Dane: We are not happy! Denmark is an overtaxed nanny state!

By H. Roland J.
Denmark Citizen

I have noticed a lot of well-meaning Americans praising Denmark for our happiness and our welfare system. We’re praised for our free education, free healthcare, free childcare, short workweek and all the other things that the goodness-industry is proclaiming to define us Danes.

People Are Not Happy They Are Over Taxed

Well, think again, please. We are no more happy than Germans, Turks, Americans or any other country in the world. We might just be a little more complacent and have probably fallen prey to the comfort of our concept of ‘Hygge’. We’re not happy; we’re comfortable in our complacency.

Unlike the United States, which is a very young country with a very short history, Denmark is one of the oldest existing nations in the world. You would think the young nation would be full of great, new ideas, but no; some Americans look to an old, stagnant nation such as Denmark for guidance.

Nothing is free

“Child- and healthcare is free and students are paid to study in Denmark!”. That’s a line I’ve heard a lot. It’s a truth that needs a lot of modification. A lot!

If by ‘free’ you mean ‘paid for by someone else’ you are right in the assumption that healthcare, childcare and education are almost free of charge.

In order to pay for all this ‘goodness’ the Danes pay a lot of taxes. Not just income tax but tax on everything! In some cases even tax on the taxes, and we have what we call a ‘Nanny-state’. Indeed, the very reason we Danes are so happy is because we are constantly under the watchful eye of Mother State. I’ll get back to that later.

You need to understand something about Danes. We were Vikings once. We spend our spare time seeing the world, making our mark on it and inviting people to come home and live with us. Yeah, we sailed forth, ravaged the world and brought back slaves, but the first version sounds better.

We became rich. Filthy rich. Which is the base of the wealth we have today. We were never conquered by other nations – except for 5 years of World War II – and therefore have had about a thousand years to amass wealth and become complacent in our ways of life.

The people of the United States have a very different history. You are from a lot of different places and your nation of little more than 200 years old. You had a massive Civil War and you act as if you are the “police of the world”. You are constantly at war somewhere in the world – never at home – but you spend an awful lot of money on ‘defending’ yourselves.

Also, there is a lot more Americans in the world than there are Danes. Danes are few in number and the kingdom is very small compared to the United States. (if we subtract the vast emptiness of Greenland)

You, as Americans, can never be like us Danes; mainly because you’re not even one people. You identify as African-American, Hispanic-American, German-American, Native-American and all sorts of blank-American. In order to have a welfare state you need to be one people and identify as such.

And you shouldn’t have the welfare state to begin with…

What money can buy

If you want free healthcare, free childcare and free education someone else needs to pay for it. Nothing in the world is free and these things are very expensive. Free stuff never comes cheap and least of all when it comes from the state.

Imagine being an ordinary working-class Dane with a monthly salary of 25.000,- dkk. That’s about 4.000,- USD, but there is a vast difference between our two nations and it is impossible to compare USD as used in Denmark.

First you pay you income tax. This is done automatically because in Denmark we have SKAT (TAX) which handles these things for us. The company you work for registers you with SKAT and by magic this huge part of Danish government handles your tax-payment.

Arbejdsmarkedsbidrag – which is impossible for me to translate – is set at 8% – and it’s the first tax you have to pay. 8% of 25.000,- dkk is 2.000 dkk, which means you have 23.000,- left of your income, and still have taxes to pay. But first, some good news!

We all have our ‘bundfradrag’, translates into ‘bottom deduction’. It’s a deduction of non-taxed money! You simply don’t pay taxes of this amount! Yay, free money!

In 2015 this Bundfradrag is 41.400 annually. Divided by 12 to get a monthly Bundfradrag makes it 3.433 dkk. Take that away from the amount we had left after the state tax makes it 23.000,- minus 3.433,-.

19.567,- dkk left and now we move on to the big taxes. Kommuneskat, or county tax – is different from county to county. In this example I will use the average county-tax which is 24,9%.

So, we’re left with 14.694,81. No rounding up! We still have taxes to pay!

If we in this example made more than 37.000 dkk per month there would be ‘Topskat’ now. Yes, indeed, the more money you make the more taxes you have to pay. Not just percentagewise, but all the money you make more than 449.100 annually is taxes with yet another 15%!

