Leftists have often struggled with noting the difference between “democrat” and “socialist,” (see Hilarious: Hillary Squirms when Asked ‘Difference between Democrats and Socialists’? and CAUGHT: DNC Chair Can’t Tell Difference Between a Democrat and a… Socialist?), but apparently Bernie Sanders himself doesn’t seem to know what socialism actually is. Seriously, this one’s hilarious, stick with it.
Bernie Sanders keeps pointing to Denmark as the prime example a socialist utopia, a beacon of enlightenment for the United States to follow. Only one problem. The actual Prime Minister of Denmark would kindly prefer it if Bernie shut up…
While speaking at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, the center-right Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said he was aware “that some people in the U.S. associate the Nordic model with some sort of socialism.”
“Therefore,” he said, “I would like to make one thing clear. Denmark is far from a socialist planned economy. Denmark is a market economy.”
Rasmussen acknowledged that “the Nordic model is an expanded welfare state which provides a high level of security to its citizens,” but he also noted that it is “a successful market economy with much freedom to pursue your dreams and live your life as you wish.”
Seriously. Bernie Sanders, Mr. “I LOVE DANISH SOCIALISM” himself, was told to shut up… by the Prime Minister of Denmark.
Let this sink in for a bit. This entire time, Bernie Sanders was pointing to a shining example of a socialist country, that according the country’s own Prime Minister, is not even socialist. Even more importantly, it irked the Prime Minister of Denmark enough that he felt compelled to publicly set the record straight. That’s telling. Why would he do that? Well, it could be that for countries like Denmark and Sweden, ‘socialism’ has become a bit of a PR problem, as it’s come back to bite them in the ass. In order to distance itself from socialism, Denmark has taken some pretty great measures to overhaul and yes, minimize their previous “welfare state” so often praised by Sanders. From the New York Times:
But few experts here believe that Denmark an long afford the current perks. So Denmark is retooling itself, tinkering with corporate tax rates, considering new public sector investments and, for the long term, trying to wean more people — the young and the old — off government benefits.
“In the past, people never asked for help unless they needed it,” said Karen Haekkerup, the minister of social affairs and integration, who has been outspoken on the subject…
…“But now people do not have that mentality. They think of these benefits as their rights. The rights have just expanded and expanded. And it has brought us a good quality of life. But now we need to go back to the rights and the duties. We all have to contribute.”
In 2012, a little over 2.6 million people between the ages of 15 and 64 were working in Denmark, 47 percent of the total population and 73 percent of the 15- to 64-year-olds.
Yes, you’ve read correctly. In Denmark, only half of the total population even work at all. Maybe that’s why they’re so pissed with Bernie. While he’s praising a system that enabled entitled succubus’, Denmark is telling them to…
“Hippies, get out!”
This isn’t news to anyone with a moderate understanding of economics however. As seen below, Bernie’s always had a bit of a struggle with mathematics.
Bernie trying to convince poor people to vote for rich people (himself) by telling the poor people, that the “other” rich people are the reason they are poor. Bernie has gotten rich on capitalism, now wants make sure no one else will EVER get an opportunity to see how far they can go on their OWN merits-no let the government provide your everything. HOGWASH!
Wow you think a person with a total net worth of $700,000 dollars is rich? That includes his house mind you. I’m not voting for Bernie but a net worth of $700,000 is not wealthy. My dad was a postal worker and managed to retire with about $1.2 million in total assets for himself and my mother. Believe me that’s not rich.
If Bernie makes 170,000$ a year for 25 years and has a Cadillac govt health plan and his wife is making over 100K at her cushy job why isn’t bernie sanders better at saving money ? He should have several million dollars by now in an IRA. If Bernie cannot manage his money or budget on the salary that both he and his wife make than how can he be president. Bernie is an economic retard.
Mike B. If $700,000 total net worth isn’t rich… what am I, (being that i am a middle aged married woman with two kids who rents their home and has a total net worth of about $10k if I’m lucky!) Chopped liver!?!?!? People with money have no clue what real life for the rest of us is even like.
