5 myths about Old Europe

C

Cypress

Well-known member
I'd like 5 weeks of vacation.

Where would you rather live? Alabama? Or Denmark?


5 Myths About Sick Old Europe

Wash Post
Sunday, October 7, 2007; Page B03

In the global economy, today's winners can become tomorrow's losers in a twinkling, and vice versa. Not so long ago, American pundits and economic analysts were snidely touting U.S. economic superiority to the "sick old man" of Europe. What a difference a few months can make. Today, with the stock market jittery over Iraq, the mortgage crisis, huge budget and trade deficits, and declining growth in productivity, investors are wringing their hands about the U.S. economy. Meanwhile, analysts point to the roaring economies of China and India as the only bright spots on the global horizon.

But what about Europe? You may be surprised to learn how our estranged transatlantic partner has been faring during these roller-coaster times -- and how successfully it has been knocking down the Europessimist myths about it.

1. The sclerotic European economy is incapable of leading the world.

Who're you calling sclerotic? The European Union's $16 trillion economy has been quietly surging for some time and has emerged as the largest trading bloc in the world, producing nearly a third of the global economy. That's more than the U.S. economy (27 percent) or Japan's (9 percent). Despite all the hype, China is still an economic dwarf, accounting for less than 6 percent of the world's economy. India is smaller still.

The European economy was never as bad as the Europessimists made it out to be. From 2000 to 2005, when the much-heralded U.S. economic recovery was being fueled by easy credit and a speculative housing market, the 15 core nations of the European Union had per capita economic growth rates equal to that of the United States. In late 2006, they surpassed us. Europe added jobs at a faster rate, had a much lower budget deficit than the United States and is now posting higher productivity gains and a $3 billion trade surplus

2. Nobody wants to invest in European companies and economies because lack of competitiveness makes them a poor bet.

Wrong again. Between 2000 and 2005, foreign direct investment in the E.U. 15 was almost half the global total, and investment returns in Europe outperformed those in the United States. "Old Europe is an investment magnet because it is the most lucrative market in the world in which to operate," says Dan O'Brien of the Economist.

Snip….

3. Europe is the land of double-digit unemployment.

Not anymore. Half of the E.U. 15 nations have experienced effective full employment during this decade, and unemployment rates have been the same as or lower than the rate in the United States. Unemployment for the entire European Union, including the still-emerging nations of Central and Eastern Europe, stands at a historic low of 6.7 percent. Even France, at 8 percent, is at its lowest rate in 25 years.

That's still higher than U.S. unemployment, which is 4.6 percent, but let's not forget that many of the jobs created here pay low wages and include no benefits. In Europe, the jobless still have access to health care, generous replacement wages, job-retraining programs, housing subsidies and other benefits. In the United States, by contrast, the unemployed can end up destitute and marginalized.

4. The European "welfare state" hamstrings businesses and hurts the economy.

Beware of stereotypes based on ideological assumptions. As Europe's economy has surged, it has maintained fairness and equality. Unlike in the United States, with its rampant inequality and lack of universal access to affordable health care and higher education, Europeans have harnessed their economic engine to create wealth that is broadly distributed.
Europeans still enjoy universal cradle-to-grave social benefits in many areas.

They get quality health care, paid parental leave, affordable childcare, paid sick leave, free or nearly free higher education, generous retirement pensions and quality mass transit. They have an average of five weeks of paid vacation (compared with two for Americans) and a shorter work week. In some European countries, workers put in one full day less per week than Americans do, yet enjoy the same standard of living
Snip…..

Continued


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/05/AR2007100501041.html
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They get quality health care, paid parental leave, affordable childcare, paid sick leave, free or nearly free higher education, generous retirement pensions and quality mass transit. They have an average of five weeks of paid vacation (compared with two for Americans) and a shorter work week. In some European countries, workers put in one full day less per week than Americans do, yet enjoy the same standard of living
Snip…..

Oh it sounds like hell.
 
Darla said:
They get quality health care, paid parental leave, affordable childcare, paid sick leave, free or nearly free higher education, generous retirement pensions and quality mass transit. They have an average of five weeks of paid vacation (compared with two for Americans) and a shorter work week. In some European countries, workers put in one full day less per week than Americans do, yet enjoy the same standard of living
Snip…..

Oh it sounds like hell.
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Oh, the horror!
 
I don't know about you two, but I don't want to live in a world that has more than two weeks of vacation. Its just to frightening to think about.
 
They get quality health care, paid parental leave, affordable childcare, paid sick leave, free or nearly free higher education, generous retirement pensions and quality mass transit. They have an average of five weeks of paid vacation (compared with two for Americans) and a shorter work week. In some European countries, workers put in one full day less per week than Americans do, yet enjoy the same standard of living
Snip…..


While I must say that I admire Scandinavian tolerance (I walked around Copenhagen in my best Evening gown, without drawing stares), I will say this: I will fight this kind of socialism until my dying breath.

Republican brethren, who’s with me??!!!!

