I have done a lot of traveling. For the most part, aside from Switzerland, not really.
Norway Hits Record 98.6% EV Share in April
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Social engineering? Or a population that demanded government policies that benefit the whole nation for the foreseeable future? I think their free market has a few different guardrails selected by their freely elected government to operate under, but if the majority of people their thought fossil fuels needed to be taxed less, then it would be taxed less. But if you live in a democracy, you need to accept that you don't get your way all the time, or even any of the time? Anyone there is free to leave, and some do, just like the US, or any country with reasonable citizen rights.
They did do well in the geography lottery for hydro power, and oil, so it would be kind of silly for them not invest the temporary oil windfall into a more permanent green energy economy?
We are engaged in semantics.
Option 1: buy this vehicle, no vat, large tax credit, avoid $9 a gallon fuel
Option 2: buy this vehicle, full vat, no tax credit, pay $9 a gallon for fuel.
Any sentient being takes option 2.
I would distinguish this from the government providing support (tax funded infrastructure for example) to support choices consumers elect, such as to adopt cars over horses and to travel long distance by plane. I would also include the choice to use regional rail for instance on the NE corridor. Or to provide a state funded university system to provide engineers for a burgeoning industry. None of those things coerce choice but they do support the choices that people are making, and the technologies they want to adopt.
The best argument you have is that Norway is a democracy and so these choices embody what the people want to do. That argument does not apply in the U.S. where the debate over renewables v fossil fuels is fairly divided and so there is at least a large minority (High 40s of the population) or or small majority (low 50s percentage of population) that does not want this approach. This is where the coercion argument lies
I not anti EV. A point was made above about using panels and a plug in vehicle to save money. That is a valid consumer choice and it makes a lot of sense. That is entirely different than what essentially amounts to economic coercion. That is what Norway has done because its population apparently thinks that is the right choice. We are not there politically in the US
OVERKILL
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I mean, that's been advocated for for decades in Canada and there's always a blocker to prevent the full exploitation of those resources here. Quebec also "won the hydro lottery" and exploits Newfoundland to wheel-through the output of Churchill Falls to the US to make windfall profits that then artificially suppress consumer rates, resulting in them being a major receiver of transfer payments from BC, Alberta and Ontario.
I'd love to see advocacy for getting Canadian oil to market in the same way I see people in North America laud what Norway did. Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Quebec...etc. All have massive oil resources, it's not just Alberta. But we have been told, repeatedly, that there's "no case for Canadian oil"; we were told that by Trudeau when Germany came to us and now they are buying it from Qatar.
Norway hasn't coerced anyone. Rather, they have set a policy goal and implemented policy tools in support of that goal with great success. Charging less tax is not coercion, it's incentive.
They set a course from A to B and successfully navigated that course.
I wish we could do the same here as quickly and as efficiently in pursuit of any goal, but that would require both long-term commitment and a general agreement on what policies to pursue and we have had neither here in decades.
There are places with no real government at all, just pure "free markets", but I don't think you'll want to visit or live there?
For me, I'm most impressed with how well European nations, do without the huge amount of natural resources places like Canada, US, Russia have. They have figured out how to live "well" with being more efficient in resource use, and they keep their very limited farmland as farmland. Also I think they have a much longer planning horizon, as there was people living in the villages 2000 years ago, and they understand that there should be people living there in similar landscape 2000 years from now...
So many here placing their values on other countries and judging. Norway has voted how they want. They seem to like it. They kick ssa in EVs and crush the rest of the world in Winter Olympics. And they have the Buhund. Win win win.
They pay for it with oil export and sovereign fund investment. They don't get rich much over there so people aren't as stressed in career advancement and focus more on personal happiness, instead of generating wealth to spend on what money can buy, or retirement in wealth. This ain't wrong, but to say "we (US) should be more like them" is like saying Texas and California should be more like each other without realizing what makes them who they are.
I would enjoy living there for a few months a year but not build a career there. Raising a family there after making the "FU" money in the US then live a happy life there slowly depleting my wealth sounds like a dream though.
I would enjoy living there for a few months a year but not build a career there. Raising a family there after making the "FU" money in the US then live a happy life there slowly depleting my wealth sounds like a dream though.
