Protesting in Oslo, Norway

Protesters, Oslo, Norway

While in Oslo we noticed a group of people gathering in a small square. Speakers were addressing a crowd who were holding signs and shouting slogans.

Of course, we don't speak Norwegian, so we had not idea what was going on. That is, until we went back to the hotel and looked at pictures of some of the signs the people were holding. We used Google Translate and saw that the signs were protesting the Government's Global Pension Fund.

Now, if you don't know what a government pension fund is, don't feel bad. I didn't either. So, I looked it up. Some people compare global pension funds to our Social Security System, but that's not quite right. While people in the United States pay Social Security taxes that are distributed to qualifying citizens (mostly the elderly), and can collect Social Security themselves upon retirement, a global pension fund, to my understanding, doesn't pay out to individuals. Instead, it is a fund that the government uses to pay for services when the economy slows down, kind of like a rainy day fund.

Norway was one of the poorest countries in Europe for most of the 20th century. That is, until oil was discovered. Now, Norway has the third highest per capita income in the world, 22% higher than the United States!

Instead of spending all that money that comes into the government coffers from oil drilling, the Norwegian government created their own Sovereign Wealth Fund, knowing that the oil good times wouldn't last forever. Oil prices ebb and flow, and Norwegians know that someday fossil fuels will either run dry or become an outmoded method of energy production.

And that's where the protests come in. Norwegians are protesting how their money is being invested (it is their tax dollars that go into the fund, after all). 

The Sovereign Wealth Fund is huge. With over $1 trillion in assets, it is by far the largest sovereign wealth fund in the world. With that much in assets, it wields tremendous power. And the Norwegian people know this. So, they protest things like the fund holding a $1.2 billion stake in oil pipeline companies. 

Or the massive BAE holding. The fund held almost 2% of the stock in defense company BAE before dropping it from the portfolio.

All this because of protests by the people of Norway. But, to be clear, protests alone did not lead to these changes. Norway prides itself on having a transparent government. And, the Sovereign Wealth Fund is no exception. The fund employs a Council of Ethics which reviews the fund's holdings. And, they take very seriously the complaints and recommendations of the citizens of Norway.

Imagine that, a government being responsive to the wants and needs of its citizenry. What will they think of next?

And, if you're not political, here's something for you. After the protesters finished (and cleaned up after themselves, by the way), a bachelor party took over the square.

Bachelor party, Oslo, Norway

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