Luckily we don’t make that much money in this example.

We have yet another tax to pay and they named it Sundhedsskat – or Health-tax! It’s an odd little tax that is lowered by 1% each year while Bottom Tax is raised 1% per year. This year Sundhedsskat is at 4%. We need to pay that too.

We take our income of 19.567,- and take 4% off that. Say goodbye to another 782,68. We take that amount from what we are left with which make our entire income of the 25.000,- dkk new 13.784,32.

We have paid 11.215,68 in income taxes but are we done yet? By no means!

Taxes, taxes, taxes everywhere!

Let’s take our 13.784,32 dkk out of the bank. Let’s pay some bills, shall we?

Every time we pay a bill we must pay the government sales tax. It’s at a staggering 25%! Yes, indeed, every time you buy anything from your local vendor 20% goes to the government. If something would have cost 20,- dkk, like an ice-cream or a soda, the government puts on an extra 5,- (25% of the price) and takes that money from the vendor, who is nice enough to price it at 25,- dkk for us.

He has the hassle of collecting the sales tax on the behalf of the government. He gives it to them quarterly and subtracts what he has paid for things that are sales tax-deductible for companies. Companies are given back the money they spend on stuff they need to run their business once every quarter.

This is of course very confusing, but all the sales taxes end up with the government. So, we pay yet another 25% of our income in indirect sales taxes!

Taxation on Tax

Let’s give that money to the government from our disposable income. That makes our money 10.338,- (now we can round up)

There are much more expensive bills to pay, and ‘A gift’, which is just another word for tax, is used instead of Skat, which means the same.

When you pay you utility-bill you pay a lot in Afgift. I have my most recent electrical bill on hand. Let’s use that one. It’s says 994,64 dkk for a three month period. Electricity-Afgift – yes, there is such a thing – is where you pay for the privilege of being able to use electricity in your home.

The Electricity-company charges 111,06 for my use of 358 kilowatt/Hour and 30,- dkk for membership. With sales tax imposed on this it comes to 176,33 dkk.

The electricity-company charges 0,37 dkk pr Kilowatt/Hour, and the state imposes an ‘electricity transportation Afgift’ of 0,21 dkk. According to the electricity-company I used 358 kWh last period which makes this Afgift 80,89 dkk for the period.

No, we’re not done with the taxation yet. Calm yourself down.

EL-Afgift is the main portion of taxation here. It’s a staggering 0,88 dkk pr kWh! That makes it 331,88 dkk in EL-Afgift!

All combined the state takes 412,77, but hey, those numbers don’t add up, now do they? Of course not. There’s more!

When all combined the company gets 241,88 from me every quarter, but this still doesn’t add up. 241,88 plus 412,77 only makes 654,65 dkk and even with the company’s charges (with sales tax) of 176,33 it still only makes 830,98 dkk, doesn’t it?

It would if the government didn’t have the gall to tax the Afgift. The Afgift-ridden amount of 654,65 of course needs a sales tax! Sales tax is different from Afgift and of course no money can change hands unless the state gets it 20%!

The final bill for three months of electricity looks like this:

Company charges 141,06 dkk and with sales tax that’s 176,33. The state gets 35,27 dkk from this part of the process.

Now Afgift on transport and use of the state-owned network, Afgift on electricity because it is something we need and want comes to 654,65 and slam! Here comes sales tax on the Afgifts which comes to 163,66.

Confused? Well, I am, so here comes everything a little more simplified. Out of the 994,64 I paid for electricity the company gets 141,06 dkk – and the rest, a staggering 853,58 goes to the government. Some of it is Afgift and some of it is even sales tax on Afgift!

I can’t afford to watch TV

Wanna buy a TV in Denmark? Maybe a phone? Maybe a computer for internet access? Want to own a radio? You can, and buying it will, of course, cost you 20% extra in sales tax, but that’s not all.

If you own any device that can pick up a TV- or radio signal or have internet access you have to pay for ‘License’! Yes sir, you have to pay a license-fee to own one such device because you have the opportunity to watch or listen to something aired by Denmark’s Radio, or DR as it is known.

I know you’re confused here, but DR is a huge government media company that doesn’t operate on market-terms. If you own anything that can pick up DR you have to pay.

