On torpedoes, right of center views, and the wealth of nations..

The mayor of Oslo, Per Ditlev-Simonsen, is the main figure of a political controversy going on in Norway the last couple of weeks. It has been disclosed that he had a hidden swiss bank account up until 1985-86 (he is not sure himself of when he got rid of this bank account). On this bank account he had an, according to himself, modest amount of money. Nevertheless, it is being perceived as an attempt to evade taxes. One of the representatives on the Norwegian parliament (storting), Martin Engeset, feels this affair as a torpedo having hit the Right Party (Høyre), in which Ditlev-Simonsen is a member.

This affair makes me think about Norwegian attitudes toward wealth and economic success. I have a Norwegian friend, with whom I discuss this every time we meet, and we never seem to get anywhere in our discussions. She may be a little extreme in her left-wing opinions, and I think her political views are quite moronic, and I never miss an opportunity to point out that to her. Nevertheless, she is a great friend, whose company I love, and I also love discussing those things with her, even though (or perhaps because) we never will agree.

Anyway, the Norwegian attitude toward economical success may not differ too much from the attitude of France or Germany, or other European countries, but there is definitely a lot of jealousy toward rich people or people experiencing economic success in Norway. Don´t get me wrong, I am not trying to defend cheating and evading taxes, and of course people should contribute their fair share to the community they live in. But this affair with Ditlev-Simonsen seemingly trying to hide away money, is something that is very, very easy for other political parties in Norway to cash in on.

It seems to me that, besides in sport, success is not really something that is applauded in Norway. If you are experiencing economic success, then you are to be de facto punished for that. If you earn more, you should pay more, not only in terms of the amount, but more proportionally. That means that if you work a lot of overtime, you are to be taxed more heavily on your overtime hours. Why is it so that we should punish people who are hard working? In my opinion, this is something that should be applauded and rewarded. I don`t see the rationale behind taxing overtime heavier than regular hours, especially when there is a manpower shortage in Norway. If anybody wants to work more, it is something that will gain Norway as a nation, and that should not be punished by taxing it far more than normal hours.

Also, if people are wealthy, it seems that they should not be allowed to use that wealth to pay for better schools for their children, pay for better health care, pay for better care in their old age, etc. I understand the argument that people should have the same opportunities, and I understand that it might not seem fair that some should have better health care than those less well off. Still I can`t accept it. If you work really hard, and if you are successful at what you do, why should you not be allowed to use that wealth to make your life or your life situation better? Why should you have to be content with something less than you could have? Are you not entitled to make yourself more comfortable if you worked really hard for it?

The Norwegian attitude toward the egalitarian ideal make me think of something I heard while studying in Germany a few years ago. It was said about the east Germans, but could as well be said about Norwegians. Well, what was said, was that if the east Germans had the choice between a) the west Germans having toast with ham and cocoa and the east Germans having bread with jam and milk, and b) everybody eating dry bread with water, they would choose alternative b. This is in fact an attitude which is widespread in Norway, although in to lesser or greater extent. If public health care could get a little better because of a little competition from private clinics, or if public schools could improve (which they sorely need) because of competing private ones, why not? Competition is not inherently bad, it is something that brings improvement. It adds to the wealth of nations.

I honestly think that Norway is a great country, and it is a great place to live. But some things could be improved, and I think Norway as a nation and state could profit from applauding success and rewarding hard work more than what is currently done, and let people enjoy the fruits of their hard work.

Well, I`ll let that be the end of my ravings for now...

Democratic problems?

The local elections in Norway are getting closer. And one potential democratic problem has been identified.

Norway has got three official written languages - bokmål (derived from Danish), nynorsk (constructed from Norwegian dialects), and Sami (the original language of the Sami people, spoken by almost all Samis). The thing is that the leaflets or booklets explaining how to vote in Norway are not written in Sami. That is a problem, according to, among others, language consultant Ellen Ragnhild Sara. I do agree, partially. Information about elections and election procedures should be written in all of the official languages, and in the languages of the largest immigrant minorities (Pakistani, Somali, Arabic, Russian, etc.)

This problem is, to me, of a principal nature. But, if you look at it another way, there could be another principal problem. If some people, e.g. the Samis, cannot understand and communicate in normal Norwegian (i.e. bokmål or nynorsk), that could pose a far larger democratic problem than election leaflets not printed in Sami.

If the national discurse about society, politics, and about Norway in general, is to function properly, it seems to me self evident that there needs be one lingua franca, in which the discurse is to take place. If there are several languages, as there is now, especially concerning the Sami society, that means that there is a dichotomy in the national discurse. It is taking place in different languages, which in effect is mutually excluding. Non-Samis cannot understand and participate in the Sami discurse, and at least not all of the Samis are able to participate in the national discussion in Norwegian.

If we get into a situation where it is accepted that Samis cannot communicate in Norwegian, that is not good at all. It might not be a problem, other than a principal one, and I do not hope that it is. But if it is not, than neither is the problem with election leaflets not written in Sami.

As a closing to this entry, let me state my respect to the Sami people. The history of the Samis in Norway is a troubled one, and I respect the Sami people`s need for expressing their own identity, of which their language is a big part. Still, they are part of the Norwegian nation, and should be able to communicate in standard Norwegian language.

Speed king (cutting corners)

It is not a great time for the Norwegian Royal Family nowadays.

Every Norwegian knows that our King is a mean sailor. He`s really fast out there, on the waves. But he might have cut one corner too many now, or gone a little too fast, because he`s actually been disqualified from the ocean sailing World Championship. Not good..

One of my friends asked me just recently if I`m anti-royalist. I don`t think that I am, but after that ridiculous angel-school-affair, I think I am starting to be. But not quite yet. Instinctively, I`m holding on to Norway being a monarchy. It must be my conservative nature..

Boredom, or the lifeblood of a blog?

When I think about it, I think boredom was the thing that brought this blog into life. We had a really slow day at work, because our computer system was down, and we couldn`t really get that much work done. So out of boredom, I decided to create this blog. I`ve been thinking about it, though, for a while, but boredom was the spark that made it come to life.

I hope not, though, that boredom will be the only thing that keeps it going. I don`t make a habit of being bored, so if boredom is to be the sole life blood of this blog, it does not bode well for it. In that case, it will be a short lived one.

Angels and Norwegian princesses

As I am currently not living in Norway, I don`t really follow the Norwegian news as closely as I normally would. Right now, that makes me really, really happy.

Before, I kind of thought that Norway being a monarchy is a good thing. Even though it is an antiquated form of government, it is something that unites us Norwegians. And up until now, I always thought the Royal Family were pretty good ambassadors for Norway. Now, I`m starting to have some serious doubts about just that.

One of the top stories in the Norwegian news right now is the Norwegian Princess` "angel-school". Students of this school, which by the way had its opening day today, are being promised that they are guaranteed to get in touch with angels only after a few weeks. Her Royal highness Märtha Louise herself, of course, claims to be some kind of psychic, and has for a long time been able to even communicate with her horses on "a deeper level", whatever that means. With this new school of angels, the Norwegian royal stupidity reaches new heights, even topping the Princess` and her husband`s book publishings.

To put the words into the mouth of the silent majority...

In one of their songs, the Norwegian (mock-political) metal band Black Debbath declared itself the voice of those who don`t really have anything to say ("Et talerør for de som intet har å si"). That is also essentially the way that I feel about blogs - they are pretty much a device for people to express themselves without really having anything much to say. And with me writing this blog it is going to be the same way, just a string of random, meaningless thoughts, mostly about Norway. Having moved abroad, maybe it`s a nice way to keep involved.. Or something...