(edit title) The Swedish model for economic recovery By Washington Post op-ed writer Robert Samuelson Options

[Zill]

The Swedish model for economic recovery

Amid all the grim economic news from Europe, it’s worth noting that there are also some success stories. Well, of course, you say: Germany. Okay. But there’s another conspicuous candidate, and it might seem surprising: Sweden. To many Americans, Sweden is a bloated, inefficient welfare state. But the reality and the stereotype don’t match.

[rabbemos]

Don't think the Swedish remedies would work in the US due to political taboos.

1. The US spends about 17% of its GDP on Healthcare. The more spent on healthcare the higher the GDP and its also a sign of more sick and dying people. The US has a lot of industries that grow the economy of the US but do not generate higher productivity from the work force. In other words, the American economy is very inefficient compared to the Swedish economy. That is, the US spends well over double on health care per capita as Sweden yet people in the US live shorter lives and arguably have a lower quality of life and general quality of health based upon observation - lots of fat unhealthy people in the US, much fewer in Sweden.

2. Swedes pollute a lot less than Americans, 5.3 metric tons of CO2 per capita vs. 17.5 metric tons per capita (2008). Yet, on the other hand Swedes and Americans are about as equally as productive in terms of nominal GDP per capita. What this means is are that Swedes are about 3 times less wasteful than Americans when producing an equal amount. I was fairly amazed with the statistics as Sweden is even more industrialized than the US.

For example, in Sweden lots of people use public transport, owning a car is an option in the three largest cities and probably others. Lots of people bicycle to work and get exercise at the same time, whereas, in the US lost more people drive to work, then drive to their gym to work out. In other words, the transportation infrastructure in much of America was build around cheap oil. The documentary "There is no tomorrow" addresses these and other sustainability issues rather well.

3. Americans have been trained as consumers for much longer than Swedes. The Age of Stupid is a good documentary that addresses consumerism. Its easy for people to acquire more difficult for them to give up on anything.

4. The US banking system is completely screwed up holding on to massive amounts of derivatives no one wants to buy still. Sweden is a bit better off and never really bought into the first round of toxic debt anyway. The US has an albatross around its neck and for this reason alone the US economy will eventually go through a major second crash as well as any others who are part of the 1500 trillion dollar derivatives bubble.

5. Overall, the US is in a political and economic quagmire where the pundits don't really address the basic fundamental issues and problems. Sweden has some of the same issues but not nearly to the degree the US has. Sweden's biggest challenge is the demographics wall a lot of European countries are going through with too many older workers leaving the workforce and not enough to pay for their social security. However, that issue is small compared to all the problems in America regarding securing new resources, its debt, food supply, education, and so on. The US is in store for a perfect storm whereas, Sweden will have some snow flurries or two and the people are likely still capable of digging their way out.

[klubbnika]

Stupid to compare countries with huge differences in size and population.

[green_sweden]

The Swedish model for economic recovery

Certainly true, acknowledged by the US or not, the Swedish economy is one of the fastest growing economies in Europe for the last 10 years, 26.5% GDP growth in the last 10 years, only preceded by Poland and the countries which were formerly part of the Soviet Union.

Sweden is worldwide respected for its low corruption index and its high living standards and life quality which is evident in its high Human Development Index