Pasadena Star News
By: Cynthia Kurtz
Posted 1/23/2014
Recently, I was one of a small band of Southern Californians who headed to lands north of the Arctic Circle in search of the northern lights. No matter how long you plan or how much cold you are willing to endure, there is no guarantee you will see the lights. We were fortunate. After four days of watching and waiting, the green curtain appeared and danced across the sky. It is a sight I will never forget.
Travel always includes so much more than you expected and Norway was no exception. This year the country that invented the cheese slicer is celebrating its 200th anniversary of their constitution. After years of rule by Sweden and Denmark, Norway became independent in the early 20th
century.
Not having their own line of monarchs to call on, the Norwegians elected Prince Carl of Denmark as King. Even so, Norway has never really trusted the other European countries. Several votes to join the Euro zone have failed and Norway remains one of the two Nordic countries which have not joined the EU. The Krone is still the national currency.
The economy of Norway is an amazing story. It was a relatively poor country based on fishing and ship-building until the mid-1970. Then the discovery of off-shore oil and gas reserves transformed everything. Wages went up, unemployment went down and the already extensive social welfare system was expanded.
Today Norway remains one of the world's largest oil exporters. Twenty percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) is from oil and gas. Showing its independence again, Norway decided to stay out of OPEC and keep its energy prices in line with world markets.
A rapidly expanding economy creates challenges as well as benefits. Norway is one of the most expensive countries in the world. While not a problem for the locals based on their salaries, a traveler may be shocked by a $30 hamburger.
As I was learning Norway's story I was struck with two things that made me think about California and the SGV. First, because things have been so good in Norway, there has been little incentive in the last 40 years to develop new industries. Even though 42 percent of the oil reserves are still to be extracted, local and national governments realize this is not sustainable. They are beginning to look for other private sector growth that will replace the energy sector in the future.
We face similar issues with the loss of manufacturing, filming and other industry sectors that have historically been important to our economy. We want to do what we can to keep and grow them here. But it is really difficult to hold on to a declining or fleeing industry sector. Equally important is identifying where our future economic growth and jobs will be and putting in place the support systems they need to sustain our future.
Second, learning English is mandatory in Norway starting in kindergarten. Many people speak additional languages. They respect and retain their culture but give their youth the tools to participate in the global economy. I think we would all agree that our youth deserve the same opportunities.
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