hands of a select few participants previously you ask? What do you think the 1st and 2nd world war was about? The true nature of wars has always been redistribution of wealth.

[@RogerCillion]

@@theallseeingeye9388 I would like to add that US embargo with oil and other products is what making the crise in Venezuela for now. The US is the worlds biggest organized crime for now. UK before that. Future ? Possibly China, as we already see that other countries are bending their knees for them... or should we say companies. Countries as we know it are dying. Nations that is. Money is created. We dont need it. Today, transactions can be made without the need of banks or states. What needs to be balanced is the crtical demands... not all demands. Luxuary products needs to be taken of that list. Resource based economy is the only way. Borrow not own products. There is no need of owning. Dont you all religious people practise what you preech ?!

[@jacobs3671]

Ruban Raj Kumar Ganesan yes people are naive because they assume that my simple comment comes from a less nuanced thinking. I knew that would happen. That’s why i worded my comment so simply because I knew someone like you would fall For it. Again your not getting it. There is no new wealth generated outside of what capitalism creates. If business stops being attractive and stops thriving, then the state will go bankrupt and run out of money because they won’t have enough revenue to tax. Are you naive one or is it me?

[@jacobs3671]

Roger Pettersson again your both are the naive ones. I am not one of the religious types. I worded my comment like that on purpose. Because every time I give a detailed response I scare people off. But when I word my comment simply, people like you assume that I’m a simple Minded religious type. Pathetic on your part. New wealth is ONLY created by capitalism. A safety net or welfare state relies solely on being able to tax people’s earned money to pay for it. So what happens when business stops being attractive? Then you stop generating enough revenue to pay for the safety net. That’s exactly why it says in the video that Sweden had to deregulate the economy to pay for the safety net or the safety net would have gone bankrupt. I voted for Bernie Sanders in the dem primary in 2016. And it’s when I looked closely at how the Nordic countries operates that I realized that the comparison was bullshit. The Nordic countries have no minimum wages but 65% unionization. Plus a safety net that forces everyone to pay at least 35-40 percent in taxes and up to 65% . So yes someone at McDonald’s gets 20 dollars an hr but then 7-8 dollars of that goes to the government . Then, products are more expensive because those small European counties don’t have the buying power as the more capitalistic United States so that remaining 13 dollars that the McDonald’s employee can’t buy much because everything is so expensive... So they have higher salaries that are highly taxed and can’t buy anything!! So they are then basically need business at that point to pay for everything or the entire welfare state goes bankrupt! That’s why it’s better to just lower taxes and make smaller government then sign up for the government controlling your healthcare and education while business doesn’t grow but exists only to be exploited! When the welfare state needs everyone to give over 40-60 percent of their income, That’s absolute theft and your signing up to be robbed from only because you can’t take responsibility for your life you would rather have someone else take care of your lives for you!

[@jwim3969]

Can’t share this on Parler?

[@roostertheguy]

Taxes are high here in sweden, and theres alot of them. But, as someone who works a low income job with entry level salary, I still have 5 weeks paid vacation every year, and now as a parent we get paid to be at home with our kid for over a year. Also the most you pay for doctor is around $150 a year no matter how many times you need to go. Medicine is not too expensive.

[@AlexKomnenos]

Mr. Stossel, don’t you know what happens when you actually start to talk sense to people? Thank you for your temperament and your consistency in your character. I’m a big fan

[@shiloh-hc1rw]

John Stossel, you make sense and made me a libertarian

[@crammit6601]

Good to hear!

[@soyboystan5858]

Just because something makes sense doesn’t make it true. 😎

[@BuddyLee23]

Stossel droppin those gold pills! (as yellow gold is actually the color most associated with Libertarianism).

[@steffenebener7332]

@Kitsalp Srewolf get Steven Levitt's, Milton Friedman's and Mises' Books

[@ShinyZETER]

"America should be socialist like Sweeden, have universal hc, strong unions and so on." "They're not socialist! They're capitalist!" "Ok then you should have no problem with universal hc stronger unions and so on." "No! That's socialism!"

[@me6096-]

You didnt get the video... try again 0:54

[@ShinyZETER]

@@me6096- Where he defines socialism incorrectly? Socialism can be any number of things that progress society to a state where workers own the means of production.

