Why European Socialism Could Not Exist without the US Tax Payer

When I argue with people who love socialism, I always find it funny when they throw out the example of how well socialism is working in Scandinavian countries like Denmark. They give explanations such as “I saw on Oprah how wonderful socialism in Denmark is." I doubt they realize that after WWII, the US military began protecting these countries and as a result they do not have to pay for their own military because they’re essentially using ours. Consequently the money that they would normally spend on a military is being spent on entitlements such as free health care and 90% of earnings unemployment for up to four years. Militaries are extremely expensive and it is doubtful that these countries would be able to afford these socialist entitlements if they had to pay for their own. Furthermore, the US Navy protects the European seas so that these countries can trade with other countries peacefully. These sea port countries would not be able to keep their fishing industry dependent economies afloat if our Navy did not make peaceful trade possible for them. Europeans call the US tax payer “uncivilized” while at the same time they are piggybacking off of them. How ironic is that?

Despite our subsidization of Scandinavian socialism, the tax burden keeps getting heavier in these countries. If you live in a Scandinavian country you will hand over most of what you earn to the government. Between 1990 and 2005, the income tax burden for regular people living in Sweden was 61%. This has not grown Scandinavian economies, it has shrunken them. Since the introduction of a high income tax in the 1970’s, the Scandinavian economy world rankings have substantially decreased. One the other hand Ireland decided to take a free market capitalistic approach and has seen an explosion in economic growth since a low 1% income tax was implemented 20 years ago. From 1989 to 2003, Ireland’s economy ranking jumped from 21^st to 4^th place in the world.

Job creations, work productivity, income and saving levels have also dramatically increased in Ireland since the implementation of a low 1% income tax while the opposite has occurred in Scandinavian countries like Sweden and Denmark. Furthermore, because in Scandinavian countries a trash man essentially earns the same income as a doctor, there is no incentive for anyone to go into the more difficult professions and as a result there is a huge shortage of people in their medical and technical fields. Many of their doctors are actually trying to move to the US now.

If you want to see what socialism does to a country when it is not being subsidized by the US, take a look at North Korea. The comparison between North and South Korea is a good example of how free market capitalism creates freedom and prosperity while socialist/Marxist policies do not because they were at one time the same country. They broke apart and South Korea chose capitalism and became wealthy and abundant while North Korea chose socialism and well……..let’s just say the North Korean economy is so barren, water and electricity are rationed there, you rarely see cars on the street during the day time and most people are lucky to even eat two full meals a day. This is what a socialistic country is like that is not being subsidized by the US. It is time that the US tax payer stops subsidizing the welfare states of Scandinavian countries. We must put our feet down and say “we will not let you take advantage of us anymore.”

Articles and Sources

American defense spending subsidizes European free-riding welfare states

The myth about socialist European prosperity

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Why doctors are fleeing socialist countries

Ireland's low income tax

How American Defense Spending Finances European Socialism