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Something Not Rotten in Denmark
Key Excerpts from Article on Website of New York Times
Posted: February 28th, 2016
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/19/opinion/something-not-rott...
The Danes get a lot of things right, and in so doing refute just about everything U.S. conservatives say about economics. And we can also learn a lot from the things Denmark has gotten wrong. Denmark provides universal health care; college education is free, and students receive a stipend; day care is heavily subsidized. To pay for these programs, Denmark collects a lot of taxes. The top income tax rate is 60.3 percent; theres also a 25 percent national sales tax. Overall, Denmarks tax take is almost half of national income, compared with 25 percent in the United States. Adults in their prime working years are substantially more likely to be employed in Denmark than they are in America. Labor productivity in Denmark is roughly the same as it is here, although G.D.P. per capita is lower, mainly because the Danes take a lot more vacation. Denmark [also] ranks at or near the top on international comparisons of life satisfaction. Its hard to imagine a better refutation of anti-tax, anti-government economic doctrine. But its economy has taken a hit in recent years, because its recovery from the global financial crisis has been slow. But Denmarks monetary and fiscal errors dont say anything about the sustainability of a strong welfare state.
Note: Denmark is also on track to use renewable power sources for all of its energy needs by 2050.
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