[@ShinyZETER]

@@me6096- my point is IDC what u call it's the substance of what's being asked for that matters. But people intentionally try to enter into meaningless word games instead to avoid giving the people power

[@29-arnavsamant97]

Firstly, no one says Sweden is capitalist, secondly the universal healthcare proposed in the US isn't the same as the Nordic model

[@richardparnell7584]

The problem is that America is hung up on the word socialism. The lesson for America is some socialist politics are good but ignore it anyway because some brat with a TV show will tell you not to accept that another country ideas. Let's just focus on the word and debunking the example given. "America the greatest country in the world. We don't need your advise."

[@O1OO1O1]

You mean you can do something other than option A or option B?! You'll break their black and white world.

[@richardparnell7584]

@@O1OO1O1 The American political system is a 2 horse race. Currently my government system has 4 parties involved. 3 off the parties are in a coalition and 1 is the opposite. That means everyones voice is heard and the government is held to account. When we had our terrorist attack last year it didn't become a political football. When covid 19 became an issue all four parties worked together till it was under control. The oppositions job was to hold those in power accountable. We have strong libal laws so you can say what you want so long as you can back it up. You can't just make shit up and say it.

[@O1OO1O1]

@@richardparnell7584 with respect, I feel we interpret reality very differently. Why is libel relevant? People say BS things all the time with no consequence. Also, pretty sure the terrorist attack did become a political football, it's just that most people were for a certain outcome so there wasn't as much division. Anyway, the problem with the two choice system is it creates the terrible outcome of having to vote for A or B, or your vote is wasted. Ranked choice, or a representative system would allow for a wider range of choices, and them being represented more, ultimately representing people better. That's the theory, anyway. But it's practice in many places.

[@richardparnell7584]

@@O1OO1O1 Not sure where your reality is. It was only 2 weeks ago that a guy in Auckland had to surrender himself to police and apologise to the whole country for spreading false information on social media because of the countries Libel laws or defamation laws as is the correct term. If you don't know the case, he shared part of a conspiracy theory from the US. It was a theory that was misleading and put lives in danger. How New Zealand handled the shooter differently from any other country. The prime minister said she would never use the shooters name or give him a platform for is ideology. She also asked the media not to use the shooters name which they did for over a year after she had asked. The government changed gun laws within weeks with the support of all 4 parties. Try that in America. That's a football that will never touch the ground. And you wouldn't get away with saying grab them by the pussy or dishonest hillary etc or questioning someone birth rights. The deputy leader of the opposite party (The national party) just tried that America style of politics 3 weeks ago and found himself being called out on it and back pedaling as fast as he could. Leader of the opposition (Her nick name is " Crusher Colin's" lol) had to get her husband to remove a post before they got into trouble. But in America you can do that shit.

[@DeadEyeAlex]

Waiting for the reawakening of vikings... come on Swedes, do something :(

[@KandiKlover]

They all died in the World Wars and Korean War and now are left with limpwrist butthole touching sissies and fake refugees abusing asylum and Islam fetishists.

[@gdfggggg]

I'm afraid they've been cucked. Masculinity has been brainwashed out of society to leave them run by a bunch of idealistic overly empathetic women. Sweden is fucked.

[@joopajoo4152]

@@KandiKlover Sweden was at war in ww1 , ww2 or Korean war. Yes off course.

[@sanktxando]

We are, the Sweden Democrats (the party who’s advocating for a complete cease of asylum-based immigration for the foreseeable future + repatriation/deportation) are likely to become the biggest political party in the country come the next election. If everything goes well, and they manage to come to terms with the other parties on the right, we might very well have a conservative majority in 2 years time. But only then can we start healing and repairing the damages made by our current government.

[@virginiacampodonico5215]

HELLO?

[@KrymsonScale]

This man could tell me the sky is never really blue and I'd have to look and he'd probably convince me in the process.

[@benerd3198]

You can convince anyone if you're smart enough. "The sky is blue because blue light is scattered in all directions by the tiny molecules of air in Earth's atmosphere. And what you are seeing is just reflections from the atmosphere and not the colors absorbed by it. So the sky is literally any other color except for blue.'

[@alexispetersson8682]

I'm a swede and I make approximately 37k a year, can tell you that I've never paid 60% in income taxes. It's more like 30% or less depending on where you live.

[@truman0725]

Exactly. Extremely misleading video. I pay 25% tax and have a salary of $36000 /year. And for this I don't have to worry about paying extreme costs for healthcare, and that's just one example of many good things.