Stupid just oozes out of small minded uninformed people like you. Bernie Sanders is not even remotely rich. If stupid is where you’re comfortable,and it appears you are, try not to to be obviously partisan and stupid. You were obviously the kid who followed what the smart aggressive kid told to do and you just continue to do the same now, and I won’t say as an adult because I don’t believe you’ve developed to that yet ,if ever.
Bernie isn’t rich.. He has a net worth of just barely $300,000. About average for a 70 yr old American. He has actually been on Welfare assistance prior to his career in politics. The fact that he isn’t rich actually implies that he understands the majority of Americans who don’t live in prosperity. He represents the average American!
How many republicans would say that Denmark is socialist county?
What difference does it make? They don’t hold up Denmark as a model of socialism, either good or bad. Of course, you are just engaging in the usual liberal game of “I know you are, but what am I?” lol
If you read Lars Lokke Rasmussen’s statement in it’s entirety and in context, the Danish Prime Minister clearly demonstrates Denmark’s society fits the “democratic socialism” model. He freely admits as much.
And NOT ONCE does Rasmussen tell Bernie Sanders to “shut up”. Not once. The headline is a lie… nothing more than clickbait.
Danish Prime Minister Lars Rasmussen speaking at Harvard University, Sunday January 10, 2016
http://www.vox.com/2015/10/31/9650030/denmark-prime-minister-bernie-sanders
@ 5:45(minutes) I’m here to visit my son, who is studying here (Harvard University, Why would you send your son to one of the most expensive schools in the USA to study, if Denmark has such an amazing government run “FREE” school & college systems. I emphasis FREE, because nothing is FREE… he goes on to say at about the 11:40 minute mark, that the Danish people pay half their income to the government in taxes, so to have a decent lifestyle, a family needs two incomes!)
11:00 We (government) don’t overspend…
11:40 He explains that 98% of children from 3 to 5 years old are “warehoused” (a little artistic liberty to make a point) in state run child care facilities, because we have such high taxes, for a family to have a decent standard of living, they need two incomes.
16:50 It is pretty easy to achieve the AMERICAN DREAM IN DENMARK… (he is referring to being able to start with nothing and work your way up. Why is it called the American Dream and not the Socialist Dream, or the Danish Dream!)
There is so much more… the speech is over an hour, but I don’t have time to comment on it all, this damn capitalist society we live in makes me get up, go out and actually work for a living, but at least I can still keep 75% of what I earn!
as a side note, I grew up in the Democratic Socialist Republic of Great Britain, I have lived the great socialist dream, I know which is better from real life experience.
But DO you keep 75% after healthcare premiums, childcare and unpaid family leave? You have to compare apples to apples….they have high taxes but those things don’t have to be paid for after-tax. Be fair. Do you have to be in debt for 10 years or more to pay off college tuition? VERY few American families have only one spouse working, as well, unless you’re in maybe the top 10% of income earners. With a household median of $54,000 and an individual income median of $29,000 (social security website), one working spouse is NOT realistic for the middle-class.
I am a full time student, and my wife works at least 40 hours a week. I am NOT in debt, no student loans, we are not even in the top 10%. I don’t even have a job, when I am in class and my wife is at work my daughter goes to childcare. Really nice childcare that cost $175 a WEEK!. part time. How you might ask, easy. Pay for your car in cash, meaning don’t buy a brand new car cause they loose 60% of their value in the first 3 years (average). Live in side you mean, if you can’t afford to pay for in with cash, don’t buy it, unless you really need it. That means you have a shitty phone if one at all. No cable no worries, netflix rocks. Sit down plan out a budget and stick to it. Oh don’t go out to eat every meal. Both of us worked very hard and saved and went without, now we have enough for me not to worry about shitty jobs. Its not rocket science, its just not as fun as going out and partying.
Very well articulated no complex formula fairly common sense that somehow evades the masses
Things you won’t find in this article:
1) Any quotes in which the Danish PM mentions Bernie Sanders
2) Any quotes from Bernie Sanders
Nice journalism.
Actor, comedian, political commentator… journalism isn’t listed. So who’s the idiot?
ROFL you probably thought The John Stewart show was a news show too!
Steven crowder your what’s wrong with this country. False media. Who bought you? Trump? Your story is misleading, false, and crap!
