Alabama’s poor are richer than Europe’s middle class

[autigeremt 6,598]

Texas Tiger and Titan make good points here. Alabama screws a lot of people in the Black Belt and other rural regions of this state by not working for the people on an equal footing.

[DKW 86 7,419]

Texas Tiger and Titan make good points here. Alabama screws a lot of people in the Black Belt and other rural regions of this state by not working for the people on an equal footing.

There are folks in N AL that have likely not ever witnessed the poverty of Lowndes, Perry, Wilcox, and Dallas Counties. There are more poor counties, but the poverty in those counties will change your view of what it means to be poor. We dont have equality. We have a great deal of potential and a great deal of lack of resources.

I am the man of my house. I am a father. I am a husband. I would call myself a person of faith. I, We, can do with less.

This is from a little man in Swaziland. NOTHING means more to my family than this. Serving others. It is how you serve God.

[Texan4Auburn 1,626]

I'm all about the Nordic model. Feel the Bern.

I like Nordic model also.

[JoeBags7277 734]

I'm all about the Nordic model. Feel the Bern.

I like Nordic model also.

Yes. That's one Nordic model I can get behind. Or on top of, or...

[Texan4Auburn 1,626]

I'm all about the Nordic model. Feel the Bern.

I like Nordic model also.

Yes. That's one Nordic model I can get behind. Or on top of, or...

But would you let her confiscate your gun? lol.

[JoeBags7277 734]

I'm all about the Nordic model. Feel the Bern.

I like Nordic model also.

Yes. That's one Nordic model I can get behind. Or on top of, or...

But would you let her confiscate your gun? lol.

If she asked in her sexy voice, and I was that desperate,very possible.

[DKW 86 7,419]

I'm all about the Nordic model. Feel the Bern.

I like Nordic model also.

Yes. That's one Nordic model I can get behind. Or on top of, or...

But would you let her confiscate your gun? lol.

If she has a "gun," like a "Love Gun," maybe you need to leave her alone...just sayin.

[AU-24 3,063]

Am American making minimum wage for 30 hours per week, (just 30) is wealthier than 88% to 90% of the worlds population.

[AU-24 3,063]

Yes. Why?

Folks in those socialist bastions of Norway, Luxembourg and Switzerland do much better while having no worries about going bankrupt over healthcare or struggling to send their kids to college. Mises relies on mismanaged countries like Italy and Spain to make it's point.

It the US would drill for and export oil like Norway we could support a socialist country as well. If the US limited immigration like Luxembourg we could be close to the same. Cheers! I have no answer for Switzerland, but I am sure it is out there.

They are very strict on immigration. If you do not have wealth to add to their economy, your are not getting in or not staying in.

[Texan4Auburn 1,626]

Am American making minimum wage for 30 hours per week, (just 30) is wealthier than 88% to 90% of the worlds population.

And that stat flips when you compare that to the United States peers which are industrialized nations.

[TexasTiger 12,829]

Yes. Why?

Folks in those socialist bastions of Norway, Luxembourg and Switzerland do much better while having no worries about going bankrupt over healthcare or struggling to send their kids to college. Mises relies on mismanaged countries like Italy and Spain to make it's point.

It the US would drill for and export oil like Norway we could support a socialist country as well. If the US limited immigration like Luxembourg we could be close to the same. Cheers! I have no answer for Switzerland, but I am sure it is out there.

They are very strict on immigration. If you do not have wealth to add to their economy, your are not getting in or not staying in.

They have a higher percentage of immigrants than the USA, and many are for providing labor:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_to_Norway

http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/frequently-requested-statistics-immigrants-and-immigration-united-states

[homersapien 11,362]

Speaking of Norway:

Norwegians Are Literally Using 'Texas' As Slang for 'Crazy' Now

http://www.alternet....slang-crazy-now

.....Texas is many things to many people—a state the size of a medium-sized country; home to several idiot governors, one who became president, and a current one who thinks it’s a good idea for college students to openly carry firearms. To Donald Trump, Texas is the place where a "big, beautiful wall" should be built. To people in Norway, “texas” with a small “t” is a synonym for crazy, bonkers, out of control and wild. As in, that’s totally texas. Or in Norwegian: det var helt texas....

[AURaptor 1,122]

They think Dallas is a documentary about real Texans.

Go figure.

[cooltigger21 0]

The odd thing is that while these Scandinavian countries are supposedly socialist, they have less government intervention in the market then we do.

