To a recent article I wrote on ObamaCare, a friend commented that the problem is not that it is socialist, as Republicans claim, but that it is not socialist enough. We do have one self-avowed socialist in the US Senate, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT). He penned an article comparing the us with socialist Denmark.
Danish Ambassador Peter Taksoe-Jensen spent a weekend in Vermont this month traveling with me to town meetings in Burlington, Brattleboro and Montpelier. Large crowds came out to learn about a social system very different from our own which provides extraordinary security and opportunity for the people of Denmark.
Today in the United States there is a massive amount of economic anxiety. Unemployment is much too high, wages and income are too low, millions of Americans are struggling to find affordable health care and the gap between the very rich and everyone else is growing wider.
While young working families search desperately for affordable child care, older Americans worry about how they can retire with dignity. Many of our people are physically exhausted as they work the longest hours of any industrialized country and have far less paid vacation time than other major countries
Denmark is a small, homogenous nation of about 5.5 million people. The United States is a melting pot of more than 315 million people. No question about it, Denmark and the United States are very different countries. Nonetheless, are there lessons that we can learn from Denmark?
In Denmark, social policy in areas like health care, child care, education and protecting the unemployed are part of a "solidarity system" that makes sure that almost no one falls into economic despair. Danes pay very high taxes, but in return enjoy a quality of life that many Americans would find hard to believe. As the ambassador mentioned, while it is difficult to become very rich in Denmark no one is allowed to be poor. The minimum wage in Denmark is about twice that of the United States and people who are totally out of the labor market or unable to care for themselves have a basic income guarantee of about $100 per day.
Health care in Denmark is universal, free of charge and high quality. Everybody is covered as a right of citizenship. The Danish health care system is popular, with patient satisfaction much higher than in our country. In Denmark, every citizen can choose a doctor in their area. Prescription drugs are inexpensive and free for those under 18 years of age. Interestingly, despite their universal coverage, the Danish health care system is far more cost-effective than ours. They spend about 11 percent of their GDP on health care. We spend almost 18 percent… [emphasis added]
Inserted from <Huffington Post>
Photo credit: Invest in Denmark
I strongly encourage you to click through for the rest of Bernie’s article.
The immediate Republican objection would be that making it difficult to become very rich in Denmark is an affront to freedom, but in case they have not noticed, it’s difficult to become very rich here too. The difference is that here, the 1% get so much that what’s left is insufficient for the 99%, but in Denmark, they spend the resources on better quality of life for the 99%.
Which is more desirable, a society that grossly favors 1% of it’s citizens, or one that favors 99% of it’s citizens? You be they judge. Two things are clear. First the average Dane has a much higher standard of living than the average American. Second, Bernie Sanders is still a national treasure.
16 Responses to “A Comparison with Socialism”
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"In Denmark, there is a very different understanding of what "freedom" means. In that country, they have gone a long way to ending the enormous anxieties that comes with economic insecurity. Instead of promoting a system which allows a few to have enormous wealth, they have developed a system which guarantees a strong minimal standard of living to all — including the children, the elderly and the disabled. " From the Huff Post full article – and I agree with every word! God bless and protect Bernie Sanders! Thanks TomCat!
Pat, that's it, exactly.
I was hoping you got this from Bernie. I got the email the other day and was going to send it to you if you didn't post the article.
This really got me: "The minimum wage in Denmark is about twice that of the United States and people who are totally out of the labor market or unable to care for themselves have a basic income guarantee of about $100 per day." I can't imagine having $50 a day let alone $100. Universal health care?
Their basic income gurantee is more than three times what I receive from Social Security after paying for it all my life.
It seems the major difference would be that Denmark is a nation that cares about ALL of its citizens – and not obsessed with "Exceptionalism".
Plus they're not burdened by a political party hellbent on destroying our citizenry's trust in our government.
Excellent points, Nameless.
I am so proud to be born in the Green Mountain State of Vermont and support the advocate for the working poor, Senator Bernie Sanders (I) Vermont… Thumbs up ^^^.
I was struck by the juxtaposition of the meaning of ‘freedom’ as exemplified by the Republican/Teabaggers and that of Denmark. In looking further, in my opinion, the Danish model more closely resembles that articulated in the Declaration of Independence from which the new nation of the United States was born, and upon which the US Constitution was based.
It seems to me, that the founding fathers desired freedom from the “tyrannical” King George III of England and the culture of elite overlords. In today’s politics, King Georgie has been replaced by the Republican/Teabaggers, the 1% and corporations. It is these from which the American people must wrest their freedom.
To quote Dickens in ‘Oliver Twist’, “Please sir, may I have more?”
In doing some reading, I stumbled upon the four freedoms articulated by FDR in a speech on 06 January 1941. Granted, FDR was a Democrat, but it is hard to argue against these freedoms.
I have no doubt that today’s Republican/Teabaggers would try to argue against them saying that this is global, and their concern is for the US only. It is global, but it is also very much to do with the American people as FDR says “everywhere in the world”.
Getting back to the Declaration of Independence, how can all men be created equal if there is an elite that see itself above all others; who see its needs above the needs of all other Americans?
When there are sick who cannot afford medical insurance and therefore are denied medical care; when there are those who cannot afford an education without drowning in debt; when there are those who do not have enough to eat because their income or that of their parents do not stretch far enough; how do these avail themselves of their unalienable right to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness?
Will the US be able to come closer to the ideal of Denmark, which, as I opined, is closer to the Declaration of Independence than the American system?
I have no idea. I would like to think so, but for that to happen, there have to be significant changes starting in the voting booth.
Great article by Bernie! I love that man.
Thanks Lynn. That FDR quote is outstanding. Conversely Republicans support freedom 0f speech to sday what they want us to say only, freedom to worship as long as its only to worship Supply-side Jesus (not the real one), freedom to want and freedom to fear.
I am proud to say that I am on Bernie's mailing list. I wish he were my senator. If we tried to get half of what Denmark has there would be an outcry that ring around the world. Our congress is owned by big banks, pharma, and war lobbyists. Until the rest of our country wakes up and starts doing something, the rest of us are singing in the wind.
Edie, were I you, I'd wish thatr almost anyome else were ny Senators. Amen!
Socialism is Where Government takes one half your income We rank in OECD as #1 with largest percent of workers on low wages–44 million on minimum wage.We rank #2 as least tax on corporations. We rank #3 in taxing the people. We rank #4 on Inequality
Our taxes—Total Federal-State-Local taxes are 29% of our GDP
Yet! we hear Tea Potters yelling cut govenrment cut taxes.
Welcome Clarence! 🙂
There is no true socialist economy, just as there is no true capitalist economy. Today socialism generally refers to social democracies that put need ahead of greed.
I fully agree with the rest.
I don't think what we have had in the USA that constitutes a social safety net is socialist. I think it is uniquely American and was designed to address real problems for the middle class and the poor. It is the unique social contract in the USA that republicans are trying to destroy on behalf of their corporate overlords now. If anyone group has betrayed American democracy, it is the republican party, not we on the left who want to maintain the American social contract between government and the people.
I agree. Republicans have largely destroyed it.