From the Democratic Presidential Debate, October 13 2015:
Bernie Sanders: I think we should look to countries like Denmark, like Sweden and Norway, and learn from what they have accomplished for their working people.
Hillary Clinton: Well, let me just follow-up on that, Anderson, because when I think about capitalism, I think about all the small businesses that were started because we have the opportunity and the freedom in our country for people to do that and to make a good living for themselves and their families. And I don’t think we should confuse what we have to do every so often in America, which is save capitalism from itself. And I think what Senator Sanders is saying certainly makes sense in the terms of the inequality that we have.
But we are not Denmark. I love Denmark. We are the United States of America. And it’s our job to rein in the excesses of capitalism so that it doesn’t run amok and doesn’t cause the kind of inequities we’re seeing in our economic system. But we would be making a grave mistake to turn our backs on what built the greatest middle class in the history of the world.
Does the United States have the greatest middle class in the history of the world? What have countries like Denmark, Sweden and Norway accomplished for the working people who live there? Let’s compare Denmark, Sweden and Norway to the United States:
Income Share Held by the Lowest 20%:
Denmark: 8.5%
Norway: 9.3%
Sweden: 8.7%
United States: 5.1%
Life Expectancy at Birth [Girls, Boys]:
Denmark: 82, 78
Norway: 84, 80
Sweden: 84, 80
United States: 81, 77
Rate of women who die from pregnancy or within 42 of the end of pregnancy (# per 100,000 live births):
Denmark: 5
Norway: 4
Sweden: 4
United States: 28
Rate of children who die under the age of 5 (# per 1,000 live births):
Denmark: 4
Norway: 3
Sweden: 3
United States: 7
Babies born to teenaged mothers aged 15-19 (births per 1,000 women aged 15-19):
Denmark: 4
Norway: 6
Sweden: 6
United States: 24
Percent of all seats in national legislatures that are held by women:
Denmark: 39%
Norway: 40%
Sweden: 45%
United States: 19%
Government expenditure on education (% of GDP):
Denmark: 8.5%
Norway: 6.6%
Sweden: 6.5%
United States: 5.2%
Pupil to teacher ratio:
Denmark: not available
Norway: 9
Sweden: 10
United States: 14
Internet users per 100 people:
Denmark: 96.0
Norway: 96.3
Sweden: 92.5
United States: 87.4
Source: World Bank
Where would you prefer to live?