[TexasTiger 12,829]

The odd thing is that while these Scandinavian countries are supposedly socialist, they have less government intervention in the market then we do.

Folks don't understand what socialism means.

[autigeremt 6,598]

The odd thing is that while these Scandinavian countries are supposedly socialist, they have less government intervention in the market then we do.

Folks don't understand what socialism means.

We r al dum ignoat fuuls whoe neva undastuud howa gratest soosiety wurk.

LOL

[triangletiger 1,599]

Speaking of a Great Society, Lyndon Johnson was from....Texas...

[TitanTiger 20,472]

The odd thing is that while these Scandinavian countries are supposedly socialist, they have less government intervention in the market then we do.

Folks don't understand what socialism means.

I'd say they don't really understand capitalism either.

[autigeremt 6,598]

The odd thing is that while these Scandinavian countries are supposedly socialist, they have less government intervention in the market then we do.

Folks don't understand what socialism means.

I'd say they don't really understand capitalism either.

Nope....all we see is crony and destructive versions of it anymore. This is one area where I'm not as anti-socialist as my sarcasm sometimes portrays. It may be why I like John Kasich so much.

[TexasTiger 12,829]

The odd thing is that while these Scandinavian countries are supposedly socialist, they have less government intervention in the market then we do.

Folks don't understand what socialism means.

I'd say they don't really understand capitalism either.

It's a long list.

[Auburn4life 24]

while Norway is up there this model doesn't show what taxes are in said countries. Norway is one of the most heavily taxed countries in the world with a total tax burden of roughly 45%. So (almost) half of $35,000 is $17,500

[TexasTiger 12,829]

while Norway is up there this model doesn't show what taxes are in said countries. Norway is one of the most heavily taxed countries in the world with a total tax burden of roughly 45%. So (almost) half of $35,000 is $17,500

The chart talks about purchasing power which should factor in taxes.

[augolf1716 21,103]

I'm all about the Nordic model. Feel the Bern.

I like Nordic model also.

Now we're talking..................

[AURex 1,994]

This article presents a superficial (if not specious) argument. It's not just about income or even relative income.

In pretty much every developed country in the world, every citizen has birth-to-death free healthcare. In most European countries and in Canada, the cost of a university education is heavily subsidized, cost is peanuts. In pretty much every developed country, the cost of medicines are negotiated by the government (in connection with universal healthcare) to assure extremely low costs. In just about every developed country, nobody goes hungry or lacks for housing, because of the safety net.

So, yes, income may (in some countries) be lower than the U.S. poverty line. But if you factor in these sorts of benefits, even the poor in many of those countries are better off than the middle class in the U.S., where we spend huge sums on medicine and the other costs associated with healthcare and higher education is often out of reach for middle class people (or leaves them with mountains of debt).

I'm not a socialist or any other political stripe. I'm a pragmatist and a realist. And the reality is, the U.S. has fallen behind a lot of other developed countries in science, technology, manufacturing, healthcare, personal safety and even basic literacy.

And by the way, during my years at Auburn, I read Mises, Hayek and other laissez-faire capitalist treatises, as I was an ardent Libertarian in my naive youth. Ideology is just that -- idealism. It is not the real world.

[icanthearyou 4,462]

This article presents a superficial (if not specious) argument. It's not just about income or even relative income.

In pretty much every developed country in the world, every citizen has birth-to-death free healthcare. In most European countries and in Canada, the cost of a university education is heavily subsidized, cost is peanuts. In pretty much every developed country, the cost of medicines are negotiated by the government (in connection with universal healthcare) to assure extremely low costs. In just about every developed country, nobody goes hungry or lacks for housing, because of the safety net.

So, yes, income may (in some countries) be lower than the U.S. poverty line. But if you factor in these sorts of benefits, even the poor in many of those countries are better off than the middle class in the U.S., where we spend huge sums on medicine and the other costs associated with healthcare and higher education is often out of reach for middle class people (or leaves them with mountains of debt).

I'm not a socialist or any other political stripe. I'm a pragmatist and a realist. And the reality is, the U.S. has fallen behind a lot of other developed countries in science, technology, manufacturing, healthcare, personal safety and even basic literacy.

And by the way, during my years at Auburn, I read Mises, Hayek and other laissez-faire capitalist treatises, as I was an ardent Libertarian in my naive youth. Ideology is just that -- idealism. It is not the real world.

Smart. Very smart. The only thing I might argue is that ideology leads to idealism. IMO the progression is, ideology to, ideologue to, ideological idiot.