Taxes!!!

Norway's tax revenues are shooting through the roof. One of the major reasons why Canadians get such poor social services is the shrinking of government role in the economy. In Norway, the government is responsible for roughly 50% of the economy and owns a variety of businesses while owning a portion of a number of publicly traded companies.

Money rolls in from not just high taxes, but also government industry, investment, tolls, user fees and a whole whack of other sources I have listed somewhere in my files.

Norwegians are getting pissed off though mainly due to the fact that feel certain taxes are ridiculously too high in certain areas: namely inheritance, gasoline and house transfer taxes. It's interesting to read about the knowledge that most people seem to be able to garner about their taxation system. Something that seems head and shoulders above Canadian knowledge.

In that vein, Andrew Coyne had an editorial in the Post about his belief in the future solvency of the CPP (pension system). It's kinda interesting. Most of it is right-wing drivel about the need to privatize everything so our pension system will be saved but he does offer an account of why the system is heading for a train wreck.

What's more interesting though is the 1st guy in the comments section who basically undresses Andrews whole argument and gives him the equivalent of a "checkmate in two moves" ass-whopping.