[@TheBonneSwe]

What you dont know, is that "lönespecifikationen" doesn't say all taxes. If you make, after taxes, 20k SEK, your employer pays around double that ( feel free to ask any businessowner how much they pay for an employee, NOT only what you see, big diffrence ), then when you get your 20k, you've nearly 25% ( moms ) tax on all you buy. So that means 15k in buy value, BUT then you have dot-taxes ( punktskatter ), which is depending on what you consume. But it's like on electricity, alcolohol, tobacco, fuel, fly, plastic bags ( lol ), "kemikalieskatt" ( on basically ALL electicity bound things, TV, PC etc ) and more "luxury consumtion" things ( for source, search "punktskatter skatteverket" ). As a fun note, my friend payed his electricity bill the other month, 842 SEK. Cost of electricity? 211 SEK. LOL. Lovely to live in house isn't it... Fuel? RIght now, around 14 SEK/L: over half is taxes... I'd be able to drive double as long, if they didn't steal my money. But hey, atleast I can cheat on the "deklarationen" so I get some of those money back, but they always steal atleast 10k of the sum I type. But this point is actually a typical left thing. As long as you know how to do "avdrag" ( tax write off ), you can get some of your money back - just like the big companies know, and hire actually agency to fix all this for them. Always those dumb lowlifers who are too dumb to know the rules and laws, are those who fail to get their production ( money ) back. The big companies love left leaning societes, cuz they know how to ride on the laws. And they can afford it. I did a counting on a salary 2 months ago, basically from 40k my employer paids full out for me working, my buy value is around 9k SEK. So they steal tones of money, and wait, there is more. The pensionsystem is a joke ( "socialen" pays more than actual pensions my grandma gets, for working her whole life with small business, 40 - 60 hours a week, GREAT! ), we fund countries who has never contributed to Swe ( SIDA bidrag ), or citizen of Swe. Our healthcare has long lines, to the point a newborn child died a couple of years ago due to lack of resources, which was the first in like 60 years or something. People with cancer wont get off their jobs due to Försäkringskassan again and again making people work, and healthcare? Yeah, they have to wait months ( friend was recently in on "akuten" for njursten, "kidneystones", sat 4 hours and then "we cant help until it's worse" and back home again, he wasn't pleased and it's weeks ago, still hasn't gotten help LOL )... Infrastructure is way behind and when they rebuild, it's like 5 - 10 years after it should have been done. Roads outside of main roads, looks mostly like shit. I have more on above list, I can go on for hours. I travel a lot in Sweden and since I'm a working man, who works 60 hours a week. I make only 25% more than I'd do from working 40 hours a week. What that means, I work 50% more, but only makes 25%. Nice, truly.. To sacrifice life, family, friends and joy, with barerly any energy on the weekends, to make only 25% more. Atleast I can become "F-skattare" and do "avdrag" ( tax write off ) to absurdity. Just pay a company to take care of this, sure they costs a lot, but i'll get more back in tax refund. It's hilarious how the left says "give the production to the workers", and then wanna tax the shit outta them ( keeping them poor LOL ) of their liquid production ( money, that's production, you can buy, sell or invest that time you got in your pocket with others ) so they stay poor and make small business companies a hassle to survive. This is also a point I can make way more elaborated. I know, I'm surrounded by these kind of people and I would be one to, but I rather not get taxed to fucking hell with my neck on the line. So "summa summarum", of every 100 SEK my employer pays me, I'll pay roughly 85 SEK to the state in on or another way. Damn it feels good to be a legal slave who atleast can put my whole life in debt for a house ( and pay all shit around it with loans too ), SMS-loans to fund my "unexpected" costs and that i'm limited because in a long country as sweden, it'd cost an fortune to actually see it. As a last point, my car. This one is gonna be great for you "taxlovers"! 3800 SEK, per year in tax just to have the car legal. "Besiktning" ( inspection" ) costs 400 ( 25% moms ) SEK. 1500 MIL ( not miles, but 1 mil = 10 KM ) which is average driving length per person in Swe: 14x1500 = 21000 SEK, but my cars use 0.7, so = 14.700 SEK. HALF is tax.... Insurance: 350 SEK monthly. 4200 yearly. 1050 SEK/year in tax. Tolls, "trängelavgifter" ( crowding fees? In bigger cities ) is around 100 SEK every month. 1100 SEK/year, with one month vacation. Repairs? Gods knows, but tires, wipers, fluids and so forth, atleast another 10k SEK per year = 2500 SEK, in moms. Hell, I think even tires has some enviromental taxes on them, so it could be more expensive, but I wont count on it here. So just for me, going back and forth to work per year ( which is roughly 1500 MIL ) in tax: 3800 + 100 + 7350 + 1050 + 1100 + 2500 = 15900 SEK IN TAXES ( not what I actually pay, that's even higher ). If I made 20k after taxes, 75%+ of a months salary, every year do I have to pay to just have a car and get to work. And this is not for an fancy pansy car, and I'm a millionaire. I have a shitty Chevy trailblazer 03 and I make like 25% more than average income person, but I have to sleep out sun -> fri, working from morning to evening. No friends, no showers, no luxury, just working, working and working. Sleeping on weekends and off again on sunday... But I can do "avdrag", all fuelcosts above 10000 SEK, I get some back: so atleast I get 4 - 5K sek, back if I know how and in right time ( not hard to be fair ). But it's still around 12k a year in ONLY tax ( more if expensive repairs, or actually wanna use my car for rides to friends and family.. ), which could pay food for a whole year for me, just to own the car and get to work. And as I said, infrastructure is mostly a joke for the countryside and outside of mainroad ( even they lack care! ) and you still, even tho you pay by your car ( 3800 sek/year ), pay for some bridges, "trängelavgifter" ( tolls ) in most bigger cities and getting taxed on the fuel you use. Now, I use my car more than that, I probably pay 3 times, if not 4 times that combined. But I rather have some joy in my life too.... So TL:DR; we're fucking cucked by taxes and most dont know cuz they dont count or even have experience. They see their "lönespecifikation" and never like in US on products, products prize and they add tax in cashier. It's already baked in, so most dont know that they're taxed to hell. Hell, they even mask some taxes on lönespecifikationen and you'd NEVER known, if you weren't into taxes and/or had a business yourself. But guess why msot business operators are rightwing, that must be the million dollar question.... "it's not that bad", no, not when you dont know. LOL

