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Social Democracies are the happiest nations on earth. Study results.

Lafayette

Lafayette

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Also, from here: [URL="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_democracy"]Social democracies are the happiest nations on earth, US is 14th[/URL]


The United States of America is the 14th happiest country on earth, according to the annual World Happiness Report. Canada is the happiest nation in North America, seven slots ahead of the US. The five happiest countries on earth, as per usual with the annual survey, use the “social democracy” or “Nordic way” of government – the model Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders recommended for America in his upstart, almost-successful campaign for president.
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The five happiest countries according to the yearly survey from the Sustainable Development Solutions Network were: Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Switzerland, and Finland.

Each of these countries have slightly different variations on democracy. Norway and Denmark have monarchies that works with an elected legislature. Switzerland and Finland elect a legislature that elects an executive branch. Iceland elects a president and a legislature much like the US. But while their bones are different their souls are similar. Here’s how Investopedia defines the “Nordic model” of governance:

“The Nordic model is a term coined to capture the unique combination of free market capitalism and social benefits that have given rise to a society that enjoys a host of top-quality services, including free education and free healthcare, as well as generous, guaranteed pension payments for retirees. These benefits are funded by taxpayers and administered by the government for the benefit of all citizens. The citizens have a high degree of trust in their government and a history of working together to reach compromises and address societal challenges through democratic processes.

Their policy makers have chosen a mixed economic system that reduces the gap between the rich and the poor through redistributive taxation and a robust public sector while preserving the benefits of capitalism.”
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ushappiness.png
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Admittedly, the above graphic would look as bad at any time in which there had been a Great Recession.

What is nonetheless interesting to notice is that upon the elections of both Obama and Donald Dork, the score has worsened.

Americans are still not "a happy people" ...
 
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Lafayette said:
Also, from here: [URL="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_democracy"]Social democracies are the happiest nations on earth, US is 14th[/URL]




Admittedly, the above graphic would look as bad at any time in which there had been a Great Recession.

What is nonetheless interesting to notice is that upon the elections of both Obama and Donald Dork, the score has worsened ...
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The funny thing about polls is that you can twist the statistics around and come up with about any conclusion that fits your agenda.

And, we already know where you are going to go with each and every thread.
 
Polar Bum said:
I don't see the US rushing to join the "Nordic Model" in order to be "happy".
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40 million American men, women and children live below the Poverty Threshold today!

OK, so they stay miserable. You compassion for them is so brilliantly evident ...
 
Lafayette said:
40 million American men, women and children live below the Poverty Threshold today!

OK, so they stay miserable. You compassion for them is so brilliantly evident ...
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You played the "do it for the children" card a bit early......
 
RetiredUSN said:
The funny thing about polls is that you can twist the statistics around and come up with about any conclusion that fits your agenda.

And, we already know where you are going to go with each and every thread.
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Yep, the survey is cooked (exploited?) by 'experts' to reach the desired conclusions - other than that, it is said to be quite scientific.

These variables include GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, social freedom, generosity, and absence of corruption. Note that we do not construct our happiness measure in each country using these six factors— rather we exploit them to explain the variation of happiness across countries. We shall also show how measures of experienced well-being, especially positive emotions, add to life circumstances in explaining higher life evaluations.
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Lafayette said:
40 million American men, women and children live below the Poverty Threshold today!

OK, so they stay miserable. You compassion for them is so brilliantly evident ...
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Of course, that poverty measurement is using (reported?) household income before the addition of "safety net" (government) assistance. In 'happy' countries the official measurement of poverty is likely taken after the addition of government assistance. If my household's reported income was measured before the addition of Social Security (both mine and my girlfriend's) then we would be considered quite destitute.
 
Social Democracies are the happiest nations on earth. Study results.
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it would be nice to have a bit more vacation and to not have to worry about being bankrupted by a broken limb.


buuuuuuuuuuuuut


sooooooooooooooooooooshulllllizzzzzzm!!!!!

:lol:
 
Helix said:
it would be nice to have a bit more vacation and to not have to worry about being bankrupted by a broken limb.


buuuuuuuuuuuuut


sooooooooooooooooooooshulllllizzzzzzm!!!!!

:lol:
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I thought Obamacare fixed all that?
 
