Libertarian Contrarian ,

This was my first time listening to this episode. It was very interesting and informative, however what always seems to be missing from favorable reporting on the “successes” of socialist democracies is that they seem to work best in ethnically homogeneous societies (e.g. Norway), and that the only way these countries (I.e. most of Western Europe) can afford these very generous social programs is via the collection of value added taxes. Income taxes alone come nowhere close to funding them. Would Americans accept the introduction of a VAT? I’d wager not, given that consumption taxes disproportionately impact the poor.



If you are fortunate enough to be sitting on an enormous oil reserve (again, e.g. Norway), then this can reduce the VAT penalty on your citizens, but most countries are not in this fortunate position.