As a matter of fact, a representative of Licens-kontoret – The License Office – will come to your door if you’re not registered with them because everyone owns something that can pick up that damn TV-channel, go on the internet or pick up a radio signal.

The cost for such a license is 205 dkk per month. Yeah, that’s right, you own something and have to pay a fee for it. That’s state logic for you.

I have personally chosen not to own a TV or a radio. My computer actually belongs to my mother and my phone belongs to a close friend of mine. Therefore I do not own anything that needs to be licensed, because I fully reject the notion that I have to pay this license-fee.

When all is said and paid for

Tell me again how everything is free in Denmark? Tell me again, that we are so lucky to have free education, free healthcare, free childcare and free whatnot.

We are paying for it. We pay a lot for it. More than you can ever imagine as an American. I have no idea how much you pay in taxes or what you can deduct from them, but in Denmark – where the people are happy and comfortable – we pay dearly for that.

Not only do you pay in terms of money but also as individuals. The state has taken over our lives by making us believe that we are so well of, that we are free and that we are ever so happy.

This is my advice to Americans who wants ‘free’ this and that, and who are willing to raise taxes to such an extend as we have in Denmark.

Stop. Look at yourself in the mirror. Are you that much better than everyone else? Are you so self-centered that you think taking from others to give to others and yourself is right? Are you the kind of person who is willing to make some else pay for your life?

If so, I suggest you create a community of your own. It doesn’t have to be somewhere but someone. Find likeminded people who are willing to give up their freedom for this community. Make your own government and impose taxation on that membership.

Just don’t use force to make others pay for your ideal society. You don’t have that right. You don’t have the right to impose your moral values upon others for ‘the greater good’. You, as a people born of the desire for freedom, should understand this.

Your ancestors left their homes to find freedom. Your ancestors fought the War of Indepence to assure that freedom. You had a civil war that was all about freedom. You helped, albeit reluctantly, when freedom was threatened in Europe and Asia during World War II. You still fight for freedom, but rather perversely I might add, but some of you still believe it’s about freedom.

Why would you go back on the very essence of America by taking away freedom from others and force them to pay for ‘free’ things? You are going in the direction of Denmark and as shown above that is an expensive route to take. You should go back to freedom, not away from it!

I see The United States as sort of a grandchild of older nations, such as Denmark, who have ‘been there, done that and made the mistakes’. This is of course my very personal view, which is not shared by many Danes, but as a true Viking I can only give you one advice.

Don’t give up your freedom for ‘free stuff’. There is no such thing as ‘free’ when it comes to governments. Everything comes at a price and you should never be willing to pay a price that includes your fellow man paying the same price against his will.

Do You Know About African American Emancipation Day

Today is the 150th African American Emancipation Day also known as Juneteenth. Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States.

From its Galveston, Texas origin in 1865, the observance of June 19th as the African American Emancipation Day has spread across the United States and beyond .In 1865, enslaved Africans on Galveston Island, Texas, had been declared free two years earlier but didn’t know it. With the United States still divided over the institution of slavery and recovering after the Civil War, members of the Confederacy weren’t eager to spread the word.

 Only after Union soldiers, led by Major Gen. Gordon Granger, worked their way South for more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation did word reach Galveston Island. On June 19, 1865, known as Juneteenth—a melding of the day’s month and date—the last remaining slaves in America were declared free.

Juneteenth, America’s “second Independence Day,” is now celebrated around the country. It is officially observed in 43 states and is a state holiday in Texas, home of the last to know.

Is A New Poll Favoring LGBT, Marijuana and Gov Snyder Legit?

The propaganda machine is out and is fully fueled and WDIV  TV

Mi Gov Rick Snyder

and The Detroit News are the mouth pieces. 

A new poll conducted by the Glengariff Group says Michigan voters approve of gay rights, legalized marijuana and Gov. Rick Snyder. 

Who is the Glengariff Group?  And who do you think they polled?  I will tell you in a little bit but first here is the poll WDIV TV in Detroit and The Detroit News is posting

The 600-person representative sample of state voters, Lansing leaders and Michigan residents found that participants have different views on gay rights.

