Posted by Tina
A school teacher from Denmark, Mikkel Clair Nissen, has written a scathing criticism for the socialist form of government she has lived under. Happy talk about free government services is the subject of politicians like Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. Denmark is often touted as the model for their dreams of nirvana. But these socialists never talk about the unintended consequences of their generosity with other peoples money. Mikkel Nissen does talk about it. Hers is a voice of experience and authority. Find her letter posted at The Federalist Papers.
I don’t know whether this was written before Denmark enacted reforms or after. It doesn’t matter. Her message is clear. Socialism doesn’t work. The tax rates this school teacher and her fellow citizens pay to sustain nirvana will knock you over!
Tina: “A school teacher from Denmark, Mikkel Clair Nissen,”
Mikkel Clair Nissen is from Denmark, but he is not a schoolteacher, he is an author. He is also not the woman in the picture–that’s Danish actress Mille Dinesen, from the very funny crossover hit “Rita,” a show about a Danish schoolteacher (catch it on Netflix if you have the time–it’s hilarious even with the subtitles). He is also not a woman. All of this was obvious with only a few seconds on Google.
You really should make sure to double-check anything you see in meme form. They’re almost never written by the people it claims; they’re usually more like thought experiments meant to advance a particular ideology. I was really expecting an article given your high praise, not a silly Facebook meme. Many of the numbers are accurate but the conclusions are just one activist’s opinion. This is not very good evidence of anything.
Thanks for the information, Chris.
You really should put yourself in my shoes and see if you think you could do a flawless job.
I feel an obligation to the people that read this blog. It is also pretty obvious that if Jack and I fail to keep it timely and interesting our readers will fall away. That make this quite a challenge.
I posted this article just before quitting time, after a busy afternoon at work. I wanted to post something since we hadn’t posted anything new for hours but I dib’t have time for in depth research.
Your admission that “many of the numbers are accurate” makes the entertainment value legitimate. Your observation that “the conclusions are just one activist’s opinion” is hardly relevant since that is always the case. Opinions…we all have them. But those facts…they are difficult to set aside.
I prefer to let our readers draw their own conclusions. Mine is that what Bernie has in store for us isn’t pretty. It kills the human creative spirit and assigns people to equal parts slavery and dependency. Is it any wonder suicide is high in Scandinavian countries.
I did find the medication portion very entertaining…and unfortunately, more than plausible.
Where is the “Chris” blog?
Tina: “I prefer to let our readers draw their own conclusions. Mine is that what Bernie has in store for us isn’t pretty. It kills the human creative spirit and assigns people to equal parts slavery and dependency. Is it any wonder suicide is high in Scandinavian countries.”
This is his weakest, silliest point. There is no evidence that tax rates correlate with suicide rates. None.
Besides that, the reported suicide rate isn’t even accurate. Denmark has a lower suicide rate than the U.S.
“According to the World Health Organization (WHO)’s most recent statistics, Denmark’s suicide rate was 8.8 people per 100,000 (versus 12.1 per 100,000 in the United States) in 2012. WHO data from roughly a decade ago reported a suicide rate of 11.9 per 100,000 people in Denmark (versus 11.0 in the United States). While it appeared that the U.S. and Denmark maintained similar rates of suicide per capita in years past, Denmark’s suicide rate was markedly lower than that of the States by 2012 (and didn’t appear to ever have been three times as high).”
http://www.snopes.com/denmark-socialism-brutal-meme/
Is Post Scripts so wrong and God’s gift to mankind, Chris, so right? I think not. Mikkel Clair Nissen may be a fraud, but is the story fraudulent?
No.
http://nypost.com/2015/10/19/sorry-bernie-scandinavia-is-no-socialist-paradise-after-all/
WOW Pie. That’s a piece of history I had not heard.
Thanks for bringing it to our attention. You da man!
OMG! I just referenced a TABLOID! Chris has me now!
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/425566/bernie-sanders-democratic-debate
Dammit! I just referenced a conservative magazine!!! I should have gone to Salon.com!
Oh hell, now I AM CITING THE EVIL FORBES!
http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2012/10/25/european-socialism-why-america-doesnt-want-it/
Dag nab it! Now even the left wing Boston Globe is in on it!
https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2015/10/15/truth-and-consequences-denmark-socialism/b3AX6E6ZSQQwGiPnWuztQO/story.html
I love Bernie, but more than that, I love the left wink (wing) idiots who love him.
The little dears do seem to be lost in their own special dreams.
We’re going to have to work hard to keep ourselves out of their nightmare!
Socialism sucks and has no place in the United States unless it involves banks to big to fail, corporations and industries that need to be subsidized. Then its okay? Bernie references Norway, Denmark and the like for the things they do well. He doesn’t say we want to adopt everything they do.
Thanks for your thoughts, Steve Kelly.
What things do you think we should adopt from Norway and Denmark and what makes you think they work and would improve your life?
Like no one saw this coming from Paul Krugman — http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/19/opinion/something-not-rotten-in-denmark.html?_r=0
Notice how lefties always say “they got it right” the failed policies they espouses how up in other arenas. Quoting Krugman: “Danes get a lot of things right”
It’s so easy to be a lefty. They get to hand out all the candy without bothering about the little things, like oppressive taxes.
Children do that. Children depend on their parents for everything and give little thought to what it takes to provide. For them, everything is free! Wheee!
Imagine if every parent kept his children dependent long into adulthood. Would we say of them that they” got things right?” Or would we think they had harmed the potential of their children and robbed them of experiencing the satisfaction of providing for himself. Would the parents be happy or would they realize they had made a terrible mistake. What should have been their golden retirement years will be spent in slavish dedication as providers.
I’d call that a lose/lose, but that is socialism at it’s most basic fundamental unit.
The speaker in this video talks about the history of Silicon Valley—starting in WWII. It is just over an hour long, but well worth watching. To quote Yakov Smirnoff, “What a country!”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTC_RxWN_xo
And because everybody needs a break, here is The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLgJ7pk0X-s&list=PLD0CCAAD889D5E29A&index=1
We offer lesson after lesson from our own history and still people will not get it.
Silicon Valley is a phenomenal example of what can be done when people are free to direct their energies and wealth as they wish inspired by their own visions. “What a country,” indeed!
Re RHT447 : Didn’t I post this once? Maybe not. The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain is wonderful. One of my favorite composers of our time, Ennio Morricone. A brilliant minimalist. Huge, passionate, pieces with spare orchestration. A genius.
It might have been me. I’ve posted it here and there in the past. As long as we’re going all music in this little corner of Post Scripts, here’s another I just stumbled across. Yeah, I know she’s using a looper. Still, when I recognized the melody—it’s “Silent Running” by Mike and the Mechanics. Google the lyrics.
Right. Let’s include the link this time.
“Silent Running”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUyHGMHBoLI
Ennio Moricone, full orchestra —
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toCjPy2ABCg
Absolutely beautiful, Pie. I can hardly type, my fingers are like wet noodles.
Correction. Full orchestra and choir.
Ennio Morricone The Ecstasy of Gold. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-rHdSWZLpQ
The only time I ever liked Metallica.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z57hyZmbE8A