As Denmark is now officially the most-personally-indebted nation in the entire world on the basis of debt versus disposable income, at 260%, it's no surprise that they are suffering under the credit crunch. Following on from what happened with the Northern Rock in the UK, Denmark's Roskilde bank went into administration and, taking similar mistaken steps to the UK government, it has been nationalised. What I found most amusing were the Danish central bank governor, Nils Bernsteins' comments about how the "bank was not fit to survive", "shareholders getting no compensation" and finally, how the bank "abused the credit system for breakneck growth without proper regard for social duty".
Well, of course, I agree shareholders of ailing businesses should never be compensated for their risk when things turn bad, just as they should not be taxed when things go well. The major comment of note, and a major insight into the Danish mentality, is the comment on how the bank didn't have proper regard for social duty. Okay, I run my own business, so should I have any regard for "social duty", or do I run the business to make as much profit as I can within the law?
Perhaps Mr Bernstein needs to look in the mirror and question if the Danish central bank and government has been neglecting it's own social duty. In the opinion of old-school economists, the main role of a central bank is to "maintain a strong and sound trusted currency for the citizens of the nation, backed by real assets, for the conduct of trade", and taking that into account, the Danish central bank and government fail, with their ludicrous tax reliefs on any personal loan taken out and the consequent flood of paper money created out of nothing these past ten years or so. The national currency is not something you should play with to win votes or induce a temporary boom.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Monday, August 25, 2008
Denmark...Happiest Nation in the world again...Well, I'm laughing anyway.....
Yet again, the BBC nee "British Brainwashing Corporation", feeds us more tales of Denmark being the happiest nation in the world. Well, I cannot think of a worse place to work than Denmark, and unlike these closet communists, I tried for 3 years for my Danish partner's sake.
Can anyone enjoy knowing that over 50% of your pay doesn't even make it as far as your pocket, but goes to fund the benefits of the lazy majority, so they can continue living in the employment-free style to which they've become accustomed. Conversely, this makes it a fantastic place for those to live who are not interested in working, although the Danish state has a myriad of rules to ensure non-Danes cannot claim any benefits or even come to live in Denmark unless they have a load of cash in the bank. This does not fit in with the supposed EU free movement regulations, but since Denmark is so small and irrelevant, the EU doesn't really care.
In Denmark, what is the point in trying harder? Everyone just tries to drag you back down to their own mediocre standards of starting at 8.30 and leaving around 3pm. People were honestly stunned I stayed until 5pm. If anyone is in any doubt about the Danish workplace, look up "Jantelov".
Woe betide anyone completely qualified in their chosen profession, but not actually having Danish qualifications. This little known xenophobic attitude pervades most of the heavily-unionised professions such as teaching and healthcare.
As for the much quoted "Denmark - happiest nation in the world..." waffle, you need to understand that the place is so extreme, anyone motivated and with a bit of "get up and go", does exactly that and gets up and goes to a different country. With over 50% of the remainder on some form of welfare payment or other, who wouldn't be happy about getting something for nothing?
Unsurprisingly, they have major shortfalls in skilled workers in IT, doctors, engineers, etc. I wonder why. I'd recommend anyone gives it a try though. It's a bit like that film Mr destiny, where you think the grass could be greener but then you realise how much worse life can get!
Can anyone enjoy knowing that over 50% of your pay doesn't even make it as far as your pocket, but goes to fund the benefits of the lazy majority, so they can continue living in the employment-free style to which they've become accustomed. Conversely, this makes it a fantastic place for those to live who are not interested in working, although the Danish state has a myriad of rules to ensure non-Danes cannot claim any benefits or even come to live in Denmark unless they have a load of cash in the bank. This does not fit in with the supposed EU free movement regulations, but since Denmark is so small and irrelevant, the EU doesn't really care.
In Denmark, what is the point in trying harder? Everyone just tries to drag you back down to their own mediocre standards of starting at 8.30 and leaving around 3pm. People were honestly stunned I stayed until 5pm. If anyone is in any doubt about the Danish workplace, look up "Jantelov".
Woe betide anyone completely qualified in their chosen profession, but not actually having Danish qualifications. This little known xenophobic attitude pervades most of the heavily-unionised professions such as teaching and healthcare.
As for the much quoted "Denmark - happiest nation in the world..." waffle, you need to understand that the place is so extreme, anyone motivated and with a bit of "get up and go", does exactly that and gets up and goes to a different country. With over 50% of the remainder on some form of welfare payment or other, who wouldn't be happy about getting something for nothing?
Unsurprisingly, they have major shortfalls in skilled workers in IT, doctors, engineers, etc. I wonder why. I'd recommend anyone gives it a try though. It's a bit like that film Mr destiny, where you think the grass could be greener but then you realise how much worse life can get!
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