Dispatches From the Baltic 2013: 14 - Dispatch From Why and How

We crammed too much into a month. We failed to take advantage of our retired status. Instead, we kept on a schedule - not slowing, looking, tasting, observing - too little time to think about what we have seen, what we have learned.

Scandinavia is worth some observation, worthy of more than a passing sniff and a kiss. The time to put it all together only began on a sunny deck overlooking a Norwegian fjord at the end of our trip. It required some homework.

As we slowly biked and ferried from village to village on traffic free roads, in the rain - we chewed over our impressions. Some pieces of this Nordic puzzle are somewhat hard for this American to swallow. Whys and hows?

How do they have a more literate population? Is it because they offer free education, K thru grad school, and even paid language classes for emigrants? Why their lower mortality and longer life spans? Perhaps their almost free universal healthcare, 6-week vacations and long maternity and paternity leave ... or the bikes?

Why more school spending, less prison spending, fewer hand guns, no drug war, no death penalty? Why only 3.5 percent don't have jobs? Why does Denmark have the highest global rate of business start-ups? How can Norway have the lowest unemployment?

Oldest stone church - one service per year.

How do they keep the roads and bridges flawless and their streets free of trash, graffiti and bums in the doorways? Why is the world's lowest church attendance in Sweden?

Viking stave church - one service per year.

Forbes writes about the World Prosperity Index, which has some interesting categories to compare - but overall ...

Norway, Denmark, Sweden? 1-2-3. http://www.prosperity.com/Ranking.aspx

Gallup did a recent survey to determine which country had the happiest people. Again - Norway, Denmark, Sweden 1-2-3.

Our cheapest meal - $35

Sure, they have a generous social welfare system, but that requires taxes around 50%+ and high prices. The richest really getting zapped - as you can tell because everybody’s tax return is public record.

One veeeeerrry wealthy Norwegian paying 80% put it this way, “What we're doing when we are paying taxes is buying a product. So the question isn't how much you pay for the product; it's the quality of the product." Hmmm. We have found that Scandinavians are quite understandably happy with the “product” their system is giving them.

But how and why are they so well off? A Scandinavian economist supposedly told Milton Friedman: "In Scandinavia we have no poverty." Friedman replied, "In America, among Scandinavians, we have no poverty either." But this sure ain’t America and these ain't Americans.