[@martins3993]

They are counting arbetsgivaravgift and sociala avgifter.

[@alexispetersson8682]

Well sociala avgifter still doesn't go over 25%. Groceries for example is between 6-12%. And if we're comparing to the US where the major corporations and the "one percent" get so much taxcut that the minimum wages are ridicoulus. The case with "försäkringskassan" being harder on unemployment whether you were terminally ill or not happend under "moderaternas" mandatstyre" the same with "vårdköerna" because modersterna wsnted to privatise the healthcare. About the 800 something SEK your friend had to pay during 1 month I propose switching "elbolag", because that's the first time I hear of that kind of rip-off. Also with the major corporations in the US you don't have "anställningstrygghet" meaning that if there is a "varsel" you'll have to leave the company on the day. You also don't have to work a lifetime to get vacation in sweden in fact you actually get paid when taking vacation here in Sweden with the "semesterersättning". So all and all I would not want my Country to lean more to the US politically nor socially.

[@alexispetersson8682]

Oh and btw in Greece the gasolin costs 1,45-1,5 Euros.

[@andrewlanger2168]

Where can I find this documentary?

[@scottbuckley823]

Another country that gets mentioned is Denmark but what they don't mention is that it's funded by oil same in Norway. Denmark and Norway rank 13 and 32 on oil exports. Iceland and Norway also have massive fishing waters because they stayed away from big government of the EU. My country Ireland is good at attracting multinationals but we sold our biggest assets our fishing and oil rights.I'm mostly libertarian but when it comes to offshore natural resources i think every citizen owns a piece and if they want thier share to go to health or housing who's to refuse

[@loadsmasher698]

You mean Denmark and Norway pay for their "free health care" by causing global warming? That's horrible! They should follow Sweden's example and export weapons instead.

[@ianhollands1641]

Don't worry , it will soon be a nice Islamic Theocracy,!!!

[@crashoverride1000]

Or gun toting illiterate capitalism yee fucking haw.

[@FazeParticles]

Ramen, right.

[@crashoverride1000]

@@vigenk06 wide awake dude. my take is this is 4 centuries of rothchilds running the slave palace.

[@vigenk06]

@@crashoverride1000 now i know where you're coming from and who you are... Thanks for your honesty. Good night!

[@Hirnlego999]

Always fun to hear rightwing fear-fantasies. If anything then the rightwing will bring in conservatism and with it Christianity. Some fantasies are more equal than others.

[@gregoryjackson852]

Nobody even knows wat sweden is like.

[@Bregott07]

I as a Swede, the only thing i hate about this country is the government.

