The Curious Capitalist, Justin Fox, Economy, Markets, Business, TIME

January 18, 2008 6:15

Should Danes lower taxes or just say 'hello' more often?

Posted by Justin Fox | Comments (7) | Permalink | Trackbacks (0) | Email This

The long-running saga of Danish taxes and skilled workers has taken a dramatic new twist, with the broadcast on Danish TV Wednesday night of an episode of the financial news show Magasinet Penge titled Kold dansk skulder til udenlandsk arbejdskraft, which means just what you think it means (if you think it means "Cold Danish shoulder to foreign workers").

If you're really interested you can watch it online (although on my browser it came up on a super-tiny screen that I couldn't enlarge). Much is in English, including this quote from a former Seattleite (her husband works for Microsoft) right at the beginning of the show:

Initially, people don't smile at you and they don't say hi.

Or to quote another American living in Denmark, Laura Stadler-Jensen, whose blog pointed me to the broadcast in the first place:

It’s something I always notice when I return to Denmark after being away for a trip home to the States. I go to the grocery store and no one, not a single person is speaking to each other. It’s a silent store with crowds of people. The check out clerk doesn’t say hello or even give you a glance. As I stand ready to pay, I feel a little bit like a ghost with a nameless face. To take this further into building relationships with Danes, that’s another matter. Danes are very private and I respect that. I know it takes a while to get to know them. I am married to one! But, it seems they have a very difficult time making casual acquaintances and perhaps view making new friends as something they don’t need because they already have all the people in their life that they need or want. For an outsider, it makes it impossible to open the door to something that may just be meaningful.

So there you have it. The Danes don't necessarily need to lower their tax rates to attract and retain skilled foreign workers. They just need to say hi more often! Well, actually, hej.

Update: My Danish-American cousin (who lives in Denmark) writes:

I go to the States to stand in line! I miss talking with people that I will never see again.

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Reader Comments (7)

mediasux:

Wow. That Ms. Standler-Jensen sure has quite the ego on her, doesn't she. I mean "For an outsider, it makes it impossible to open the door to something that may just be meaningful."?!?!

Rather than recognize/accept that Danes are satisfied/content with their lives, she insists that they are somehow lacking because they don't "open the door" to her and her wonderful, potentially "meaningful" self. Ms Standler-Jensen would probably be far better off learning how to achieve the contentment of Danes, instead of spending her life in search of "meaningful" relationships.

Posted by mediasux | January 18, 2008 8:57 AM

Justin Fox:

Hey, lay off her! She married a Dane, and I think she's trying to distinguish between casual and real relationships. I mean, what I've often heard from Northern Europeans living in the U.S. is that it's extremely easy to make casual friends here but hard to make real ones.

Posted by Justin Fox | January 18, 2008 9:11 AM

cph2002:

Hello...Maybe my comment was misunderstood. It's hard to describe a general public temperament. The main issue is people not really acknowledging one another as well as Danes' stance towards foreigners. It’s a strange vibe to walk down the street or down a path in a forest or bump into someone by accident and the other person completely ignoring you. What I mean by meaningful is a smile, a nod, a split second of eye contact to acknowledge that you see the other person and maybe even smile and spread some good energy.

It’s not that I am looking for a meaningful relationship with a shop keeper or that I have so much to offer in my “wonderful, potentially ‘meaningful’ self,” it just makes it really difficult to make connections no matter how small or large.

When Bill Clinton was here to promote his book recently, he made a speech and explained how Africans meet one another on a path. He said the say, “I see you,” instead of saying “hello.” In America people do “see” each other in some way no matter what they are doing. In Denmark, they don’t.

Also, I am not speaking for everyone. There are instances when you can start up a casual conversation but it is rare. And it is possible to make long-lasting relationships with Danes, it's just not as easy. It is more natural for Americans, which is why Danes or Europeans in general think Americans are shallow. There is a fine line and balance on what is appropriate of course. I encourage you to read the comments from other foreigners in Denmark to get a better feel for what others have experienced here.

Sincerely,
Laura Stadler-Jensen

Posted by cph2002 | January 18, 2008 1:28 PM

That Anonymous Dude:

Surely lower taxes would give them a reason to smile more? The options are not mutually exclusive...

Posted by That Anonymous Dude | January 18, 2008 4:14 PM

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I agree, lower taxes should hopefully give them a bit of a smile.

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Posted by web design | January 19, 2008 6:05 PM

yenchung:

Hello everyone,
Yep i agree that the Danes they are quite cold in many ways. My boyfriend is Danish too. He has been living in Asia for quite a while, probably 8 yrs. Now he has been in Vietnam for 4 yrs. According to him, even there are only 2 person in the lift, but they have never talked to each other or at least try to glance their eyes over your face, let along say hi. But my boyfriend is not any among them. He greets everyone he meets with a warm smile although that is just a street vendor and make jokes all the time. We often make fun of him saying that he is actually not Danish but Aussie as most of his friends are Australian. That is why he got impact.
Yen from Vietnam

Posted by yenchung | June 23, 2008 12:28 PM

yenchung:

hello everyone,

Posted by yenchung | June 23, 2008 12:30 PM