Posted on 10/26/2005 5:58:43 AM PDT by Eurotwit
People like kerry and biden think we ought to be more european too.
It's not just the personal, it's the elected officials on the left who want to make us more like france and germany.
G-D save us from these idiots.
I've been reading about the decline of the American work ethic for 25 years. It has yet to materialize, and won't any time soon.
I would suggest a refresher course in grammar for Mr. Glassman.
The issue of the U.S. leading in innovation and growth has more to do with our freedom and our economic structure as a mostly capitalist system.
Even if we don't produce the majority of the doctoral degrees or engineers in the world, many of those that are produced will be employed by U.S. companies directly or indirectly.
If we attempted to monopolize intellect, we'd stagnate. We just need to adapt the changes in the world and continue to innovate and grow, and the best way to do that is to keep our economic and commercial structures unencumbered.
I lived in Germany for 3 years (1982-1985) when I was in the service. Of course it was during the height of the cold war and they were glad to have us there, at least those who lived near the East German border. It was one of the most enjoyable places I have ever lived. The city of Fulda was clean, virtually no crime, no slums, no panhandlers, all the cars were well maintained, never saw one junker on the streets. Hausfraus would sweep their lawns with a broom. We had beer delivered weekly much as the old milkman used to deliver milk. If you wanted you could take your dog into a restaurant, and the germans did just that and you never knew they were there. Then there was the bier at the Kruezberg monastery, none better anywhere. (Sigh) I miss it, but not the times the siren would go off and we would have to go in on practice alerts at 3 AM.
Sweden has had 3.2% GDp growth this year and 5% unemployment. It goes to show the value of a well-trained workforce. One of the problems we will face in the future is the fact that a sizeable chunk of people are just "unproductive." They don't have the skills or will or worth ethic. Unless schools rise to the challenge, this could become a serious structural problem as India and China begin to nibble away at basic functions like R&D. The number of patents coming from labs in those countries is slowly but surely rising.
Not at all.
In far less time than that the standard of living in Europe will have dropped well below that in China or India, and Europe will have become a prime source for cheap, unskilled labor!
"I lived in Germany for 3 years (1982-1985) when I was in the service."
No offense meant, but to this NYer, it sounds awful!
I would say we are half way there. 90% of democrats act like them already
"The city of Fulda..."
Ah yes. The infamous Fulda Gap where Soviet tanks were going to barrel through to the plains of West Germany and beyond.
I used to do the occasional stint up on Mt. Meissner, waiting for "The Bear" to come...the good ole days!
I then went back 9 years later and noticed that it changed. There was grafitti everywhere and the people seemed disenchanted and cynical.
Maybe it was because the reunification with the East had not worked out as planned.
But tell us about the taxes in Germany - how was all this municipal perfection financed?
(Hint: I know the answer...)
The taxes were horrific, for the Germans. But because of the SOFA American service members were not required to pay the VAT, plus the exchange rate was great. I bought a new (1985) BMW 528e just before I left and paid $18,000, then priced the same car when I got back stateside, the sticker was $31,000.
This was early 2000.
Even while I was there, the further you got from the border the worse the Americans were treated. The germans who lived within sight of the fence and guard towers knew we were the only ones between them and the cossacks. I don't think they realized we were there only to slow them down until corps elements could be moved to meet an attack.
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