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Visitors from Sweden

Over the years, the Atlas Cement Company Memorial Museum has hosted visitors from many foreign nations, from India to the People’s Republic of China. A few weeks ago, we had our first visitors from Sweden.

Dr. Malin Dahlstrom holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Gothenburg. Her sister Emma, also a graduate of the university, visited the National Archives in Washington, D.C., to do research on industrial labor relations. They discovered the Atlas museum is the only institution in the United States devoted to the cement industry. They also visited the historic Shoefer Kilns in Coplay.

They appreciated the museum’s exhibits and were surprised by the detail of the displays. During the visit, we had a very informative discussion concerning life in Sweden. Gothenburg is the second largest city in Sweden with a population of 520,000, founded in 1621. Today the city is a strong knowledge and informational hub with its research-intensive pharmaceutical and automotive industries as well as higher education, IT and media production.

The University of Gothenburg was established in 1891 with the help of private donations. Today the university has 37,000 students in undergraduate and master’s levels. There are 1,830 students in the doctoral level. In 2014, 282 doctoral degrees were awarded.

The curriculum is quite complete, including pharmacy, medicine, odontology, health sciences, business, economics, law, education, information technology, fine arts, natural sciences and performing arts. There are 38 departments.

The university employs 6,189 people, including 530 professors, 2,903 teaching staff researchers and a technical staff of 2,000.

I asked the ladies about their parents.

“They operate a large dairy farm with a herd of 120 cows,” one answered.

What are Sweden’s top policies?

The government taxes are deducted directly from employees’ pay checks. They pay for a comprehensive health program and for education from elementary school to a university education.

They stated Sweden is a large country with a population of 9.5 million. The population growth is extremely low. Both ladies indicated they were well pleased with the policies and standard of living in their country.

Our friend Larry Oberly related some interesting facts about Sweden.

The average monthly disposable salary after taxes in Sweden is $3,181.11 and in the U.S. is $3,258.85.

A McDonald’s meal in Sweden is $9.95 and in the U.S. is $6. The price of a cinema ticket in Sweden is $16.83 and in the U.S. is $10. Basic utilities in Sweden are $126.45 and in the U.S. are $162.08, as 35.6 percent of Sweden’s power needs are supplied by renewable energy sources.

Voter turnout in Sweden far exceeds that of the U.S., with the participation of 86 percent of eligible voters actually voting.

When asked to rate their general satisfaction with life on a scale from 0 to 10, Swedes gave it a 7.2 grade.

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If you our readers have never been to the Atlas museum, take some time and visit us!

PRESS PHOTO COURTESY OF LARRY OBERLYA professor from the University of Gothenburg recently visited the Atlas Cement Company Memorial Museum.