Denmark Challenges US 'Fake News' Report on Social Model

Denmark ripped an assessment by White House economic advisers trashing the Scandinavian nation’s social model and living standards as "fake news."

The 72-page report by the White House Council of Economic Advisers, titled "The Opportunity Costs of Socialism," determined living standards in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden to be "at least 15 percent lower than in the United States," CBS News reported.

Bring it on, Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen responded Monday.

In a Facebook post, Lokke said he would "participate at any time in a competition with the Americans on who has the best social model."

And Denmark "would win every time,” he declared, CBS News reported.

"Yes, we pay a lot in tax . . . but we get so much again," he added. "Our children can get an education — no matter who you are and where you come from. We can get to the hospital and get help if we get sick. Whether we have a special insurance or a lot of money in the bank. And if you become unemployed, run into problems, or otherwise need a helping hand, then the community is ready to seize and help one back on the right track."

A foreign policy spokesman for Denmark's opposition party, the Social Democrats, called the White House report a "scare tactic" ahead of the U.S. midterms, telling state broadcaster DR that the report should be filed under "fake news," CBS News reported.

As of 2016, average life expectancy in Denmark was nearly 81, with universal healthcare coverage. The U.S. life expectancy is 79, CBS News noted.

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