Norway's big government, oil nationalized, criminal coddling welfare state has the number one economy in the world but their CEOs make a lot less money. Here are some statistics from this article.
Indicator U.S. Norway Year
Average CEO Compensation $5.5 Million $1 Million 2006
Hours Worked Per Year 1,775 1,424 2007
Bond Rating AAA+ AAA 2012
Life-Expectancy 78.5 80.3 2012
Employment Protections Lowest 6th 2012
Hourly Wage Indicator 112.4 132.1 2011
Unemployment Over 1 Year 32.2% 13.7% 2012
Poverty 24.4% 13.3% Late 2000s
Children in Poverty 20.6% 4.6% 2008
Educational Deprivation Index 4.8% 1.0% 2006
Infant Mortality 6.8% 3.1% 2005
Bullying 11.9% 9.4% 2008
Teen Births per 1,000 50 9.4 2005
Total Carbon Dioxide 6,802,225 53,896 2010
Obesity Rates 33.9% 10% 2011
GDP 9th 4th 2009
Education Index 23rd 7th 2007
Reading 17th 12th 2008
Math 31st 21st 2008
Science 23rd 24th 2008
5:49 PM PT: The claim that oil allows Norway to be more democratic (their #1 on the democracy index) and pay for the social welfare is an unreasoned argument. Chemical products are the leading manufacturing field.[192] The United States is the third largest producer of oil in the world, as well as its largest importer.[193] It is the world's number one producer of electrical and nuclear energy, as well as liquid natural gas, sulfur, phosphates, and salt. While agriculture accounts for just under 1% of GDP,[190] the United States is the world's top producer of corn[194] and soybeans.[195] Coca-Cola and McDonald's are the two most recognized brands in the world. In other word, the U.S. is in a much better position to make money that Norway is. Another unreasoned argument is to claim that factors such as race, culture or diversity make it more difficult to achieve a better safety or interfere with the economy. Rather, those factors are irrelevant. Third, it's not a complicated issue at all. It's as simply redistributing CEO pay to the safety net and to increase minimum wages.
Mon Feb 25, 2013 at 7:03 PM PT: Some responded to this article by falsely claiming that Norway has twice as much money per person as the U.S. Due to their enlightened policies Norway has slightly more according to the International Bank says Norway has $53,396 versus US $48,328. Sources are listed on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/...
Tue Feb 26, 2013 at 3:10 PM PT: Link https://www.impartial-review.com/... to article that responds to many of the comments below as well as some from other websites.