From a Norwegian who posted a comment on my wall:
"I have a friend who says that being born in Norway is like having Christmas eve every day. And in some sense that's true. We do not need to worry much. We do trust our government. We do trust our neighbour. We do trust our police ( which still does not bear arms ) We do trust that the money we earn - WE as in NORWAY - is being used for the good for all of us. Domestic and foreign. If one go back 50 years from now, Norway was not a rich country, but we were still happy and trusted our government. Now we are one of the richest countries in the world, and we are still happy. I can't say we are more happy or less happy. But I guess having Christmas eve every day is considered being very happy.
When it comes to income and salary, well there will always be people who complain about they earn less than others, but most of that is bound in jealousy. Cause we can all be multimillionaire if we want to. I can say this, I am happy with my income as long as I can pay my bills and get food. And I have never heard of anyone that had a meal that cost $200. Not in my circle of friends at least. There is still cheap food out there. Its all a matter of what you want.
Recently there was a study conducted by Spears magazine and wealth consultancy company WealthInsight where they listed the top 10 cities worldwide with the highest percentage of millionaires. There you can find Norway on 7th place right before SIngapore. But its hard to spot those millionaires because they don't show it off. Its not being thrown in our face. I have no problems with people earning a lot. Good for them.
Recently I was filming a conference at city hall in Oslo where our prime minister was a guest speaker, and she said something that I think is very important.
- You do not go into politics for the reason of getting rich. You get into politics because you want to be a politician.
So our politicians does not ear a lot, considering the wealth we have. And I find that a good thing. At least we know they are not in it to get wealthy but in it because they want to.
We also have a very transparent society where you can even search through the tax office database on every Norwegian citizen to see how much they earn, how much they paid in tax and how much wealth they have.
I am not saying Norway is the best place to be, that we have the best system, the best solutions, the best government, or the best social democracy. I am just simply saying that I am celebrating Christmas eve every day, and I know that it can be Christmas eve every day anywhere in the world if we all work together and not think about who is rich or richer. I am saying this from where I am, in Norway"
Roy Ngerng