[livius]

Jordi, I'd assume you're a Catalan leftist.

I've spent a lot of time in your country and, frankly, until Aznar got into power and conditions loosened up for business, things weren't good there. When I go to Barcelona now, I see new businesses on every side. 10 years ago, under PSOE, Barcelona (and Madrid) had nothing but decaying businesses that had probably been there since the time of Franco.

I don't know how old you are, but I suggest you go back and do a little historical tracking of figures.

The United States is not only a country: it's a principle, economic as well as political, and I think you'll find that Spain's growth in the last few years has been way beyond what it was in the dreary European Socialist years.

[Jordi]

You said the United States are a principle: I agree. I can't say Europe is a principe,it's a pot of principles,ideas, but there are some common denominators that mark a sharp difference vs. the United States.

I'm a leftist, but in no way I'm a socialist:I love free market, favorable business enviroments, I hate infernal bureaucracy,granted-for-life jobs, pensions to people in their early 50s. I got passports of 2 EU countries, I know quite well Spain,Sweden,Germany,Italy because I got relatives and lived there in different periods. So I'm one of the strange few animals that can call themselves "Europeans". Perhpas you have noticed that I didn't say "I hate high taxes". Infact I don't hate high taxes,in principle. I had the experience to live in some areas where services were VERY good,and I'm the living proof of this,since in my early years I had diverse and prolonged medical surgeries/treatments. Without them, my actual life woulnd't be excellent as it is. And in no way my family could have paid for that,much less if I were form one of that American families without healt insurance. I experienced (enjoyed) some high-taxes = great services enviroments (and those were the richest area of Europe too,what a contraddiction!), and I know they aren't utopia, only they are hard to preserve since greed & dishonestty easly infect politicians,as well as the creation of niches of privileges protected by layers of bureaucracy

"Big governments" can be a "productive" way of administrate a community only when institutions,public services work as they were private companies. I think most of EU big loads and red tapes are at a national level. The central EU government should manage foreign policy and defense. Most economic,social,fiscal policies should be decided at a local level,since Europeans are very tied to their local communities,that can be very different in term of needs and potentials. So my favorite model of Europe is that of a "federation of regions", with national goverments little more than empty boxes. In this way local governors would have more powers and would be under the vigilant scrutiny of the local community,that could identify a resposable for mismanagements. Now the EU is bureaucratic,that's true,there are too many,conflicting, decisional levels. Some politicians occupy more seats,and it isn't clear who elected them. If a local community (that could be made of millions of people,not necessarily a small village) want wealth redistribution and expensive social services,it could be competitive,if it works like an organization in a competitive enviroment. It worked for whole EU countries in the past (remember old grand Western Germany?). It works for some regional-sized countries now: notably the Netherland and Finland who ranks at the top of world competitiveness tables (with the US) see this and that .

Another chapter. The US people where mainly populated by Europeans that where of two kinds:the ones that didn't find their place at home,because they where unhappy of the local community or where rejected by it. Those who remained were feeling comfortable in the local community ,with or without a valuable position in it. Anyway the key is the community,call it family,village or region. Americans have a community ,that is made of the whole US,that's way they easily travel to change job or look for fortune. And that's way they don't ask the community anything but a battlefield to fight freely and gain their wealth/power. (Most) Europeans want also a safenet, a guarantee that if anything goes wrong in your life you are not rejected, your sons will not be ghetto's rubbish. No private insurance can give you this. In "the land of opportunity" (the US) a significant part of your life is decided by birth:your race,the wealth of your family is a strong limit/agevolation to what you can become. A battlefield with big prizes for the winners vs a race where the last is given a cup of tea too.