To the editor:

George Gurley’s June 5 column really missed the mark! He said there were 23 kinds of deodorant here but only one in a socialist state. One local supermarket has 29, although fine print reveals most are from three multinationals: Unilever, P&G or Colgate, regardless of label.

I’ve been to Venezuela twice. They’ve the world’s largest oil deposits and claim to be a socialist state. But, it is actually run by a left-wing dictatorship that constantly rigs elections while leaders transfer money to foreign banks, as revealed by the “Panama Papers.” Due to the grossly mismanaged economy, you probably can’t find even one brand of deodorant on their bare store shelves. (But, you don’t have to go to Caracas to see a mismanaged economy, just to Topeka.)

I’ve visited Scandinavia five times. Norway is a socialist state with huge oil reserves. In Narvik, north of the Arctic Circle, there are many brands of deodorants, with emphasis on natural products. They didn’t use their oil wealth to buy weapons, like Saudi Arabia, or to give income tax breaks, like Alaska. They invested in a sovereign wealth fund that now tops $900 BILLION. When the oil is gone, the fund’s earnings will yield as much as the royalties did. In their free and democratic society, they routinely elect socialists.

Scandinavians are content with high taxes because their society overcomes inequalities of birth, levels the field and provides education, health care and longevity superior to ours.