The statistics are misleading, but the problems they point out are inherent in the political system of Norway. The distribution of wealth using taxes (income, land and VAT) for all political parties is more or less the same. T
here are few really rich people and few poor people. The real difference to the US as I see it is the purchase power of the middle class and upper middle class. In Norway, oil and the middle class is paying the bill for the expansive and expensive state. 5 years of uni education only gets you a 25%-40% extra pay when you start out (compared to uneducated work), but makes it possible to double it over time.