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An Iraqi who saved Norway from oil (2009)

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Re: An Iraqi who saved Norway from oil (2009)

#11
post #4

Related, a recent video from PolyMatter titled Why Oil Doesn't Corrupt Norway: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zu8ClwrTpbA

Canada, US, China Three of the six largest oil producers. Norway's lack of suffering from the so called resource curse isn't that special. What's special about Norway is their privilege to control so much oil with such a small population, quite similar to the sheiks of the Middle East (who have often made their people quite wealthy compared to their less oil fortunate neighbors, as in the case of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait…

Norway handled their oil way better than any of the Gulf monarchies did.

Re: An Iraqi who saved Norway from oil (2009)

#12
post #8

How could al-Kasim be so sure that Norway would find oil?

He was not sure. They moved for family reasons, as described in one of the first few paragraphs of the article.

He was telling everyone who would listen that Norway would find oil, and needed to prepare itself.

> His was a lonely, contrarian voice. After examining exploration results, he wrote a report that warned Norway was sleeping, that even though no one had found oil yet, it was only a question of time. And time was short: the country’s leaders needed to prepare Norway to become an oil nation, but they were doing nothing. “I was a constant reminder that they were doing everything wrong,” al-Kasim says pointedly. Only his closest colleagues would listen.

Re: An Iraqi who saved Norway from oil (2009)

#13

As a citizen of resource rich Australia this story of foresight and self-determination in a nation just about makes me weep.

What is this comment even meant to convey? The post is about a person who has foresignt and self-determination, what is Australia meant to do about it? Further, Australia is a lot more isolated than Norway. (Australian BTW)

> The post is about a person who has foresignt and self-determination, what is Australia meant to do about it?

Australia has done the opposite with their (our? I'm an ex-pat) natural resources.

Re: An Iraqi who saved Norway from oil (2009)

#14

As a citizen of resource rich Australia this story of foresight and self-determination in a nation just about makes me weep.

What is this comment even meant to convey? The post is about a person who has foresignt and self-determination, what is Australia meant to do about it? Further, Australia is a lot more isolated than Norway. (Australian BTW)

I think it's meant to convey grief that Australia has allowed itself to be exploited by foreign miners, and waste the wealth that its natural resources could have generated.

Re: An Iraqi who saved Norway from oil (2009)

#15
post #4

Related, a recent video from PolyMatter titled Why Oil Doesn't Corrupt Norway: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zu8ClwrTpbA

Canada, US, China Three of the six largest oil producers. Norway's lack of suffering from the so called resource curse isn't that special. What's special about Norway is their privilege to control so much oil with such a small population, quite similar to the sheiks of the Middle East (who have often made their people quite wealthy compared to their less oil fortunate neighbors, as in the case of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait…

Alberta's sovereign wealth fund is worth $18B according to the video, IIRC, whereas Norway's is worth $1.45T.

Re: An Iraqi who saved Norway from oil (2009)

#16
Norway is a European country, that no Western gov would colonize or disrupt. This is the primary factor around avoiding “corruption” by oil. Developing countries get baited and coerced into extractive economies that benefit the developed ones - modern colonialism.

All this talk around foresight and smarts painfully ignores reality.

Re: An Iraqi who saved Norway from oil (2009)

#17

As a citizen of resource rich Australia this story of foresight and self-determination in a nation just about makes me weep.

What is this comment even meant to convey? The post is about a person who has foresignt and self-determination, what is Australia meant to do about it? Further, Australia is a lot more isolated than Norway. (Australian BTW)

Australia like Britain, did not use Oil royalties to establish abiding sovereign funds to persist after the oil ran out. Instead, the royalty stream has been used to draw down debt, and to replace taxation as an income stream in the present, but oftentimes has led to wasted spend on vanity projects, or on build out of infrastructure purely for extractive industry (mining, oil, gas) which in turn is hoped to generate revenue, but alas, not until a very long time in the future. Displaced costs in forward income estimates, much as in the movie industry, mean some mines and oilwells basically never pay tax, but generate collossal revenue which disappears into company consolidated debt. Its a huge rort of the model. There are royalties, but they are 'subverted' out of the picture.