I love how completely inept the author is at getting his facts straight. Bernie is pro free market economics. He’s not a socialist. It’s ridiculous that you’ve come to that conclusion since he’s never said that. He’s consistently corrected interviewers across the nation that he’s a DEMOCRATIC socialist and that SOCIAL DEMOCRACIES like Denmark are excellent models for the US since they have a thriving private sector, a strong public sector, and people live in a happy democracy that represents the majority of public opinion. So next time you decide to waste your time fabricating a story out of thin air, please know that people can see through bullshit nowadays. 🙂
So Bernie wants America to be more like a white majority mostly homogeneous northern European country with a developed welfare state and high tax to pay for it?
Typical right-wing ignorance. Nobody ever said that Denmark was socialist, least of all Bernie Sanders. Denmark is an example of what is called “Democratic Socialism” which is essentially a market system with strong government controls, which is pretty typical of all of Europe. The Nordic countries are a bit more so. Note the PM is a CONSERVATIVE and he probably laughs at the stupid repug antics in this country. Just ask him if he would even think twice about getting rid of Nationalized Health Care. NOPE! Standard of living is higher b/c although people pay a little bit more in taxes they get about twice as much back in government services that are far better in most cases than what the private sector can provide. In The US the repug strategy, especially since Reagan, has been to destroy public services and then say “see, socialism doesn’t work.” LOL. Works on the uneducated buffoons like this Chowder guy.
“Standard of living is higher b/c although people pay a little bit more in taxes they get about twice as much back in government services that are far better in most cases than what the private sector can provide.”
Which is why only half the people are working?
No. Economies drive wealth and taking from companies to give to people not working does NOT work. Never has. Never will. Denmark/Sweden/Norway are finding that out the hard way. Governments besides the Nordic states you’re talking about (Saudi Arabia is another prime example) have voiced the same concerns. They have too many people depending on them for benefits and too many people to support and the tap is running dry fast.
Let companies create jobs, let business owners do business without being penalized in the form of higher tax rates. Let people keep more of their money THEY EARN AND NOT WHAT IS EARNED FOR THEM since it was theirs to begin with and let them do with it what they will, which is save it or put it into the economy so more jobs can be created.
“Half of people working” includes the total population – children under 15 and retirees over 64.
The article states “73% of people between 15 and 64”, so in the 27% of “working age” not working you have people who are in high school, college and university, people who are on parental leave (6 months, all payed for and another 6 months at roughly half your normal pay), people who are ill, people who are early retirees (you can if you are 60 and have payed into a fund for a number of years), people who are sick, too handicapped to work or unemployed… Actually, Denmark has one of the highest workforce-participation rates in the world, even if we have a rather good (however declining) safety net.
I don’t really care what kind of system they call it although it is an interesting fact to note about the Nordic model. But most people in the US see these programs as ‘socialist’ so it’s easier to refer to them that way. Try going into details with 80% of Americans on these points; some would fall asleep, leave, or say you’re too intellectual. Most Americans don’t realize that we already have lots of ‘socialist’ programs, like social security. Try taking that away. It’s time we worked more on the security for our citizens at home instead of our security as an overpowering military state.
How do you have real security “at home” without a military that can overpower your enemies? These countries have security, and have had all through the cold war years, because America was their military.
Read Tom Woods’ free e-book: Bernie Sanders is Wrong. Demolish your lefty friends. 🙂
Why are all you idiots getting so pissed off? This isn’t a news site, never claimed to be a news site, and probably never will. Crowder has never claimed to be a journalist. So take your faux outrage to Mizzou.
As for “democratic socialism”, don’t we already have enough people NOT in the labor force? Do you feel the Bern supporters really think the uber rich are really gonna just stay here and be taxed at 90%? No such thing as a free lunch. We already have twenty trillion in debt. And hundreds of billions in unfunded mandates. The huge looking stock market that Obama keeps bragging about is built on debt and the money the Fed has been printing for the last forever. If you have kids, and they have kids one day, what do you think their lives will look like with us mortgaging their futures away on shite?
Paid for by super attack PAC for Hillary, lock stock and barrel….what a propaganda joke this page is.Go Bernie, you have my vote!