 Voters support same sex marriage by a margin of 55.5 percent to 32.5 percent. This support level is statistically identical to levels in surveys conducted in 2012 and 2014. By a margin of 61.4 percent to 27.3 percent, Michigan voters support recognizing same sex marriages in Michigan if they are performed in other states and the couple were to move to Michigan.

  Michiganders also overwhelmingly support expanding the Elliot-Larsen Act to include protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered residents for housing and employment by a 77 percent to 17.9 percent margin. Even Strong Republican voters support expansion by a margin of 70.8 percent to 22.0 percent. Voters over the age of 65 support expansion by a margin of 76.9 percent to 18.0 percent.

 Michigan voters unequivocally oppose ‘Religious Freedom’ legislation that would allow a business to deny service to a customer based on their religious beliefs by an overwhelming 18.5 percent to 76.5 percent margin.

 A solid majority, 56.1 percent, of Michigan voters support legalizing and taxing small amount of marijuana for adults over the age of 21 years old, while 35.7 percent oppose legalization.

 The Glegariff poll also exposed generational disagreement on the issue. While voters under 30 years old support passage by a margin of 73.7 percent to 15.1 percent, voters over the age of 65 oppose passage by a margin of 39.2 percent to 51.3 percent.

 Voters also approve of the performance of Governor Rick Snyder by a margin of 55.1 percent to 39.3 percent, representing Snyder’s highest job approval performance to date.

 However, the state legislature remains unpopular. By a margin of 34.3 percent to 50.0 percent, Michigan voters disapprove of the performance of the State Legislature.
 

So who is the Glengariff group?  Well here is who they are based on their basic website and this information is quite telling as to why you cannot trust the above poll:

The Glengariff Group, Inc. specializes in strategic planning and market research.

 Founded in December 1998 by President and owner Richard Czuba, the Glengariff Group, Inc. offers the spectrum of marketing and public affairs services - all based on market research, analysis, and strategy.

 Our specialty is disciplined, intense planning that delivers results.  We do the special projects that other companies won't touch.
 The Glengariff Group,Inc. has offices in Chicago, Illinois and  St. Joseph, Michigan.

 In 1983 Richard began work with the Michigan Republican State Committee where he quickly rose to Director of Research overseeing survey research and campaign research for Michigan’s Republican Party.

 In 1987 Richard became Director of Research for the Pete Dawkins for U.S. Senate campaign in New Jersey. As Director of Research for the nation’s most hotly contested race, Richard oversaw the campaign’s research functions including coordination and writing of all candidate position statements, survey research work, and all campaign research.

  In 1989 Richard returned to the Michigan Republican State Committee and soon became the Director of Research and Communications, melting his research background with marketing and communications strategic planning.

 In 1990 Governor-Elect John Engler named Richard as the Transition Team Leader for the Michigan Department of Social Services. Upon completion of this assignment, Richard was asked to complete the transition team report for the Michigan Department of Transportation.

 In 1993 Richard was named Advisor to Governor John Engler for Research and Planning. In addition to handling the research needs of Governor John Engler, Richard coordinated the administration’s policy statements and was responsible for message and communication strategy for the Lieutenant Governor and the Governor’s Cabinet most notably during the campaign to pass Proposal A.

In 1997 Richard was the Director of Planning and Public Affairs for the State of Michigan. During his tenure with the Michigan Jobs Commission, Richard was instrumental in creating the nationally recognized Tax Free Renaissance Zones including moving the idea from concept to legislation. He was responsible for the community review process and creation of a nationwide publicity campaign for Renaissance Zones.

 Also as Director of Planning and Public Affairs, Richard was responsible for executing communication efforts for significant administration initiatives such as the funding of Tiger Stadium, the state of Michigan’s first nationwide economic marketing campaign, and all economic development publicity for the state of Michigan.

 In 1999 Governor Engler named Richard the Director of Travel Michigan, where he created a new image and public relations campaign for the State of Michigan.

 Even more troubling is that the Glengariff Group is the go to polling company for the ultra liberal Daily Kos.

Based on the connections to the old guard in the Michigan Republican Party that are looking to push the LGBT Agenda as they do not know how to fight it and would rather concede to win rather than stick up for values and the fact that the poll favors Gov . Snyder  one has to wonder if the marijuana question was put in to try to make this poll legit.  

The poll just says 600 were surveyed but yet who were the ones surveyed?  Was it the old guard establishment Republicans and their minions?  What where the demographics and occupations of those polled?