HowardBThiname said:
As the NY Post reports -- That World Happiness Survey is Complete Crap.

Some folks are so darned gullible.
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The New York Post article is full of crap. Whyzzat?

Because it compares various studies of the same nature and assumes they are all alike in nature but different in results. Depending upon how you ask the question the answer can be comparatively different from study-to-study. And that's the "ignorance-trap" that the author of the NYP article fell into.

Pew Research is a well-known name. It's studies are rigorous. And as regards its comparative study of the question "Life in our country today is (better/worse) than it was fifty-years ago for people like me." these are the results (Spring 2017 Global Attitudes Study):
PG_2017.12.5_Life-Better-or-Worse_00.png


In the US, the question resulted in this: 41% thought it worse versus 37% who thought it was better.

I'd say, that was fifty-fifty. Not EVERYBODY is content with "Life in the Greatest Country on Earth".

Moreover, consider the ranking order. Compare countries of a similar socio-economic existence. The major European countries of Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Poland, UK and Spain Thought life was (on the whole) better.

Why the difference. I am Yank living in France. I KNOW THE DIFFERENCE.

It's simple. The US has a taxation-system that benefits only the high-income earner. Europe has a tax-'n-spend system that provides its constituents with free National Health Care and free Tertiary Education. Both of which are crucial in answering the question "How well off am I compared to before?"

Most European think they are "better off" than "worse off". In America, the opinion is split, with a tiny fraction thinking they are more worse-off than better-off ...

Now, let's look at those rankings comparatively:
Countries - worse/better
Germany - 20/65
Netherlands - 19/64
Sweden - 23/64
Poland - 21/62
Spain - 28/60
UK - 31/45
USA - 41/37
France - 40/33
Italy - 50/23

It is clear from the above that Americans think they are worse-off more so than the Europeans ...
 
Lafayette said:
The New York Post article is full of crap. Whyzzat?

Because it compares various studies of the same nature and assumes they are all alike in nature but different in results. Depending upon how you ask the question the answer can be comparatively different from study-to-study. And that's the "ignorance-trap" that the author of the NYP article fell into.

Pew Research is a well-known name. It's studies are rigorous. And as regards its comparative study of the question "Life in our country today is (better/worse) than it was fifty-years ago for people like me." these are the results (Spring 2017 Global Attitudes Study):
PG_2017.12.5_Life-Better-or-Worse_00.png
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Your chart, and substantiate rant, have nothing to do with the NY Post's article. They do not counter the article at all.

They focus solely on how the nation has changed over a given period of time. If a ****hole nation improves over what it once was, that has nothing to do with how it now is compared to other nations now.

If the US has gone the other direction, that could be an indicator that social programs are harming it.

So far, you've just made unbiased claims.
 
RetiredUSN said:
The funny thing about polls is that you can twist the statistics around and come up with about any conclusion that fits your agenda.

And, we already know where you are going to go with each and every thread.
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Especially if the group doing the poll is Sustainable Development Solutions.
 
ttwtt78640 said:
Of course, that poverty measurement is using (reported?) household income before the addition of "safety net" (government) assistance. In 'happy' countries the official measurement of poverty is likely taken after the addition of government assistance. If my household's reported income was measured before the addition of Social Security (both mine and my girlfriend's) then we would be considered quite destitute.
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Nope!

From the Census Bureau here:

Money Income: Income Used to Compute Poverty Status
The income used to compute poverty status includes (before taxes):
Earnings
Unemployment compensation
Workers' compensation
Social Security
Supplemental Security Income
Public assistance
Veterans' payments
Survivor benefits
Pension or retirement income
Interest

Dividends
Rents
Royalties
Income from estates
Trusts
Educational assistance
Alimony
Child support
Assistance from outside the household
Other miscellaneous sources

Money income does not include:
*Capital gains or losses
*Noncash benefits (e.g. food stamps and housing subsidies)
*Tax credits
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Polar Bum said:
You played the "do it for the children" card a bit early......
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"Family" in most countries includes children.

The numbers quoted are aggregates of all those within a family.
 
HowardBThiname said:
Your chart, and substantiate rant, have nothing to do with the NY Post's article. They do not counter the article at all.
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Never said they did. What I said is that the POST response was incorrect in that it did not disprove the results, because it cited studies that were made in a different manner.