The Danish PM is right of center in Danish politics. It’s actually to the right of the danish Conservative Party. The chief advisor to The Danish Minister for Foreign Affairs is an avowed Ayn Rand fan. So when the danish PM says Denmark is not “socialist”, it’s because he and his party are doing their best to destroy the Danish welfare state. Fact is, however, that the Danish welfare state was created by the Social Democrats of Denmark, and that the Danish system of government is Social Democrat to the core. Even the rightwing danish PM wouldn’t dare to suggest making free danish healthcare for-profit or charging money for education. He knows these things would cost him his career in politics. The Danish PM, while being right of center in Danish politics, would be considered a right communist in the US.
You’re so obviously a sham dude…..pathetic. I’m not even going to explain why, cause you already know….worse than shilary.
I am so tired of all the fighting over “labels”. Whatever you want to call it doesn’t matter, you need only go to Bernie Sander’s website and do a tiny bit of BASIC research to see for yourself what he actually supports. It is apparent that people in the U.S. automatically consider Universal Healthcare as “socialism”, while at the same time seem to be ignorant of the fact that ANY services provided by government and paid for with taxes ARE THE EXACT SAME DAMN THING!!!!!! It is astonishing to me that Americans lack such basic reasoning ability. He does NOT support the destruction of capitalism, which again, using basic reasoning, would be obvious, because the more money people make, the more they will be able to contribute!!!!! How in the hell is it considered “welfare” when the people of the country are the ones who pay for it??? Yes, you may have to pay more in taxes, but for many, the net result would be a savings because they would no longer have to pay insurance premiums and there would no longer be the ridiculous deductibles that keep average Americans from getting the healthcare they need! From what I have read so far (he just released the plan and I haven’t yet read it all), the highest tax rate would be 52% and that is on incomes over $10,000,000! Before “Reaganomics” and the failed “trickle down theory”, the tax rates on the wealthiest was around 80% to 90%! I believe the “average” American family would have to pay around 2% of their income towards Universal Healthcare and small businesses around 6%. But again, employers would no longer have to pay for their employee’s insurance and families would no longer have to pay insurance premiums or deductibles or copays, etc. I don’t know who is making such a simple concept so difficult to understand, but please take a moment and look into it yourself, instead of buying in to what the media spoon feeds you!
You had better check that lunatics math out, because, as an accountant, I can tell you right now, those numbers don’t add up. What would happen is the wealthiest would simply move and diversify, leaving the 17 trillion on the middle class. The tax rate on $100,000 would have to be in the 65-75% range.
Um.. so says the most conservative Danish government in more than 40 years, the previous part (Social Democrats) being responsible for building the welfare state?! The current admin is actually discussing taking valuables from refugees upon entry into the country to defray resettlement costs. That government does not speak for Denmark and works to dismantle the socialist Denmark that became a beacon for modern humanity, the very same which is disintegrating.
A Democratic Socialist is as different from straight socialism as Capitalism is from Communism. People who don’t bother to educate themselves are living a lie.
Think Progress: Despise Bernie much?
Bernie’s tax rate on Vox exposed – I prefer to keep what I earn. Bernie raises tax rates on all and there is a carbon tax which affects everyone. I have yet to hear what his corporate rates will be. Shouldnt we have more of an idea of what he is proposing ? As a self employed contractor I pay around 50% tax with bernie’s plan and a higher capital gains tax. Carbon tax would hit me very hard.
http://www.vox.com/2016/1/22/10814798/bernie-sanders-tax-rates
I’m guessing this little thing called fact-checking isn’t something you’re familiar with, eh?
There is NO proof the PM said this and all links point to the same source; a Right-Wing economist news article.
Show me. Show me where, when and how the PM ever said this. Show me the official transcript., Show me a video, Show me a legitimate Danish paper.
Europeans are cheering Sanders on. They’re thankful we may, finally, catch up to the civilized society they’ve been enjoying for years.
Bernie’s scam is really nothing new to the democrat party. They pander to the uneducated, making promises of utopia and using terms like “free” education, “free” healthcare. The uneducated voters fall for the scam, never thinking about where the money must come. “It come from the government, duh!” Would be their reply. SMH
Stupid, stupid, stupid…