Remember the Norwegian open letter that all the No voters were peeing their pants in excitement about the other day? Well, read this. Martin Sommerville I decided to do some research on this guy. Firstly does he exist? It seems so. Who is he? uk.linkedin/in/blakstad London based banking/stockbroking type. Any links to Scotland? Oh yes he like to come up here and shoot Grouse with his fancy shotgun. A real man of the people. websta.me/n/haak_eye OK so he’s a fan of cricket, cross country horse riding, St Emillion and grouse shooting, that doesn’t make him a bad person, But how do his claims in the letter he “wrote” stack up. The first paragraph states how much he enjoys Scotland. That’s great so do I and many others. - First point of any actual importance, “Norway Voted on its Independence in 1814”. It was 1905. en.wikipedia.org/.../Norwegian_union_dissolution... May 17, 1814 is Norway’s Constitution day, something quite different and was not voted on. - Next, “and the financial depression in the years that followed was the worst on record.” Wrong, looking at the time of the actual Independence day in 1905, it was actually “The period from 1905 to 1914 was characterized by rapid economic expansion in Norway. The development of the merchant fleet, which had begun during the second half of the 19th century, continued, and at the outbreak of World War I Norway’s merchant navy was the fourth largest in the world.” britannica/.../The-union-conflict-1859-1905 - So not off to a great start. How about economics, surely that should be his forte. “Our GDP per capita was consistently lower than Sweden, Denmark and indeed the United Kingdom every year since records began in the early 1800s until 1974.” There are no records of GDP per capita in the early 1800’s. They don’t exist. “In the absence of sufficient data for nearly all economies until well into the 19th century, past GDP per capita cannot be calculated, but only roughly estimated.” en.wikipedia.org/.../List_of_regions_by_past_GDP... GDP Per capita graphs here tradingeconomics/norway/gdp-per-capita also tell a different story. Looking at the same 3 countries and comparing data from 1960 to present (that was as far back as it would let me go) we can see that all 3 countries are roughly comparable but Norway was ahead of the UK for most of the period. So no long drawn out slog for Norway to the top of the GDP ladder, as alluded to by Haakon. GDP is of course only one indicator and a much broader view is shown here. oecdbetterlifeindex.org/countries/norway/ Looks pretty good. - “The few things that kept us going were unity, national pride and stupidity.” Mmm this slog since independence theme, disproved more than once above, takes a turn for the worse when Haakon describes his fellow countrymen and women as stupid. - “If Scots are willing to go through decades of hardship in order to build their own country, then fine, but no-one should assume that independence is a silver bullet that will automatically transform Scotland into Norway.” So the hardship/slog theme continues, despite it being false. I wonder if Haakon imagines the Scots are stupid enough to muddle through his vision of the future? - “It is also worth considering the downsides of living in such a wealthy country as consumer prices in Norway are astronomical. VAT stands at 25 per cent, you pay £9 for a pint in the pub, and the price for a new, five-door Vauxhall Corsa is £20,490 (in the UK the same car is £9,600). This is fine if you are a top earner, but I am sure no-one in Scotland believes that becoming independent will automatically lead to an accumulation of enormous personal wealth for the entire population.” Last chance for the economist to prove his mettle. Firstly the VAT rate, that is the same rate as used by Sweden, Iceland, Finland, and Denmark. So it is not unusual in these countries to have a rate that might appear to the UK as high. Its called the Nordic Model and the idea is to provide funds for social spending i.e. one way to ensure that the poorer members of society are helped by the rich. Something commodities traders like Haakon are not known for, how else could he afford the fancy shotgun? Ive quoted below from a website that is more knowledgeable than me (and it appears Haakon) liberalconspiracy.org/.../how-i-learned-to-stop.../ “Sweden, Finland and Denmark are all characterised by high levels of social spending, much higher than the UK. These countries are also characterised by relatively high levels of personal income taxation. Indeed the bulk of public revenue comes from income tax and VAT (like in the UK) but at higher rates. The lowest income groups will pay a much larger proportion of their income to VAT, but there are net consumers of public welfare compared to the highest income groups – so this still counts as a social transfer” I not suggesting the Nordic model would work for Scotland, I’m not an expert in finances but to suggest that the high VAT rate in Norway is a blanket bad idea misses the point on how this country runs itself and looks after its people. Its their choice, one that Scotland currently doenst have. As for the cost of living it is undoubtedly high, but again Haakons statements are misleading. The average NET wage in Norway is the 4th highest in Europe, only Monaco, Liechtenstein and Switzerland are ahead. The NET wage is 40% greater than the average UK wage, and 75% greater than Germany. en.wikipedia.org/.../List_of_European_countries_by... So yes, things are more expensive in Norway, but the average person has much more money to spend. It’s a different model to the UK and one that works well for Norway. You cannot compare the 2 models directly as they have to be considered in their entirety. Haakon is being misleading here. - Finally, if an independent Scotland succeeds it will be because it is totally united. When Norway wanted independence 99.5 per cent of the population voted Yes. I don’t see that sort of unity in Scotland today, and for that reason alone there should not be a referendum at all. So one last comment from Haakon. So far not so good, how does this one play out? At last a true statement Norway did vote 99.5 % (in 1905 not 1814) for independence. But elections and referendums in Norway since have not been so clear. The referendum in Norway in 1994 on EU membership was split 52.2 No’s / 47.8% Yes. en.wikipedia.org/.../Norwegian_European_Union... Following Haakons argument above, that the referendum on the EU should never have ocurred. His suggestion is that only when essentially 100% of the population desire something should it be voted on. Seems a waste of ballot paper to me in such a clear cut case. Democracy and the ability to steer its own destiny would be the outcome of a Scottish YES vote. So in conclusion our Upper Class, City Trader, Norwegian, living in London, doesn’t know his own history, thinks his fellow countrymen have been stupid in the past, doesn’t understand basic economics and has a weird view on democracy. Haakon Blakstad - United Kingdom | LinkedIn View Haakon Blakstads (United Kingdom) professional profile on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is the worlds largest business network, helping professionals like Haakon Blakstad discover inside... UK.LINKEDIN.COM
Posted on: Tue, 09 Sep 2014 12:17:42 +0000
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