Baltic Socialism

[KeithE]

Socialism gets a bum rap. The Forbes article lists the happiest countries in order as Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Netherlands. They are all socialistic by US standards (and all govt's are somewhat socialistic).

Our recent cruise to the Baltic, I received the following info.
1) Finland tax rate is 0-60% very progressive - no sales or property taxes. Sweden's tax rate was 40-50% (less progressive). They are not 80% taxes as I hear some claim!
2) Finland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway all have universal health care, free education thru graduate work, and livable incomes for all seniors with those taxes.
3) Finland at least bragged that their poverty rate was 0% - and if anyone was found in need, they were provided it.
4) All had livable minimum wages (e.g. in Copenhagen it was 100 kronas per hour ~ $16/hour)
5) Denmark at least (maybe others) even offer free education to immigrants - our waiter at the hotel was from Poland and was in Graduate school (molecular engineering)
6) St Petersburg had no so happy people (it was apparent). 2 young people expressed hope to move to Finland (both - 1 guy and 1 girl - volunteered that independently). No one desired a return to communism which is not true soicialism. Young St. Petersburg ladies dress to kill.
7) Tallinn, Estonia was the prettiest city we went to and has a vibrate economy (not sure exactly what it is) that has taken off since the fall of the Soviets.

Arguments that proceed from "socialism is bad, just look at the failed Soviet Union" are vaccuous. Communism as practiced by the Soviets was fundamentally different from that of Scandanavia - the happiest of all regions in the world.

[ET]