The study in question was highly professional and except for the Post has never been assaulted by such a tedious argument. (The Post is just another instrument of the Rabid Right that kneejerk refutes all research from the Thoughtful Left that contravenes its warped political outlook.)

HowardBThiname said:
They focus solely on how the nation has changed over a given period of time. If a ****hole nation improves over what it once was, that has nothing to do with how it now is compared to other nations now.

If the US has gone the other direction, that could be an indicator that social programs are harming it.

So far, you've just made unbiased claims.
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Typical inanity of the Rabid Right above in red. There is no logical proof of your claim in the numbers.

Moreover, you cannot accept either the thought or the economic-proof that America's Income Disparity is the worst of any developed nation on earth.

Your refusal to accept factual information (based upon research) is incomprehensible ...
 
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Lafayette said:
Nope!

From the Census Bureau here:
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To exclude 'non-cash' benefits, which are paid in cash to others on their behalf such as landlords, medical care providers, child care providers, utility companies and/or grocery stores, is pure BS. What a worker funded household pays out of their own pocket for their housing, medical care, child care, utility or grocery expnses is not deducted from their income so why should public aid, in leiu of having to pay such expsnses, not be counted?
 
Lafayette said:
Typical inanity of the Rabid Right above in red. There is no logical proof of your claim in the numbers.

Moreover, you cannot accept either the thought or the economic-proof that America's Income Disparity is the worst of any developed nation on earth.

Your refusal to accept factual information (based upon research) is incomprehensible ...
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This part of your post is quite amusing. You can't win on facts -- so you attack the opposing ideas.

Fascinating.
 
Helix said:
it would be nice to have a bit more vacation and to not have to worry about being bankrupted by a broken limb.


buuuuuuuuuuuuut


sooooooooooooooooooooshulllllizzzzzzm!!!!!
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Socialism exists nowhere on earth since the demise of the Soviet Union and China's spring-board jump to capitalism.

The predominant model left-of-center nowadays is Social Democracy:
Social democracy is a political, social and economic ideology that supports economic and social interventions to promote social justice within the framework of a liberal democratic polity and capitalist economy. The protocols and norms used to accomplish this involve a commitment to representative and participatory democracy; measures for income redistribution and regulation of the economy in the general interest; and welfare state provisions.

Social democracy thus aims to create the conditions for capitalism to lead to greater democratic, egalitarian and solidarity outcomes; and is often associated with the set of socioeconomic policies that became prominent in Northern and Western Europe
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PS: Yeah, I know, totally wasted bandwidth ...
 
ttwtt78640 said:
To exclude 'non-cash' benefits, which are paid in cash to others on their behalf such as landlords, medical care providers, child care providers, utility companies and/or grocery stores, is pure BS. What a worker funded household pays out of their own pocket for their housing, medical care, child care, utility or grocery expnses is not deducted from their income so why should public aid, in leiu of having to pay such expsnses, not be counted?
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Blah, blah, blah.

You've gone ballistic ...
 
HowardBThiname said:
Your chart, and substantiate rant, have nothing to do with the NY Post's article. They do not counter the article at all.

They focus solely on how the nation has changed over a given period of time. If a ****hole nation improves over what it once was, that has nothing to do with how it now is compared to other nations now.

If the US has gone the other direction, that could be an indicator that social programs are harming it.

So far, you've just made unbiased claims.
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This is like measuring a student's self-esteem rather than using their standardized test score. One's self-perception thus becomes their personal reality. I am sure that I was happier 50 years ago simply because a young, healthy 14-year-old, living carefree on someone else's income, is often happier than an old, tired 64-year-old, having to support themselves.
 
RetiredUSN said:
The funny thing about polls is that you can twist the statistics around and come up with about any conclusion that fits your agenda. And, we already know where you are going to go with each and every thread.
Click to expand...

And the not so funny-thing about the Rabid Right is that they hate factual information because it upsets their preposterous-little-world of half-truths ....
 
Polar Bum said:
I don't see the US rushing to join the "Nordic Model" in order to be "happy".
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Forty million Americans presently below the Poverty Threshold would settle for "contentment", and they can't even get that at a minimum-wage of $7.25 an hour - when they are lucky enough to find work ...
 
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