Re: Update: Dallas Cowboys roof Collapse

Timothy Hilton wrote:

I hear the Sweden argument quite a bit and wonder whether those who pose it have spent any time there. 

Another great pull-quote from an article I referenced earlier:

"Last year (2007), Swedish banks made record profits – 86bn krona. These seemingly stable banks, however, are now being hit by the crisis. For example, Swedbank, praised for its profits last year, had 9bn krona of its capital ‘secured’ in Lehman Brothers. In the Baltic states – now gone from double-digit growth to recession in one year – Swedish banks have total dominance. Following the bailout negotiated in the rest of the EU, the Swedish government now again launches a fund to save banks.

"Sweden’s two ‘recoveries’ in the 1980s and 1990s were both based on huge devaluations and increased exports. Exports, as a share of GDP, rose from 29.8% in 1990, to 51.3% in 2006. Another reason for increased profits was low wage rises and a transfer of capital from the public to the private sector. There was no quick recovery for workers and the unemployed. In fact, when the crisis now again hits Sweden, the remnants of the 1990s will make its impact even worse."

FWIW, I understand that even if you wanted to go to Sweden to live in this "socialist utopia" that exists in the minds of the American left, they reportedly won't let you in. They've all but shut down legal immigration.

(But I haven't heard anyone suggest they're racist, as a matter of interest).