Why is Scandinavia so expensive? | CNBC Explains

So this dude traveled to Scandinavia to take a couple of videos of him buying a pastry and having a beer, while the rest of the video was info all graphics... what a nice job

I met a girl from Norway one time as I was flying back from London. She said her taxes might be high but her wage was too. She paid like 50% but after taxes, she still made the same or better than someone her age in the States. On top of that, her healthcare and education were paid.

I’d rather be poor in Sweden than in the USA.

Fun fact is that Denmark has the highest social mobility in the world, while the US has a lower social mobility than Pakistan. So much for the American dream. It should be called the Danish dream instead:)

I Love Scandinavia Last weekend my brother broke his collarbone and his elbow when skating. He is now off from work for 6 months with 80% paid leave and of course he didnt spend anything on health care. My mother have cancer and is 2 years into her treatment also with "salary" and free health care. My nephew just graduated and is on his way to become a doctor, also without any debt. I pay high taxes but i still can afford mortgage, car, vacation trips and so on with money to spare with 5 weeks of paid vacation. Whatever happens to me Im always taken care of because I know my fellow Swedes pays their taxes. I think the fear of being fucked is more detrimental to your well being than anything

Well, the cost of living is high.. that means the wages are high aswell. It won't be sustainable otherwise.

When cost of education and health care is included the living in US is much more expensive than in scandinavia...

You forgot to mention that when you take into account the high wages, even after tax, norwegians still have a lot more money than americans at the end of the month. The real reason norway is so expensive is because labour unions continously have pushed the wages higher, and therefore prices Are higher. This all sounds like another ignorant american view on everyone else but themselves

Because of taxes. There, saved you 5 minutes of your life. You're welcome.

In my experience the “cost of living” is mostly (just mostly) an issue for tourists travelling around the world. The salary you earn as a resident of a country usually evens things out. Living on different continents, in a variety of countries it’s not tax or food prices that matter its mortgage and rent that costs you!

I went to Scandinavia last year and was literally shocked how a town of 300 people in Norway had 2 football fields, a skate boarding arena, gymnasium among other things. Also the people there are very nice, they offer you coffee if you stop at a grocery store in countryside, that's why they say they have one of the best and highest living standards in the world. With respect to how expensive it is, I thought groceries are way more expensive than Switzerland. A local freia dark chocolate costed 40 NOK while Lindt Dark chocolate is hardly for 1.5-2 CHF.

I love how they don’t take into the accounts of the higher wages.

Paying high taxes and getting a lot in return: that's something I would gladly take. The state does a tremendous job for its citizens in those countries. There are countries in Europe itself with slightly lower tax rates (only slightly) but which provide nowhere near the level of welfare Norway and Sweden have.

You want a society that works you have to pay for it....

Why is Scandinavia so expensive? Hong Kong : Hold my beer

Dane here. The video is actually pretty accurate, to my surprise. Two corrections though: A) The corporate tax is only paid on the surplus and a company can use a deficit in year one to offset a surplus in year two, so the surplus doesn't get taxed. Corporate taxes provide very little tax revenue - especially since liberal (actual meaning of the word, not the US definition) governments have hollowed out our tax revenue agency to the point of corporate cheating going unnoticed and unpunished. B) Beer is only expensive if you buy it at a restaurant, bar or the like.

I was born an raised in Stockholm, Sweden. This video was so accurate. You see, we're not communists but still we get a lot of benefits. This is because we have one of the worlds highest taxes. As a specialized nurse here I pay in total 35 % tax. People who are rich pay even more. Some pay like 60 % tax, because they are able to contribute more from the money they're making

Speaking as an American... If you can get free college education, amazing public transport (no more car insurance, gas taxes, etc), awesome low-cost healthcare... who cares if the beer is a bit more expensive and the sweater is $300? Trust me... the sweaters in US are much cheaper, and I was tempted to buy like a dozen of them with Christmas/Thanksgiving/MemorialDay sales, but it did NOT make you happy in any way. Materialism is not the answer.

3:47 when u’re talking about Norwegian taxes and show the picture of Svalbard, the island, which is absolutely tax free)

i wouldnt mind paying that much taxes for that kinda life quality. The facts that the government actually put those taxes to good use for the people is admiring.