Could this poll be two fold, to try to make people believe that the majority support the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual,  Transgender crusade  and to prop Gov Snyder back up after the embarrassing Proposal 1 road tax defeat so he can make another attempt at President or be a presidential vice president candidate?  Perhaps for his rumored favorite Jeb Bush?


***Update*** This in from a reader of Setting The Record Straight***

Matt Marsden, spokesman for the Michigan Cannabis Coalition sited in that article "Legalize pot, 56% in Mich. poll say" was the chief of staff for former Senate Majority leader Randy Richardville until he had a public tiff with Senator Rick Jones! He was then reassigned within the Richardville "team" and former Governor Jennifer Granholm's staffer Amber McCann was brought in to replace Marsden as chief of staff! Oh the webs they weave.

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2015/06/15/legalize-pot-mich-poll-say/28791811/

Michigan House Votes To Raise Taxes To Fix Roads

They just don't get it do they?  After a resounding defeat of

Proposal 1 that would have raised taxes to fix Michigan Roads, the Michigan House today approved a plan to shift hundreds of millions of dollars from the state's general fund and make other changes, including raising taxes ,aimed at putting nearly $1.2 billion a year toward repairing the state's roads.

Most bills were approved primarily along party lines Wednesday in the Republican-controlled House.

Along with many other changes, the 12-bill package would earmark $442 million from the general fund for roads in the fiscal year starting Oct. 1.That number would increase to $792 million in the 2019 fiscal year.

The plan would raise the diesel tax to 19 cents from 15 cents to match the gas tax and index both taxes to inflation. Registration fees would be raised by $30 on certain hybrid vehicles and by $100 on electric vehicles

Oakland County Michigan Sheriff Risks Life Enters Hostage Situation Unarmed

A man barricaded himself inside a home in Pontiac, Michigan, on May 5th, 2015, holding two children hostage 

Sheriff Michael Bouchard

with a large knife. But the stand-off, which certainly had the potential to turn deadly, ended peacefully thanks to actions take by the Oakland County Sheriff, Michael Bouchard.

The suspect reportedly ran into the home in order to evade arrest. The man, a parolee, feared being arrested after he learned the Michigan Department of Corrections was planning to visit him as part of a welfare check.

The suspect kept repeating that he was going to die today and that he had nothing to live for.

The two children he held hostage were the suspect’s nieces.

Oakland County Sheriff Michel Bouchard eventually entered the home to negotiate with the man,  showing the distraught man that we was disarmed.

The Suspect's Nieces Released Unarmed

Unarmed and face-to-face with an armed hostage taker, Bouchard managed to talk the man down, convincing get him to throw away his knife and let the kids go.  He reassured the suspect that nobody was going to die today. Police were able to arrest him without any one getting injured.

“I know I breached a lot of protocol and made a few people nervous, but I felt that after I chatted with his mother, that between his mother and I, we could diffuse the situation,” Bouchard told WXYZ-TV.

Land Of The Free? U.S. Feds Arresting Those For Criticizing Obama

The federals have a program called a program called "Vigilant Eagle" part of Homeland Security to watch and report any anti-Obama or U.S. Government posts on social media.

From The Rutherford Institute:
 In the four years since the start of Operation Vigilant Eagle, the government has steadily ramped up its campaign to “silence” dissidents, especially those with military backgrounds. Coupled with the DHS’ dual reports on Rightwing and Leftwing “Extremism,” which broadly define extremists as individuals and groups “that are mainly antigovernment, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority, or rejecting government authority entirely,” these tactics have boded ill for anyone seen as opposing the government.

 One particularly troubling mental health label being applied to veterans and others who challenge the status quo is “oppositional defiance disorder” (ODD). As journalist Anthony Martin explains, an ODD diagnosis 

 “denotes that the person exhibits ‘symptoms’ such as the questioning of authority, the refusal to follow directions, stubbornness, the unwillingness to go along with the crowd, and the practice of disobeying or ignoring orders. Persons may also receive such a label if they are considered free thinkers, nonconformists, or individuals who are suspicious of large, centralized government… At one time the accepted protocol among mental health professionals was to reserve the diagnosis of oppositional defiance disorder for children or adolescents who exhibited uncontrollable defiance toward their parents and teachers.”

