No Bernie, Denmark is Not a Socialist Utopia

 Socialist/communist presidential candidate Bernie Sanders loves to sing the praises of a small Scandinavian country, Denmark. It seems he has fallen out of love with his previous favorite countries, the Soviet Union and Cuba, which he “warmly praised” in the late 1980s. 

Every Democrat candidate is pushing for a higher minimum wage, yet Denmark has none.

Denmark has some of the most aggressive anti-immigrant policies in Europe. That has included taking out foreign-newspaper adverts warning potential migrants that they are not welcome, and authorizing police to seize cash and valuables from arriving asylum seekers to offset the cost of their maintenance.

How do taxes compare? After all, how does Denmark pay for their welfare benefits? From CNN,

"Free" is actually the wrong word to describe these services. Danes pay some of the highest taxes in the world, including a 25% tax on all goods and services, a top marginal tax rate hovering near 60%. The top tax rate in the U.S., by comparison, is less than 40%.

Nothing is truly free. Taxes simply take money from citizens, purchasing “benefits” that some use or want and others don’t. Minus a hefty administrative fee to redistribute everyone’s income. Hardly free.