Private-sector jobs same as 1950...

My idea is we arrest all the leftizoids and not let them go until they memorize this article:

When considering the Swedish model, one can be forgiven for thinking of a comely statuesque blond with blue eyes. However, to economists and policy junkies, the Swedish model refers to the "third way" between socialism and capitalism many on the American left laud as the ideal.

Does the Swedish model work as advertised? According to a new paper by the highly regarded Swedish economist, Nils Karlson, the "model has become quite different from what was intended and to what many people still believe to be the case."

The extent of the failure of the Swedish model are both shocking and little known. For example, no new net jobs have been produced in the Swedish private sector since 1950. (By contrast, the U.S. created more than 60 million new private-sector jobs during the same period, from 52 million in 1950 to about 115 million in 2002.) "None of top 50 companies on the Stockholm stock exchange has been started since 1970."

Again, contrast this with the U.S. where many of our biggest companies had not been born or known of in 1970, such as Microsoft, Intel, Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Cisco, etc., Mr. Karlson's litany of failures of the Swedish model include: "Sweden has dropped from fourth to 14th place in 2002 among the OECD countries (i.e., affluent industrialized countries) in terms of GDP per capita since 1970."....(thanks to Pedro)

What's really frustrating is that countries like Sweden (Germany's another) developed their mighty industrial economies while they had LOW TAXES and a lot of capitalist freedom. Then the Socialists take over, the economy plateaus, but all the leftniks get to spend the next 40 years saying "Look how well Sweden works. We should emulate their success."

I suspect one reason the lefty caterpillars are acting so demented these days is because that claim is almost exhausted. Because ALL the economies that are supposedly more successful than us brutal free-enterprise types are looking like beached whales.