Lets see how right Mr. Jorge is?
GDP per capita
1.Luxembourg 59,143
2.Norway 48,412
3.Switzerland 43,553
4.Denmark 39,332
5.Ireland 38,487
6.United States 37,648
7.Iceland 36,377
United Kingdom 30,253
France 29,410
Germany 29,115
Italy 25,471
You see Mr. Jorge should learn a little bit before answering so harsh. He probably thinks there are just four countries in Western Europe. UK, France, Germany and Italy. Its true that the big European countries are underperforming, but there are many mid sized and smaller countries that perform pretty good.
Who cares about GDP per capita for a few little countries in Europe?
The GDP of the ENTIRE European Union ( what is it, 25 nations?) just barely surpases that of ONE NATION, the United States of America.
That's pretty pathetic.
My point was that the US affords more of the so-called finer things of European culture to far more of it's own citizens than any country in Europe could ever hope to.
1.Luxembourg 59,143
2.Norway 48,412
3.Switzerland 43,553
4.Denmark 39,332
5.Ireland 38,487
6.United States 37,648
7.Iceland 36,377
United Kingdom 30,253
France 29,410
Germany 29,115
Italy 25,471
The numbers I get are a bit different from yours. What's your source? These are from the CIA Factbook website. This is just a sampling. Also, these are estimated 2004 figures. I didn't go through all countries.
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html
GDP Per Capita (Purchasing Power Parity)
Luxembourg $58,900 (2004 est.)
United States $40,100 (2004 est)
Norway $40,000 (2004 est.)
Denmark $32,200 (2004 est.)
Sweden $28,400 (2004 est.)
Germany $28,700 (2004 est.)