Sweden Moves Toward Free Markets : America Moves Away

Sweden of all places to show free market intelligence is one for the books given it's history of socialism. Here is a perfect example of how the socialist system failed and how when turned to free market solutions to their economic problems the economy has started to show signs of renewed life.

America on the other hand is doing just the opposite, turning away from the free market and embracing the socialist ideology of failed economies in Europe. Where is the common sense in this, especially when we have such good examples, like Sweden, of how this is a bad decision on our part.

But maybe the reality of it all isn't about an ideology of making the country better, maybe it's about making the country 'different' then what our 236 year history has shown to be a successful system. Maybe our progressive socialist leadership has other plans in mind for our country when they say they want to "fundamentally" change our country? Could be?

Sweden's Swing toward a Free Market
Source: Michael M. Rosen, "Sweden's Swing toward a Free Market," The American, January 29, 2014.
February 5, 2014

Sweden's move toward a free market has brought economic growth, says attorney Michael Rosen in The American.

Sweden spent years as a statist economy, with marginal tax rates above 90 percent. With nationalized health care and welfare programs, Sweden had a budget deficit worth 13 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) in 1993 and a government debt at 71 percent of its national output.
But in the 1990s, Sweden elected its first conservative government since World War II, which began cutting taxes on businesses and individuals.

• Between 1993 and 2010, GDP growth in Sweden exceeded that of Europe by 1 percentage point. By 2010, public debt had fallen to 37 percent of GDP, and taxes on corporations were dropped to 22 percent (much lower than the United States' 35 percent rate).
• Sweden also moved its pension system to a defined-contribution system rather than a defined-benefit one.
• And the Swedish Fiscal Policy Council was established to independently evaluate government policy. Its latest report urged raising the retirement age to make the country's finances more sustainable in the long term.

As the country has instituted more free market reforms, entrepreneurs have emerged.

• Spotify, the $4 billion music streaming program, and Skype, the VoIP service, both began in Sweden.
• In fact, Sweden has seen one of the highest levels of venture capital per capita anywhere in Europe in the last decade.
• Saab, another Swedish business, has twice beaten out larger aerospace companies, including Boeing, for aviation contracts.
• And SAS, the Scandinavian airline, reached its first profit in six years following negotiations with its workers for cuts in pay and retirement benefits, after nearly reaching bankruptcy last year.

Rosen says that while the country may not have left all of its socialist past behind, it is making solid progress.