EU economy 'at least 20 years' behind US

EUObserver ^

[Hardastarboard]

If it weren't for socialism and the Democratic Party (I'm repeating myself, I know), we'd be 50 years ahead of the EU.

[Flash Bazbeaux]

It struck me as stupid, also. Why? Because an economy is not a "march of progress" toward a particular goal. You could say that technology is twenty years behind, meaning Europe is using technology of the 1980s. You could say that standards of living are 20 years behind, meaning that Europeans have the standard of living that the US had in the 80s. These are aspects that relate to economies that do progress over time, but the "economy" itself does not. In fact, economies are cyclical. As one poster said, I wish we had the economy of 20 years ago now.

As for "it will take decades to catch up", no kidding. If they are 20 years behind, one would figure it would take two decades just to get where we are now, from which point we would have moved on.

[ricks_place]

The metrics employed by this paper are simply wrong. Using economic measures as the sole criteria for economic performance is implicitly biased against human metrics. The human experience is littered with failures attributable to the abandonment of the essential human condition. Humanity is simply not just money. The EU economy and indeed all economies should be compared on the appropriate scale. These scales are enumerated.

1) Lower levels of CO2 gases per capita. Economic cost are irrelevant. The environment is god.
2) Higher levels of unemployment with a commensurate crippling social safety net. Teach a man to fish and he will feed himself during his life, give a man an EU fish and he will vote for the party during his life.
3) Institutionalized corruption for the sake of the politicians. Oil for food, oil for EU politicians.
4) Amoral deviancy promoted.
5) Ghettoizing of Muslim immigrants. Invite the guest workers and then put them out of sight.
6) Passive aggressive support of anti-Semitism to control the unchecked masses of immigrants.
7) Zero population growth. Negative is better. The next generation is irrelevant.

Substitute these metrics and the EU wins!

[SunkenCiv]

EU economy ‘at level of US in 1970s'
Financial Times | 03/10/05 | Tobias Buck
Posted on 03/10/2005 7:26:13 PM PST by Pikamax
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1360493/posts

[SunkenCiv]

EU economy 'at least 20 years' behind US
EUobserver.com | 03.11.2005 | Richard Carter
Posted on 03/11/2005 11:25:35 PM PST by Jumper
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1361327/posts