Dead Wrong with Johan Norberg - Socialist Sweden

Many people claim that we should be more like Sweden and give more benefits. Should we? In this short video clip, Free To Choose Media Executive Editor and Cato Institute Senior Fellow Johan Norberg explains how Sweden became successful first, and how expanded government actually pulled them down.

Source: Free To Choose Network YouTube channel.

Transcript:

I live in one of the best countries on the planet. Sweden! We tax and we spend and we have a huge government. And, we're one of the world's richest countries. You should be more like us. Dead wrong!

Sweden got rich first, with free trade and open economy before we had the big government. In 1950's Sweden was already one of the world's richest countries. And back then taxes were lower in Sweden than in the United States. Only then did we start expanding the government dramatically. You know what happened then? We started losing, from having been the fourth richest country in the world in 1970, 25 years later we were only the 14^th richest. And no new jobs had been created in the private sector, it all ended in a terrible crisis. Since then Sweden has become successful again. But only after a new reform period, with more deregulation and free trade than in other countries. With lower taxes, school vouchers, and partial privatization of the pension system. Sure, Sweden is great. I love it here. But be careful, so that you only take the stuff that brought us wealth, and not the stuff that almost brought us ruin.