Kat wrote:PeterMollenburg wrote:... Denmark and Norway are often ranked near the top for happiest countries/ best quality of life etc. Do you think there's some validity in it?
Keep in mind that this comes at a price. Most countries at the top of the list have very high tax rates. They have solidarity-based systems (not sure if this is the proper term in English), so you as a working professional with a decent income would have to contribute more than your "fair" share to the upkeep of these systems.
Interestingly, the documentary I watched on Denmark, cited that they had the second highest tax in the world (I think income tax). You know which country was first? France!! And they are NOT happy. Continually protesting. I don't want to delve into politics, but I will say that it's not just about taxation, it's about how it's spent and the level of corruption in 'the system'. Like I mentioned before, these (Scandanavian) countries seem to be doing something right (
fairly/justly).
Kat wrote:[
Personally I don't mind higher taxes if I get good and affordable health care, child care, education, public transport etc. in exchange. I'm also aware that this is a very European attitude and I've heard some wildly different opinions from people based elsewhere in the world. However, since exploring this further would lead into political territory, I'm going to stop this train of thought here.
I'm in agreement with you. If your tax dollars are spent fairly and provide something of quality back, I'm also for it. Interestingly, one of the guys they were speaking to in the doco on Denmark, said he'd gladly give considerably more to tax (because he sees the benefits of it).
Kat wrote:Anyway, when I looked at the World Happiness Report of 2019, I noticed that Australia is ranked 11th and comes ahead of European countries like the UK (15th), Germany (17th) or Belgium (18th). So if you believe in the validity of the results, Australians must be quite happy with their country.
I do think there is some validity with the results. We're generally okay here in Australia, but a very common sentiment (subjective opinion on my life experience, interactions with others), is that Australia was once the 'lucky country' but it's no longer the case. The cost of living has jumped dramatically, people appear fed up with the political leaders, drugs are more rampant, crime appears worse. Once upon a time all the kids would play in the street together. Those days appear over in most bigger towns. So yes it is pretty decent here, but I think the Scandanavian countries remain on top for good reason.