 The case of 26-year-old decorated Marine Brandon Raub—who was targeted because of his Facebook posts, interrogated by government agents about his views on government corruption, arrested with no warning, labeled mentally ill for subscribing to so-called “conspiratorial” views about the government, detained against his will in a psych ward for standing by his views, and isolated from his family, friends and attorneys—is a prime example of the government’s war on veterans.

 
This is the video of Brandon J Raub, being "arrested" and taken away by Chesterfield County Virginia Police Department

Raub’s case exposes the seedy underbelly of a governmental system that is targeting Americans—especially military veterans—for expressing their discontent over America’s rapid transition to a police state.

The Truth On Ted Cruz's Joke On Joe Biden

HOWELL, MI: Last night I attended the 55th annual, Livingston County Republican Party Lincoln Dinner, Ted Cruz was the featured speaker.

Cruz spoke for about 50 minutes and made compelling arguments to the audience as to why he should be the next President of the United States.

He brought up the fact that his critics say he cannot win, yet he stated he has set a record for the most money raised on a campaign opening day of over $1 million.  That was his goal for the first week.    He ended up raising over $4 million that week!   This was the best start to any Presidential campaign in the history of Presidential campaigns. He raised more than what Mitt Romney raised and twice as much as what John McCain raised during the same time. Of the donations that poured in,   Cruz went on to say that 95% of them came from average people that contributed less than $100.    Cruz said this shows his message is strong and that he has support from the grassroots not big corporations.

Cruz did not speak negatively of any Republican Presidential Candidate last night.  One reporter tried to trip him up before his speech by asking him about Jeb Bush.   Cruz called Jeb a fine American and a good man but reverted back to his own positives.

During his speech last night Cruz said that their will be a lot of candidates coming through Michigan and he believed Michigan would be a battle ground state.  He said a lot of them may say they stand for conservative principles and some have.    Cruz suggested to those in the audience to vett those Presidential Candidates that say they stand for Constitutional principles.  Some of the questions he recommend to those in attendance ask included:


Where were they when the national debt was being raised?

Where were they when it was time to defund Obamacare?

Where were they when they said they were against Common Core?

Where were they when ISIS rose up?

Where did they stand when Amnesty was being pushed down our throats?

Where were they for family values?

Cruz was a dynamic down to earth candidate whose speech injected humor and had the audience laughing.

The leftist media though saw how Cruz was captivating the audience last night and how his truths could hurt a candidate more to their liking.  Their hope is if they can not get their faltering Hillary Clinton in as President, they want to make sure that in their worse case scenario  a moderate left leaning Republican is then elected.

So the media looked at his entire speech and they believed they saw one possible weak area to exploit and it was a joke about Joe Biden, whose son Beau died last Saturday.  Like all other presenters such as speakers in the business world or comedians, they have a material that they use that they know engages the audience based on past experience.  So just like those other presenters that use scripted jokes, so did Cruz.

Cruz made a joke about Joe Biden and Joe Biden alone, he never mentioned Beau Biden's name.  He said it doesn't matter if you go to a Republican or Democrat, you just Joe Biden and nothing else and people will laugh.  

Cruz was right the audience in attendance were laughing hysterically as shown in the video with the joke below:




 However, and I hate to give this guy more attention, Detroit News Reporter Chad Livengood showed his biased colors yesterday and decided to come up with a new narrative for the night

Watching the video above did the laughter seem faint?  As an attendee last night I can assure you the laughter was not faint.

The fact is Joe Biden is not respected by either party.  He is the current sitting Vice President and had mentioned before about aspirations of running for President.  It is rare when a sitting Vice President doesn't run after the current President is termed out.    His party has put their focus on Hillary Clinton over good old Joe.    This was the joke and point Cruz made.  

As you saw from the video there was no disrespecting of Beau Biden's son Joe, but the media would like to make you think otherwise.

At the end of the speech, Detroit News Reporter Chad Livingood tried to corner Cruz and asked if that joke appropriate under Joe Biden's current dealings with the death of his son.  Knowing this was a trap set forth with a Reporter with an agenda, he wisely stepped away.  This did not sit well with the Livingood who decided to tweet the experience with video to push through his agenda.