Friday, January 10, 2014

Those Damned, Rich Vikings!

Every Norwegian - man, woman and child - is now technically a millionaire.  That's right, every last one of those herring munchers is now worth a million Crowns.   Now, in fairness, a hundred Krone is worth just under $18 Cdn. but that's still a chunk of cash.

The money is held in Norway's sovereign wealth fund which now stands at $828 billion US for the country of 5,096,000 citizens.  The money comes from the country's North Sea oil and gas reserves and the public's decision not to squander their windfall but to set it aside for future generations.  What a weird idea, eh?  They save it when they could have a helluva time just pissing it all away.  What's wrong with those people?

UPDATE - In response to a comment about Norway's debt, here's a 2012 chart from the IMF


Curiously enough you'll find the new, North American energy superpowers massively indebted.

6 comments:

Hugh said...

Canada's combined federal and provincial debt at $1.2 Trillion, according to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_public_debt

And if/when interest rates go up?

The Mound of Sound said...

If the rates go up? Well then so will our borrowing. Anything to kick that down the road to the next generation. It's the Harper way.

Anonymous said...

Having used Norway as an example for a long time as to how Canada ought to be socking it away for the future, it is delightful to read your now writing about it. Anyong

astone said...

How tough are their immigration policies . I feel like moving!

Don Bacon said...

Norway's debt is 760 billion Kr.

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