Exactly one of the nordic countries has relevant amounts of oil money. What works there can't be 1:1 transferred to a random other country, but "OMG they have free money" is not the reason. All countries pay for "free stuff" in some way or the other. Extremely low effort article.
Germany, socialist, free university, free healthcare, no oil. The us could easily afford such things, it is just a matter of priorities. This article is short sighted and uninformed.