Our battle cry: Five weeks of vacation over our Dead Bodies!!!


Cheers,

Rudy
 
Toe-Tapper said:
They get quality health care, paid parental leave, affordable childcare, paid sick leave, free or nearly free higher education, generous retirement pensions and quality mass transit. They have an average of five weeks of paid vacation (compared with two for Americans) and a shorter work week. In some European countries, workers put in one full day less per week than Americans do, yet enjoy the same standard of living
Snip…..


While I must say that I admire Scandinavian tolerance (I walked around Copenhagen in my best Evening gown, without drawing stares), I will say this: I will fight this kind of socialism until my dying breath.

Republican brethren, who’s with me??!!!!

Our battle cry: Five weeks of vacation over our Dead Bodies!!!


Cheers,

Rudy
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LOL :clink:
 
And yet more people immigrate and want to immigrate to America than Europe, including people from Europe.

Unfortunately for the Liberal Democrats, people are not interested in what government can give them or make companies give them when it equates to more of their income confiscated in taxes, a higher cost of living due to higher taxes, more mandated expenses factored into the cost of goods and services (ie: longer VACATION) and more regulations.

They choose economic freedom over economic security and this great nation is far stronger in the long term for that.

And notice how Liberals love to praise Europe but none of them ever bother to do us all a favor and move there?

There's no country on the planet with a better Constitution to let us live how we want to.

:usflag: :usflag: :usflag:
 
Whenever Europe united to become a single economic bloc, it did a lot for their member nations. Of course, the protectionists were yelling the the Czechs would steal all of their jobs, but it seems that free trade turned around the European spiral.
 
Warren said:
*Cue Lynard Skynard*
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Oh absolutely. Seriously, I wouldn't want to live anywhere else than where I live now, and that includes Alabama. But if forced to move (again) I would choose some rural place in a southern/midwestern state.
 
leaningright said:
Oh absolutely. Seriously, I wouldn't want to live anywhere else than where I live now, and that includes Alabama. But if forced to move (again) I would choose some rural place in a southern/midwestern state.
Click to expand...

The thing I love about Alabama is that we are the most anti-tax state in the country by most standards of judgement. The thing I do not love is that we are also one of the lowest in education and (completely unrelated I'm sure) have one of the highest levels of fundamentalism.

So it's a tradeoff.

Europe: Socialism, High Taxes, and Social Freedom

Alabama: Fiscal Responsibility, Growth Policies, and Theocracy.
 
Warren said:
The thing I love about Alabama is that we are the most anti-tax state in the country by most standards of judgement. The thing I do not love is that we are also one of the lowest in education and (completely unrelated I'm sure) have one of the highest levels of fundamentalism.

So it's a tradeoff.

Europe: Socialism, High Taxes, and Social Freedom

Alabama: Fiscal Responsibility, Growth Policies, and Theocracy.
Click to expand...

Alabama has low taxes. And your infrastructure is crumbling, and you have terrible education.

Anyone else see a pattern?
 
Warren said:
The thing I love about Alabama is that we are the most anti-tax state in the country by most standards of judgement. The thing I do not love is that we are also one of the lowest in education and (completely unrelated I'm sure) have one of the highest levels of fundamentalism.

So it's a tradeoff.

Europe: Socialism, High Taxes, and Social Freedom

Alabama: Fiscal Responsibility, Growth Policies, and Theocracy.
Click to expand...

Yes, I understand. I will point out here that I am not totally against what some people would refer to as a "theocracy."
 
Warren said:
*Cue Lynard Skynard*
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I like Warren Zevon's version better, have you heard it?

Grandpa pissed his pants again
He don't give a damn
Brother Billy has both guns drawn
He ain't been right since Vietnam

"Sweet home Alabama"
Play that dead band's song
Turn those speakers up full blast
Play it all night long

Daddy's doing Sister Sally
Grandma's dying of cancer now
The cattle all have brucellosis
We'll get through somehow

"Sweet home Alabama"
Play that dead band's song
Turn those speakers up full blast
Play it all night long

I'm going down to the Dew Drop Inn
See if I can drink enough
There ain't much to country living
Sweat, piss, jizz and blood

"Sweet home Alabama"
Play that dead band's song
Turn those speakers up full blast
Play it all night long
 
There isn't some kind of magical linkup between having low taxes and having a good economy. Sometimes raising taxes is good for the economy, sometimes it isn't. It depends. Alabama has low taxes, and it costs them a lot.
 
Warren said:
The thing I love about Alabama is that we are the most anti-tax state in the country by most standards of judgement. The thing I do not love is that we are also one of the lowest in education and (completely unrelated I'm sure) have one of the highest levels of fundamentalism.

So it's a tradeoff.

Europe: Socialism, High Taxes, and Social Freedom

Alabama: Fiscal Responsibility, Growth Policies, and Theocracy.
Click to expand...

But the thing is you don't have the most important social freedom in Europe which is the right to bear arms.
 
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