Long before the original cold war was over a new one was starting between America and Europe and has continued and dominated politics despite being absent from the news. I call this the social statistics cold war, the war between systems to see who can produce the best numbers, as if these numbers even mattered. The original cold war was a war between systems which each claimed to be the best and the future blueprint for all the world. The social statistics cold war is no different, America and Europe both claim to have the best system and that their system is the future blueprint for all the world. The systems are obvious, the US, especially the Republican Party promotes Lazy Fairy economics as the one true god which will solve all problems if we have faith. Europe promotes what Americans term the welfare state though it should be called the social state and government planning. In practice there isn’t much difference between the two but that doesn’t reduce the anger and striving as it is the product of ambition and not degree of difference. If anything the similarities between America and Europe only worsen the conflict. This undeclared cold war of social statistics started in the 1970s and continues to this day and colors the immigration issue which dominated politics on both sides of the Atlantic.
It says a lot about how bizarrely obsessed Americans are with Sweden that both American liberals and conservatives will insist that the top income tax rate is 80%. Both sides will insist on this, the left and the right, and neither side will listen to any argument to the contrary. And both sides believe this 80% proves their point, proves that they are the winner of whatever argument they are currently arguing. Yet Sweden only had tax rates that high for a few short years in the 1970s and quickly adjusted them downward. Yet this image of Sweden as a country with an 80% income tax will last forever in the minds of Americans. I believe a million years from now Americans will still believe this. I have yet to meet a politically orientated American who does not believe in the 80% number, if it was up to Americans the Swedish people would have this number stamped on their heads. But Swedish tax rates were only that high for a few short years in the 1970s and that was a long, long time ago. Current Swedish tax rates are barely higher than American tax rates once you take into account state and local taxes. So why the obsession? To the American left the myth of constant 80% tax rates in a successful country is proof that there is no damage from high taxes. Of course there is, which is why Sweden lowered the taxes after a few years of these rates. To the right the mythical 80% tax rate is supposed to be proof that no matter how good Sweden may be in some ways, it could never be worth paying the taxes. And yet Sweden’s taxes are not really any higher than Americas. The entire American attitude toward Europe is fraudulent and for some reason Sweden is the lightning rod for any discussion comparing life in these countries and the statistics, often fraudulent, get dragged out to prove that Sweden is either worse or better than America. It’s never just Sweden. It is either heaven or hell depending on which American you talk to. Which is sad, because the truth is that Sweden is Sweden, not heaven, not hell, Sweden is Sweden. I hope to someday live in an America that knows that.
The social statistics cold war rages on both sides of the Atlantic. The Europeans have their own fraudulent views of life in America, they have their own myths. These intellectual frauds always have the goal of proving one system is better than another and the opposite side needs to finally admit to this and change and imitate its better. But so many years go by of the Europeans being convinced they have won the social statistics cold war, so many years of having the better numbers and yet no concessions speech from the Americans. Because for most of my life Europe did have better social statistics. Lower crime, lower poverty, better health. The one thing they always lagged on was per capita income, thus making this one single number the holy sign by which the bow tie conservative shall be known by. No matter how good European social statistics were their per capita income was always lower, often as much as a third lower. Up until 1980 Sweden was the exception, their per capita income was roughly equal to the US. Maybe this is why the American imagination is fixated on Sweden. In the American mind half of Europe is Sweden and the other half is Sherwood Forest. Up until the 1980s Sweden was the one European country with a per capita income equal to the US. There was much gnashing of teeth by the bow tie conservatives at the National Review over this. But these statistics mean so little. All unpaid for work fails to show up in income statistics. America has fewer housewives than Europe and more working teenagers. The work done by the busy bee European housewives does not show up in the statistics but the work by American career moms does. Minimum wages are so high in Europe that there is little to no demand for youthful labor, many Europeans will not get their first job until they are 21 while I got my first job at 16. The European per capita numbers tell very little, there are structural and cultural differences in how much labor is monetized and thus inputted into the per capita figures. But don’t tell that to the bow tie conservatives, the per capita number is all to them.
The per capita numbers are misleading in more ways than one. Sweden sat out World War Two and thus avoided the overwhelming destruction the combatant nations face. As a resource rich neutral with uninterrupted shipping to Germany Sweden made a fortune during the war selling iron and coal. Many neutral countries made fortunes during World War Two and received a temporary boost to their rankings in the per capita figures. Sweden and South America stick out. Eventually this one time boost faded and these countries came back to long term averages. But try telling that to the American imagination. Half the Americans you meet will tell you Sweden has the same per capita income and 99% taxes and everyone gets a free Volvo. I liked it better when Americans thought of Europe as a giant Sherwood Forest.
Social statistics can often be misleading, but it is something seemingly objective one can point to in order to promote ambitions without seeming ambitious. I wish the cold warriors on both sides would just admit they want to be number one the way sports fans so freely admit. Then we could all get along as well as sports fans do, which is much better than we get along now. But the social statistics are the foundation of this undeclared cold war between Europe and America. Thing is, it’s all a fraud. The quality of life in a country comes mostly from the advancement of the culture. In my youth Europe did have lower crime, less poverty and better health. But in my youth Europe was entirely white. If you adjust for that Europe was at the same level as the US. Or at the same level as an imaginary US just as white as Europe. So the better European social statistics were really just a reflection of the demographics. But Europe did not see it this way. Frustrated by the delay in winning the social statistics cold war Europe finally hit upon a plan. America’s great shame is that Black Americans make 30% less than average. The worst looking of all of America’s social statistics. This was Europe’s chance. The seemingly endless social statistics cold war would be won and won by the rightful victor, Europe. And it will be so easy. Let in third world immigrants and then laugh at America as they have average incomes, finally scoring the golden goal that wins the match. Finally Europe would be seen as the future blueprint for all the world.
Well, that didn’t work. Europe went for the golden goal to break the tie but the golden goal broke Europe. They have Blacks now, they make 30% less than average. Its the same number. Because it is culture that matters and not government programs. The ideal situation is good culture and good government. But if as a compromise you can only have one pick good culture. If you don’t believe me walk into any Somali neighborhood in Sweden. They have good government, they are in Sweden. But they have their own culture. And culture is what matters. The social statistics cold war was a war over government policies, tax rates, rules and regulations. But compared to culture none of these things matter. The US and Europe fought a war with each other and the war won. The social statistics cold war was a fraud fought with fraudulent means. In the end what matters the most is culture. Even if Sweden did have 80% tax rates what would still matter is culture. Even if Sweden had the lowest tax rates in the world what would still matter is culture. This is the pole that the world revolves around. Not around free volvos, free health care and legal cannabis, but around culture. Not around Lazy Fairy economics and the bow tie conservatives, but around culture. A social statistics cold war was fought for nothing and entire regions set down the path of self destruction for the sake of ambition, for the sake of trying to be the world’s blueprint. Let the world take care of itself, let each country choose it’s own blueprint. Because they will whether we admit it or not, all our ambitions to be the blueprint are in the end self destructive. Who wins the wars between America and Europe? The war always wins.
Hai, @bthomas.steem !
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