You really do have to choose wisely

As a Dane who was an exchange student in Sisters at SHS last year, living with the Bachtold family, I read with great interest the letter to the editor written by Bruce Carpenter in The Nugget and would like to correct some of the inaccuracies in that letter about my country.

No country in Scandinavia has a 70 percent tax rate. The highest tax rate is 59 percent and it only applies under special circumstances. If someone makes the local equivalent of $200,000, they would have to pay 45.7 percent in Sweden, 45.6 percent in Denmark and 45 percent in Norway. And that gets them free education through college and trade school, free healthcare, paid family leave, retirement, and aging care for all our seniors.

In addition, everyone can afford basic necessities, regardless of income. Our crime and suicide rates are much lower than those in the United States. The average full-time employee in Denmark works 38.3 hours a week, 39.7 in Sweden, and 38.8 in Norway. Not quite the 28-hour work week Mr. Carpenter is describing. I consider us a hard-working people.

I think it is interesting that healthcare is mentioned in the letter. In Denmark we spend 10.6 percent of our GDP on healthcare; the U.S. spends 17.1 percent, a larger percentage than any Western industrialized country (and this started way before Obamacare). In Denmark, all citizens get free healthcare yet in the U.S., medical debt is the largest cause of personal bankruptcy. How fair or just is that?

There is no free housing for college students, at least not in Denmark. Mr. Carpenter is right however that college is free. Scandinavia has a lot of social mobility. So even if your parents are not rich, you can still get a college degree.

He is also right that students don't have a lot of money. Do they have more in America? Where does he get his facts? I would say that Danish people don't necessarily have to save as much as Americans because we have a robust social network that cares for people's needs in all stages of life. And, with all people spending money, it feeds the economy and helps provide jobs for everyone. Lastly, at age 18 I have a very sound savings account and I will not have massive student debt like many students in America. Americans also complain that the youth are not saving enough and are spending too much money. This is not unique to Northern Europe.

The Danish government has invested billions of dollars toward energy independence, and is on track to becoming fossil-fuel-free by 2050. By 2020 nearly half of Danish electricity will be provided by wind power alone. This expansion of renewable energy is financed by fees-in tariffs paid by consumers of electricity. So, interestingly, the transition is relatively cheap, and business competitiveness not harmed. And, the less you consume the less you pay, encouraging all citizens and businesses to become more energy efficient. We think it is a social and moral duty to do this for the world with climate change, and we want to lead the way.

There are different social and economic systems throughout the world and many of them are good and highly functional. There is not one "right way" to go about running a country or managing an economy. Our system is not perfect and neither is yours in the United States. Different systems work for different countries and values. I don't know why our Northern European countries had to be criticized in this newspaper for our society's strong attempt to care deeply about the economic, social, political, and health rights we feel belong to all of our citizens.

I do agree with Mr. Carpenter about one important thing: you really do have to choose wisely.

Andreas Pedersen is writing from Slagelse, Denmark