Can a Country Be Too Rich? Norway Is Finding Out

Sick Leave, Test Scores, and Possible Causes

• Some attribute rising sick leave and weaker student scores to COVID’s long-term effects; others point instead to demographics (aging population increasing health costs, fewer workers).
• A different line blames “demoralization” around work and study, suggesting welfare and social norms are eroding ambition; critics push back that this is moralizing and vague.
• Several commenters argue the indicators cited (sick leave, test scores, “bridges to nowhere”) look like manageable issues, not a crisis.

Welfare State, Work Incentives, and “Trust Fund Country”

• Debate over whether a rich sovereign wealth fund makes the country a “nation of trust-fund kids” at risk of aimlessness and waste.
• Some see higher welfare and sick leave as people “living off the state”; others say most beneficiaries are far from luxurious and often just “existing.”
• Question raised: if investment income from the rest of the world supports domestic consumption, is that fundamentally different from private rentier wealth—and is it sustainable or ethical?

Scale and Limits of the Oil Fund

• Multiple commenters note the fund is ~USD 340–400k per person, yielding perhaps USD 10–13k/year at safe withdrawal rates: a helpful supplement, not enough for universal idleness.
• Norway already has rules limiting annual use of fund returns; some advocate even stricter constitutional-style constraints.

Dutch Disease, Diversification, and Aging

• Concern that oil and gas dominance has crowded out other high-value sectors compared to Denmark/Sweden.
• Risk that future demand shifts or trade agreements could erode energy revenues, increasing temptation to raid the fund.
• Aging population plus generous social programs seen as the real structural test.

Privatization, Media, and Motives

• Several commenters read the critique as an elite/lobbyist push toward privatization and austerity: “plebs have it too good.”
• The book behind the article is described (by its critics) as deliberately provocative and, according to Norwegian institutions cited, error-prone.
• Broader meta-point: economic coverage tends to frame even prosperity as a problem (“too rich,” “overheating,” “lazy”).

Taxes, Business Climate, and Brain Drain (Domestic Tensions)

• One Norwegian entrepreneur describes wealth and exit taxes as pushing founders and capital abroad, forcing owners to sell to foreigners just to pay taxes.
• Another argues interest rates matter more than wealth tax, but agrees the new exit tax is poorly designed and distorting behavior.

Inequality, Capitalism, and the Meaning of Work

• Long subthread debates whether inequality itself is bad versus poverty and oligarchic power.
• Some argue rich societies risk “affluenza,” nihilism, and consumerist drift if material needs are met without higher purpose.
• Others counter that the real long-run goal of civilization should be minimizing drudgery, though several insist that a life without any work or contribution often feels empty.

Who Does the Work in a Rich Society?

• Hypotheticals about everyone being a millionaire lead to the question: who does essential labor (sanitation, logistics, care work)?
• Some say this implies needing a second-class workforce (immigrants or foreign workers); others argue “rich” should mean secure, well-paid work for all, not universal non-work.

Comparative and Global Angles

• The US is cited as another “too rich” example where abundance enabled extreme cost inflation (infrastructure, healthcare, education), blamed on poor governance and over-centralization.
• One commenter notes that global supply chains mean workers in poorer countries effectively support rich-country consumption, calling the overall economic order a “shit show,” though another points out Norway at least distributes resource rents domestically rather than only to billionaires.