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Unlike most millennials, Norway's are rich

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Re: Unlike most millennials, Norway's are rich

#171

Post by flatfilefan »

endymi0n wrote: post #17
jopsen wrote: post #11

Affordable education is probably a big part of how they do this. In northern Europe it is a clear political decision to invest in education. You'll politicians argue that we can't afford not to educate our teenagers, as it would make the welfare state unsustainable. Also, huge credit to Norway for how it handled it's olie money :)

In my not so humble opinion, it all comes down to a short- vs. farsighted culture and the resulting fundamental attitude towards kids. In the US, kids are seen at worst a nuisance and at best a personal luxury. In most of the northern/western EU, kids are seen as the future workers, decision makers and keepers of the whole economy 30 years into the future. All of the symptoms you are seeing, be it maternal / paternal…

Probably true for wealthy decision makers elite, who get to exploit the labor immigration and incumbent workers too by denying them of child benefits and vacation.

Re: Unlike most millennials, Norway's are rich

#172

Post by brazzledazzle »

adoctor wrote: post #31
dumb2223 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As another Spaniard I agree with you. But degrees about tourism can get you a job here. As I am learning English, I would suggest: Use "at length",don't repeat finish so many times, finish (complete, get, achieve) a degree, become pointless (become less valuable, worthless), which (that) is what I now best. About grade inflation in the US: http://www.gradeinflation.com/ , https://blog.prepscholar.com/average-college-…

As a non-native English speaker, these suggestions are very bad. Every single one of them, if implemented, would make the original post worse and the phrasing more awkward. I may be wrong in this (I'm not a native speaker after all), but at least take it into account as an counterpoint of the above...

Generally you avoid repetition in english, particularly when writing. It’s more of a stylistic thing so no one will misunderstand you if you don’t.

Re: Unlike most millennials, Norway's are rich

#173

Post by blattimwind »

mockingbirdy wrote: post #159
blattimwind wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These are some good points, but people still compare themselves to the prior generation and notice, that while they have a whole bunch of luxuries their parents never had [1], that they also can't afford other luxuries . Like housing. My parents had a huge house and property by the time they turned 30. While some people still buy houses in their 20s, they're usually small shit houses with tiny properties. [1] The who…

> My parents had a huge house and property by the time they turned 30. How much was it? You can make 3500€ pre-tax with a bachelors degree in many fields. That's around 2200€ after taxes. Two people can live comfortably with ~2500€ and lay away 1900€ a month. You will not be able to buy a property in a big city, but after 10 years you'll be able to pay for a small house. And you even get a tax break for it. Today it'…

> Two people can

Like many, they did this on a single income.

Re: Unlike most millennials, Norway's are rich

#174

Post by flatfilefan »

jopsen wrote: post #164
kzrdude wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The US cult of the personal interest above all else must have some effect, even on politics. It's a cultural problem, when corruption or self-enrichment is tolerated in public offices where the holders are supposed to act as good stewards of the common project. I think cynicism and acceptance are two sides of the same coin, unfortunately. One cannot cite high tax levels as a downside without looking at what you get f…

I sometimes jokingly view the welfare state with high taxes as an index fund whose underlying assests is people. I like it because there aren't many legal means by which I can invest in humans :) And if you're trying to diversify your portfolio, why wouldn't you want to bet on humans?

Great way to put it! This is literally the argument for the index funds, right? You are profiting from the economic activity of all businesses in the field by paying an index share price = tax.

Re: Unlike most millennials, Norway's are rich

#175

Post by tor0viking »

franciscop wrote: post #15

As a Spaniard who has discussed this in lenght with many other Europeans[1], it really seems like the US is the main country with the University debt issue. I also really believe that "score inflation" is a big issue mainly in the US. If everyone can finish University, then having a university title becomes pointless! [2] In Spain, Germany, France, Italy, etc if you get a degree in STEM it means you put a lot of effo…

Europe is able to keep its colleges and Universities free or mostly free because the European collegiate experience is a much simpler and stripped down version of what you find at US Universities.