[@zjeee]

What what what wait... as a Swede myself, this year's election just recently one of the biggest issues - apart from immigration of course - was our education system which has totally gone down the drain since this "amazing" privatizing the schools. The only thing our parties can agree upon is that privatization as it is now should be decreased or abolished. Also about the taxes if you earn around $2,300 a month your income tax rate will be around 30-33% once you start getting up to $22,000 a month that income tax will hit you for more than 50%. I think you can make the argument that Sweden is not a socialist success without praising a failed educational system, all Our neighbours are in the top 20 when it comes to student performance in the world, Finland is ranked 8th in the world (no private schools). At the same time we're the country with the biggest student performance drop the last decade, I don't think you can blame it all on privatization but it certainly didn't make the results any better. TLDR: Praising our shitty educational system and claiming that below average income workers pay more taxes than high income workers just makes you look silly. Just take a look at the tax brackets and our student results and you will realize this. I don't agree with the way my country is going, the immigration crisis is killing us at the moment but they really should consider hiring somebody else for research this is just completely off.

[@niklaswennerstrand1010]

Sweden has never been a socialist country. But, Sweden has used a more socialist economy in the past as stated in the documentary referred to. A big issue with American education is that most Americans do not know much about economics or politics outside their own country. You can spot that out when you hear Americans use the word socialist or socialistic. American does not know the difference between "social democracy", "democratic socialism" and "socialism". These are vastly different systems. Note that the documentary has many wrong claims in it when it refers to that privatization of institutions like healthcare and public transformation etc has been successful. For the citizens, the cost for public transportation and healthcare have gone up and the service has gone down. Sure, the foreign owners of healthcare, transport, and educational companies are making a lot more money. And the profit goes to offshore companies and is not spent in Sweden. Basically, we pay tax to foreign companies that pay no tax in Sweden. The documentary failed to mention that.

[@danavram8437]

There is no difference between "democratic socialism" and "socialism", other than the first being a potential precursor to the second. It ALWAYS ends in socialism in the long run (democratic socialism is like saying democratic fascism...after all, Hitler was elected). Social democracy is another system entirely.

[@Pectopah123]

@@danavram8437 fake news...😂😂

[@DaveyOful]

Strange how the video opens with a Paul Krugman ad.

[@richardreyes584]

Awsome and honest report. John Stossel we all miss you on the network.

[@voluspa4263]

That 60% tax for low income workers isn't right at all ( 60% is the ceiling of how much the government can demand from you). The thing about Sweden wringing out the poor comes from the fact that people of greater means generally funnel their money into stocks or companies instead of that fat paycheck, so they can avoid going up the tax bracket. The examples of tax brackets below are based on yearly income and are taken from the swedish tax agency's webpage. 10 341 USD=13% tax(1320) 31 027 USD=23% tax(7042) 51 707 USD=27% tax(14 148) 103 403 USD=43% tax (44 124) If you make under 2000 USD per year, you are not under any obligation to pay taxes.

[@kneedeepinbluebells5538]

John Stossel You Left Out The Astonishing Success Of Malmo ... Why ?

[@irou95]

2:10 eliminated inheritance taxes.. as someone who lives in a country with inheritance tax still on and got a big inheritance.. it doesn't feel good

[@crocodile2501]

1:59 look at the dude trying to dive :(

[@JohnK-ph3vw]

When the government “pays” for everything, where do you suppose the money comes from? And if the citizens aren’t working or producing and paying taxes what do they suppose happens? Duh. Wake up kids.

[@cheshire_skatkat9093]

Many people don't realize government don't give without taking from someone else.

[@RogerCillion]

Money, let me hear then, were money comes from. And you eat money i suppose ?

[@steffenebener7332]

Well, in socialist societies, the state is also the economy, it actually produces stuff, but mostly ineffective, and often against economic basic laws.

[@steffenebener7332]

@@RogerCillion well the Bolivár will at least keep the feeling of Hunger away

[@RogerCillion]

@@steffenebener7332 Effectivity, is product produced per time, right ? And it is important to produce fast ? Because ? You compete with others ? Its like you have to eat fast at home. Because at home when not working, you are not in a competition ? It is in the end a matter of what sort of life you want. Because we could sure as hell work 80 hours per week, and earn more ! Money is just an agreed note of paper by the government, or whoever prints that paper. I rather prefer bitcoin agreed upon by no government or bank. No matter what you choose, left or right, you are still a slave. In one with more stress, in the other with less. Freedom ? Do you have loans ?

