Combined with lax immigration, it certainly is. I'm from Belgium, and I would never give up healthcare, education or basic benefits. But The pendulum has swung too far.
In the US, Denmark is often taken as the perfect example of socialism done right. But people leave out 2 very important factors:
- Denmark has an abundance of national oil reserves, and exploited them very cleverly. (This is a big advantage to less fortunate nations)
- Denmark is much stricter (smarter) when it comes to taking in immigrants than France/Benelux
I think you might be thinking of Norway on the oil part. Denmark produces some oil, but not a particularly large amount, and almost entirely in the past 10 years. Tax/royalty revenues to the state now amount to about 3% of the state budget, which is a nice cushion, but not really the main source of funds.
I agree with you the pendulum has swung a bit far. But I think these sort of articles are just way off. Yes, there are bureaucracy and labour laws that are unhelpful. However, they are not the main reason Europe does not produce more entrepreneurs.
In the US, Denmark is often taken as the perfect example of socialism done right. But people leave out 2 very important factors:
- Denmark has an abundance of national oil reserves, and exploited them very cleverly. (This is a big advantage to less fortunate nations)
- Denmark is much stricter (smarter) when it comes to taking in immigrants than France/Benelux