In the US, living on campus is the norm, a vast array of amenities and services are offered to students, and University bureaucracies are huge and growing by the year.

Contrast this with Europe, where many Universities are simpler affairs with students living at home, commuting to classes (which have higher student to professor ratios) at Universities without student centers, gyms, etc.

It's not that the US through sheer stupidity is missing out on some easy fix for college costs, the issue is simply that in the US Universities offer more than in Europe. This is in keeping with our overall culture.

Re: Unlike most millennials, Norway's are rich

#176

Post by JauntTrooper »

franciscop wrote: post #15

As a Spaniard who has discussed this in lenght with many other Europeans[1], it really seems like the US is the main country with the University debt issue. I also really believe that "score inflation" is a big issue mainly in the US. If everyone can finish University, then having a university title becomes pointless! [2] In Spain, Germany, France, Italy, etc if you get a degree in STEM it means you put a lot of effo…

It's still pretty difficult for many Americans to finish university.

Only 55% of students that start at a 4-year university program graduate within 6 years. Only 19.5% of students that start at a non-flagship, 4-year program finish on time.

Re: Unlike most millennials, Norway's are rich

#177

Post by phobosdeimos »

mac01021 wrote: post #46
franciscop wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry if I wasn't clear, I'm not talking about zero-sum (which should be similar everywhere), I'm talking about Universities becoming easier in USA much faster than in Europe. Example: https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/01/same-p...

How do European professors and universities avoid grade inflation? Are their incentives very different?

Professional ethics? Pride? The teaching staff is removed from the commercial operations of a university.

I will say however that universities in my country are heavily recruiting foreign students to the point that everything is in English.

Re: Unlike most millennials, Norway's are rich

#178

Post by eeeeeeeeeeeee »

bufferoverflow wrote: post #32

Norway is a very special case. A small country with lots of oil, fish, and a small population (just 5.2 million). They would have to go really wrong to be poor.

Colorado has a population of about 5.6mil and a GDP of ~300bil. Norway is 370bil.

Although better than most other U.S. states, I don't have access to the services that Norwegians do. But my taxes are also very low here. We could have the same kind of services as Norway if we want to pay for it, but taxes would have to go up.

Until Americans stop thinking of the word "tax" as evil, we'll always value it wrong.

Re: Unlike most millennials, Norway's are rich

#179

Post by jeffreyrogers »

oblio wrote: post #48
bufferoverflow wrote: post #32

Norway is a very special case. A small country with lots of oil, fish, and a small population (just 5.2 million). They would have to go really wrong to be poor.

Norway was rich on a global scale before oil.

But they are even better off than Denmark and Sweden which have very similar populations/political models. Their oil wealth has certainly helped them (but they've done a good job of spreading the benefits of their oil wealth across society, unlike many other countries).

Re: Unlike most millennials, Norway's are rich

#180

Post by 3rdAccount »

mac01021 wrote: post #46
franciscop wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry if I wasn't clear, I'm not talking about zero-sum (which should be similar everywhere), I'm talking about Universities becoming easier in USA much faster than in Europe. Example: https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/01/same-p...

How do European professors and universities avoid grade inflation? Are their incentives very different?

I'm sure many degree programs in the US are inflated, but it wasn't my experience in the US where engineering professors brag about how many students they failed that semester. "You only had 1/3rd your class drop? You must be getting soft." I had AP Calculus in High School (took school seriously) and had to give 110% to pass engineering school. I never partied and basically lived in study hall. Not everyone has to put in that much effort, but I never ever felt grades were being inflated to pass us. When the highest grade on a test is a 42 from a classmate that could probably build a teleporter in their garage, you know things are tough. When we used to have to take required non-engineering courses like history and psyche, most of us felt like we were teleported back over a decade to junior high as the classes were such a joke. So the specialized classes and degrees can be astonishingly challenging, while the generic courses everyone has to take are almost remedial.
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