[@torstenpersson5629]

Privatization in Sweden have f-ed up the transportation system, the postal system, the schools, the healthcare, the pharmacies and more. The "winners" are the people, like the dude in the video, that have been able to enrich themselves on others and can afford expensive insurances. The income and social divides have increased a lot in resent years. Sad!

[@erikhasselholm1344]

Social Democrat propaganda right here

[@torstenpersson5629]

@@erikhasselholm1344 Strong arguments right there.

[@erikhasselholm1344]

Torsten Persson You didnt make any arguments youself, only ideologically influenced claims.

[@wolfy1987]

@@torstenpersson5629 How have the systems gotten worse?

[@torstenpersson5629]

@@wolfy1987 I’ll try to keep it short.

[@alexgolovchenko3791]

That was very interesting.

[@mikhail7863]

Didn't he just say in the beginning that Russia is a socialist country? lmao We have 13% income tax rate, while e.g. Germany has 45% max income tax rate. So we're quite poor in average but not socialist at all.

[@Hilariumosis]

I see Sweden as more of a capitalistic free market economy with strong social benefits.

[@jessicachanning2447]

I don’t understand how some of these people, who were interviewed, don’t have any idea about any countries around the world... and are twice my age. I guess we are lucky in the age of knowledge

[@abdulrahmanalenezi6068]

nope

[@htd2006]

American living in Sweden here, I love how US media finds ways to criticizing countries like Sweden that seem to work well (despite not being exactly perfect) when the dumpster fire that is my home country USA gets a light touch. Lazy journalism. You can't really even call it journalism. The accurate description in Sweden's case would be "Mixed Economy". As the old meme goes, "Why not both?".

[@vascorfael7223]

dude what an eye-opening video. Thank you for your service, Mr. Stossel

[@niclaz79]

A shame that it's not accurate though.

[@jdm3072]

@@niclaz79 Everything in this video was accurate. Don't fool yourself.

[@niclaz79]

@@jdm3072 Ok, I guess living here for 40+ years I was wrong all along. Thank you for enlightening me internet warrior. Moron.

[@niclaz79]

@Carlos With what? Lies? Nah, I prefer truth. You should try it sometime.

[@niclaz79]

@Carlos Seems I broke the bot.

[@JamesRendek]

Socializing healthcare so people stop dying needlessly is not the same thing as ditching capitalism. You'll still be able to pay too much for a huge TV if you like. You just might live to watch it longer.

[@MarkoTiosavljevic]

@J Wil Great point of view, stop helping people to educate freely and have great healthcare. So that helps you to get the worst inequality ever. It helps make America shit again because it is not far from poor people start killing rich people because they don't have to eat or whatever. And this type of videos are just helping you NOT to realize what is the point of Sweden idea of socialism ..

[@mytube6538]

J Wil I’m sorry will make it? I had $250,000 in medical bills working 3 jobs because I couldn’t afford the healthcare plans and do you think I could afford that bill? Um no and they wanted it payed off in a year going to garnish my wages when I don’t even make a 3rd of that a year! Had to claim bankruptcy. Now please tell me again how it will make it expensive.

[@mytube6538]

bad bad mc bad WHAT!!??!!! Um please explain!!! So I would have to pay $500 bucks a year in health? I have a great new job where it’s like $20 a month but a $1,000 deductible. I want to know where that number came from not that I’m doubting you I’m just curious because that changes some stuff you know

[@mytube6538]

bad bad mc bad okay more questions sorry. So they would take out $500 a month in taxes? But don’t taxes only come out in a percentage? What if you only make $500 a month? And would nurses and Drs etc make less?

[@mytube6538]

bad bad mc bad you are a bad teacher. I asked for clarification I never once implied that I trust the government let alone trust them to run every aspect of my life.

[@RyeOnHam]

The Swedish model does not scale with immigration and population growth. Sweden already had a strong work ethic, a stable population, and weather that prevented lazy people from moving there. My opinion.

[@markanthony3275]

Can you explain all the Muslims moving there to get are healthcare?

[@Merth667]

I would be interesting in hearing you explain the Muslim problem Sweden has aswell.

[@Timotheousturalyon]

Muslims are not a race.

[@crazyferretlady]

@@RyeOnHam Muslims are NOT a race..

[@RyeOnHam]

Whatever group of people you want to discriminate against. Not many red-headed Muslims, though.

[@IHaveTheSchwartz]

Social programs does not mean a country is socialist. Just like saying something stupid doesn't make the person stupid (sometimes).

[@chivomartinez]

Norway has been a rich nation and a socialist nation, but never both things at the same time.