Norway and Oil

[Wernazuma III]

almost 1/2 trillion USD in the fund for 4.5 mil people in Norway, 100k per person ... all that in only last 20 years... let's hope they continue to manage it well.

I'm thinking about moving to Norway illegally in order to get rid of my share of national debt. However, they really should start to build tropical islands with heated water to compensate for the lack of light...

[Heraclitus]

While I can (kinda-sorta) understand the prudence of not spending all the oil
money, I'm interested in the exact mechanisms of preventing it.

+1

"Everyone sees its a bad for the country/in the long run to do so" never stopped anyone, why would it stop the Norwegians?

[Ben Kenobi]

The biggest threat to the oil fund seems to be the right-wing populists in the Frp.

Let me guess, it's because they are just like Hitler, eh? Hilarious. You are so concerned about a bogeyman, but you can't see the real threats.

[Kitschum]

Let me guess, it's because they are just like Hitler, eh?

That is just bizarre.

To answer your question, no, it's because of their numerous statements to that effect. They want to spend more of the oil money or use it to finance tax cuts.

Hilarious. You are so concerned about a bogeyman, but you can't see the real threats.

Pray tell your "real threats"? Are they Muslim immigrants?

[DRoseDARs]

Gays.

[Kitschum]

Gay Muslim immigrants?

[Wernazuma III]

Gay Muslim immigrants?

Yes, they are a threat - governments start to stop sending them back to muslim countries. We'll be overgayed!

And not to forget, of course: Once here, those gay muslims breed like rats.

[DRoseDARs]

If only there were oil in us. I could stand being invaded by the United States Marine Corp...

[Nikolai]

While I can (kinda-sorta) understand the prudence of not spending all the oil
money, I'm interested in the exact mechanisms of preventing it.

All parties, except Frp, who nobody wants to do business with anyways(even though they have 25% or so support), support the sentiment that no more than 1% of the yearly oil income should be used, the rest is invested in the oil fund. The politicians are afraid of the Dutch sickness. The oil fund is a good idea, but there are many who thinks that we should spend more than 1%...

[Kitschum]

Thanks Nicholas. Are there really no differences in opinion between left/right wing parties (excluding Frp) over the oil fund? If so, why not? Are all Norwegians telepathically connected like the Borg?

[Nikolai]

Except for a few minor disagreements, all parties in Norway is more or less socialdemocratic.

Workers' Party: Conservative socialdemocratic.
Social Left: Liberal socialdemocratic.
Center Party: Moderate socialdemocratic.
(these three is in government)

Christian People's Party: Conservative socialdemocratic, more conservative on values.
Left: Extremely liberal, but still socialdemocratic in most respects.
Right: Conservative socialdemocratic, slightly more free market than the Workers' Party.
(these are the opposition, together with the Progress Party(FrP), which these parties has a rather ambivalent attitude towards)

Progress Party: Rightwing, but moderate compared to most parties one would consider rightwing. Conservative in some respects, liberal in others. Socialdemocratic to a degree, but in truth: They don't fit the usual left-right definition. Wants to use much more oil money, mostly on infrastructure and to strenghten medical care, schools and elderly care.

Then we have another freak party:

Red: Sofa communists. They have less than 1% support I think.

And a few almost nonexisting parties, mostly local/regional parties.

[Nikolai]

BTW, to answer your last question: The oil fund has worked so extremely well, that most politicians don't dare to question it. Most people want better medical care, schools, infrastructure, elderly care and all that the Progress Party offers, but FrP's policies are so much more, and the majority don't want to risk the welfare we have now. We know what we have, but not what we'll get. We have been raised more or less socialdemocratic all of us, and the media is 99.9% dominated by the 68'er generation, which has always been socialdemocrats in their hearts. Any dissent, like FrP's, immidiately results in public denounciation by the media. The 68'ers and their thoughts also dominate the school and university system, so you can probably see the rest...

I mostly read my news on the net, blog-papers like document.no has found a way to get by the suffocating media system here. On the net, you can find dissenting voices that won't get published in the media, and you get foreign news, which is much more balanced and well thought than what you get here. Thing's are changing slowly though, the largest news paper in Norway, VG, has begun to listen to the dissenting voices.

[OneFootInTheGrave]

yes you want to change, and as all of the rest of the world is worse than you are, so it would be good to be more like the rest... fit right in, being on top is too strenous, or maybe not...

better health care?!?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_system

Out of 9 healthcare systems compared... (Australia, Canada, France,Germany, Japan, Norway, Sweden, UK, US)... third highest life expectancy, third lowest infant mortality, and the most doctors + nurses per capita with fourth lowest % of GDP investment of the group... So not the best, but pretty darn good, and they want better

USA has lowest life expectancy, highest infant mortality rate and by far highest investment per capita of the group, but they are OK... their citizens are happy, no change needed and Obama care is evil

[Nikolai]

Our health system is not that effective. And more than once doctors here have written off someone as uncurable, and the patient has found out he/she could get treatment in another country that our doctors haven't heard of.