Fortunately, there aren't a whole lot of lines for consumer goods in Finland. Also, I would suggest that they are very different than the Swedish and Norwegian economies, but not when it comes to prices. Denmark is it's own story. However, the tax rate in all these countries is about 1/2 your income and that doesn't include the "effective tax rate" (includes all taxes from regulation, sales, value added, etc.). The waiting lines are for public "freebies", but also public restrooms in which you have to pay to pee (a lot of that in Europe). I love to visit all the Scandinavian countries, but only visit. I could never imagine living in any of them - so expensive for basic things.