The American Dregnis in traditional Norwegian garb
Bernie Sanders unashamedly looks to Scandinavia for a model for healthcare, education and, well, taxes. My wife and I packed up and moved to Norway for a year to experience this supposed Nordic paradise, even if some back home thought I would become “a mush-headed socialist.” I had received a Fulbright fellowship to study in Trondheim, but the only catch was that my wife, Katy, was pregnant.
The healthcare insurance for Fulbright is administered through the State Department, the same system that covers our senators and representatives. You’ve probably heard that this is the “best healthcare coverage in the world,” but I checked the small print. It said, “Pregnancy is a pre-existing condition” and not covered under the plan, as if it’s some sort of disease.
We had to forfeit the fellowship, so I called up the office for international students in Trondheim to break the bad news. “Oh, you Americans! You have such funny issues,” the Norwegian woman replied. “That’s not a problem […]