I don’t want to argue with you. If you are talking about Europe as a model I have probably spent the equivalent of several years of my life there, mostly for work, and so I know it well. Europeans do live well relative the rest of the world. But to say the governments universally run well is a significant overstatement. France has a whole generation of young people who are finding it extremely challenging to get traction in the workforce. The UK economy has largely languished since Brexit and London has suffered as the financial center of Europe because the large firms can no longer passport into the EU. This has curtailed growth in the UK and it was interesting they had a run on gilts with Liz Truss a few years ago. Who would have thought that possible? Not a healthy economy and the government t has few options. Germany is struggling as it has embraced the green agenda but it has significantly impaired its industrial advantage via extremely high energy prices that are forcing companies to move outside of Germany and even out of Europe. (The trains in Germany no longer run on time.) When I was in Brussels a few years ago there was a farmers protest where the farmers drove tractors into downtown Brussels and set tires on fire in the streets. Otherwise peaceful. I spoke to a few of them and the short version is that they said they cannot competitively farm when the EU erects certain policies that makes it impossible for them to keep their farms profitable. (Also did you know residents of Brussels have sometimes three local governments with competing demands?) Italy is and has been a mess for decades. The north is decent but nothing goes on economically if you get much farther south than Rome. I could go on but you get the idea. Overall, EU GDP was equivalent to U.S. GDP at the time of the 08 crisis. Since then, US GDP is now about 40 plus percent larger. Money doesn’t make you happy but the lack of economic opportunity for the younger people across Europe is and will continue to cause unrest, resulting in political parties being relevant that could never be relevant 20 years ago. None of this is cause for gloating or celebration as Europe is the cradle of American civilization and together with Europe, western democratic ideals and capitalism and the best path for human prosperity. Long way of saying it would be good if they took less vacation and got their economic houses in order. It would allow them to be more forceful advocates for western ideals and self government than the hollowed out countries they are today. Neither Russia nor China have any fear or concern about what the EU does. Free healthcare is terrific until you see no one has straight teeth then maybe you think better to get a job with a US company that has a decent healthcare plan with dental.
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There's always a government. Whether it is a civilized one or a criminal cartel they are still governments.
Per capital (aka average) is the biggest lie in statistics. You need to look at median usually because what Elon makes has nothing to do with what a section 8 McDonald's burger flipper make.
I think my total is more than 40% if you include Federal, State, Property Tax, Medicare, Social Security, etc. BTW if I remember right Israel can be as high as 60%.
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4wd
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Ideology can make the smart look silly as this - and most Norway debates do - every time …
Exactly my point. Elons wealth gets distributed in Norway. And the country is happier.
There are so many things to consider in comparing nations.
There is little doubt that one can more easily make a nice pile in the US than in almost anywhere else in the world.
There is also no doubt that there is more to living well than having a house in a massive subdivision that requires one to drive everywhere.
American cities have many attributes, but historic and often wonderful architecture and vibrant and walkable streets are not among them.
There is little doubt that one can more easily make a nice pile in the US than in almost anywhere else in the world.
There is also no doubt that there is more to living well than having a house in a massive subdivision that requires one to drive everywhere.
American cities have many attributes, but historic and often wonderful architecture and vibrant and walkable streets are not among them.
Oh, for sure its not perfect in the EU, but for most people there, most of the time, its pretty good from what I've seen.
In the US the increased GDP is meaningless to probably 60-75% the population, as things have gotten worse for them since 2008? On almost every measure of socio-economic well being for nations as a whole(life expectancy, birth deaths, "happiness" measures), the EU equals or outperforms Canada and the US without the advantages of our natural resources?
Also they have a good perspective on the realities and constraints that need to be made on endless economic growth, as their resources and farmland is limited.
Yes, you can buy gas there but it’s so heavily taxed you have to pay over nine dollars a gallon
I agree having an EV there isn’t a hardship, the country is the size of a postage stamp with two major city centers
As far as what Norwegian people think of their finances for 17, repeat 17 consecutive quarters consumer confidence has been down, many times in the double digits, the most recent 2026 quarter down 20%
GON
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So is Kuwait. Amazing what happens with a small population and the inherit huge energy related resources.
It's amazing how good and happy life can be when the American taxpayers are protecting OCONUS geography, and that geography is small in population and bursting with energy natural resources.
If it weren't for the American taxpayers, Mandarin might be the number one language spoken in Norway today.
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slo town
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Not only are they energy rich, which benefits all, I suggest they have more social unity.
Scott
That and homogeneity of the population. Many of the Scandinavian countries are known for their relative happiness…and their homogeneity. But in reality, we are cherry-picking data, whether we look at taxes, demographics, EV usage, natural resource, or any other single factor in this discussion because there are hundreds of factors in the success/failure and political decisions made by a nation, and I feel like we are the three blind men describing the elephant - each one of us perceives one thing, while missing how they all fit together.
Your points are fair to some degree but the point about GDP not being important is misplaced, respectfully. That is a measure of opportunity available and that is where the young people theee are falling behind. As I said I am not happy about this as we need strong partners and allies in a crazy world but it would be nice if perhaps we could ease up on the money printing and they could accelerate their economic development/growth. Have a good day.
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