"its scotland's oil" was about Maggie Thatcher, and how the revenue was spent. Now scotland has independent tax raising powers, the border with england for sea resources was carefully restruck to favour england (look on a map to the boundaries, they aren't what you might think)

Australia has soverign wealth funds. Just, not made with revenue from this kind of industry. This kind of industry dominates the political landscape and has impeded the uptake of solar and wind, and replacement of coal for power generation. I don't mean silently: this is a quite overt distortion, active, such that major corporates actually have withdrawn from the australian mining and minerals council because its like the NRA, single-issue distorting of the polity.

In the early 2000s an Australian labor government tried to raise a tax analogous to a petrol royalties and revenue tax, and was pretty much de-elected by sectional interests on the strength of industry opposition. (the PRRT exists. the MRRT was voted down)

Mining employs around 40,000 people in a nation of 25 million. Solar and Wind and Tourism would probably employ more people. But, the voting effects of mining establish a lock on our senate (and sometimes, lower house) which make it next to impossible to see change. The industry is running the government, at one remove.

I don't believe for a minute Norway is all peaches and cream, but it probably has a better sense of cohesion around its role in the world, and the benefits of the sovereign fund, and future money, and de-carbonising the economy. Norway was an extremely poor, -to the extent of massive nutritional death in winter-poor economy. It's moved the dial to a different place, and done it quite carefully, economically speaking. (Norwegian settlers in the USA and Canada came because of a potato famine)

We're envious. (well, the Australians who don't derive income directly from mining, oil or gas)

Re: An Iraqi who saved Norway from oil (2009)

#18
post #16

Norway is a European country, that no Western gov would colonize or disrupt. This is the primary factor around avoiding “corruption” by oil. Developing countries get baited and coerced into extractive economies that benefit the developed ones - modern colonialism. All this talk around foresight and smarts painfully ignores reality.

Compare and contrast US/Brit actions when:

a) Norway nationalizes their oil

b)Iran nationalizes their oil.

Re: An Iraqi who saved Norway from oil (2009)

#19
post #16

Norway is a European country, that no Western gov would colonize or disrupt. This is the primary factor around avoiding “corruption” by oil. Developing countries get baited and coerced into extractive economies that benefit the developed ones - modern colonialism. All this talk around foresight and smarts painfully ignores reality.

So Russia is colonized? Canada? Brazil? Heck the US for that matter?

You act as if the middle east is the only collection of countries beholden to oil exports, and the only countries making what would otherwise be considered short-sighted moves based on those exports.

Re: An Iraqi who saved Norway from oil (2009)

#20
post #4

Related, a recent video from PolyMatter titled Why Oil Doesn't Corrupt Norway: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zu8ClwrTpbA

Canada, US, China Three of the six largest oil producers. Norway's lack of suffering from the so called resource curse isn't that special. What's special about Norway is their privilege to control so much oil with such a small population, quite similar to the sheiks of the Middle East (who have often made their people quite wealthy compared to their less oil fortunate neighbors, as in the case of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait…

> still a backwards monarchy that installs a king as head of state

Our royal family is there mostly just for show. Lots of us walk past the castle on our constitution day and wave to the king and the rest of his family and they wave back. Over the remainder of the year they hold some speeches, attend some openings and other events.

We are a democracy, and the power that is given to our king in the Norwegian constitution of 1814, has actually been managed by the government instead for a long time since then.

The function of our monarchy is largely one of ceremonial nature these days.

There was a vote in stortinget a couple of years ago over whether to disband or retain the monarchy. 36 representatives vote for disbanding the monarchy, and 130 representatives voted for keeping it. I think this is reflective of the overall attitude that we have of our monarchy; some are against it but the majority wants to keep it.

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