Europe going Bankrupt due to social spending. (compare, national debt, Michigan)
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LOL... The reason they don't care to do those things you listed is because they simply can't AFFORD to do them. Also, you say that most of Europe has better housing conditions than America? You just lost ALL credibility if you even had any. Tell us, How do Europeans save all this money when ~60% is taken in taxes? Sounds like an extremely boring place to live. Have at it.
LOL...you're living in the most debt ridden first world country on the planet, and you want to denigrate another continent. Fix your own house first before tossing insults.
I mean..."cant afford?" I got news for ya chap, most Americans who buy all that crap CAN'T AFFORD it either! It's all done on credit for the most part. You know it and i know it...so get a grip.
After now having come back from Europe after living there for a good 8 months I am now understanding just why taxes and even Social Spending are taking our country and their various ones into debt... and in turn why and how the unemployment rate in larger areas of the country is enormous. Most countries in Europe do not have massive millitary budgets, nor do they have things like Iraq/Afghanistan to worry about... yet a lot of them are massively in debt.
...Iraq and Afghanistan were one shot expenditures and done... Not so with Europe.
Excellent post overall. I'll never stop wondering why we continue to follow their path, even when it has been proven to lead to disaster.
The only thing I disagree with is the statement "Iraq and Afghanistan were one shot expenditures and done." Our government is bankrupting us by trying to fund both massive social expenditures AND a massive military. It's the classic "Guns versus Butter" debate, but our Leaders want to maximize both. Consequently, the $14 trlllion Federal Debt is still growing.
Even if the wars were to end in 2017 (which is a huge assumption considering both the Dems and the Repubs in Washington are owned by the Military-Industrial Complex), "The CBO estimates assume that 75,000 troops will remain in both countries through 2017, including roughly 50,000 in Iraq." War costs may total $2.4 trillion - USATODAY.com At close to $1 million per day per serviceman, the cost is hardly "done."
These two wars have already cost us over $1 trillion dollars: "The war expense topped $1 trillion in December 2009, when U.S. lawmakers approved the fiscal 2010 defense spending bill that included about $130 billion to be spent on the two conflicts through Sept. 30, 2010." Q+A-Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan tops $1 trillion | Reuters
But we're not even halfway through this spending spree: "The cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan could total $2.4 trillion through the next decade, or nearly $8,000 per man, woman and child in the country, according to a Congressional Budget Office estimate scheduled for release Wednesday." To add insult to taxpayer injury, let's not forget that we will also have to pay "$705 billion in interest, taking into account that the conflicts are being funded with borrowed money." War costs may total $2.4 trillion - USATODAY.com
I know this is off-topic, so back to the point of the post: Social services are important in any nation, but when a government grows to huge size trying to guarantee everyone not just survival, but an upper-Middle-Class lifestyle, then the economy will be suffocated. And since the health of the economy is the main determinant of individual prosperity and opportunity, this approach is counter-productive.
That it is so great over there. So much of a better life than here. If it is, why did you come back?
Because this is my damn country, that's why. And i'm not talking about myself in this case, i'm talking about the state of the continents in comparison. I didn't necessarily have a "better life" there. I had a good life there and i have a good life here. The only difference being that there is more to do and see there as opposed to here.
LOL...you're living in the most debt ridden first world country on the planet, and you want to denigrate another continent. Fix your own house first before tossing insults.
I mean..."cant afford?" I got news for ya chap, most Americans who buy all that crap CAN'T AFFORD it either! It's all done on credit for the most part. You know it and i know it...so get a grip.
I could afford a big TV, but I still have one of those 14" CRT ones, and I love it and won't replace it as long as it works Since the screen is small, I don't need a big room to look at it from a distance as with those monster plasma thingies
Millions of people in France and Germany live in shanty towns because they can't afford anything. Every week these over-taxed people march thru the major streets with signs and shouting that they want the American Way. Just about all Europeans want to replace their disasterous healthcare system with one that's similar to America's. Of course, the European media won't show this because they are dedicated to the commie cause.
Yes, in Europe they pay 5 to 15 Euros for city transit. That's a whole lot more than riding a city bus in America for only $6.
Yet, the saddest part of Europe is that they have no hope...not many understand the hope that Jesus gives. But those immoral Europeans have removed god from their schools and daily lives, now they only can look forward to suffering in the eternal Lake of Fire.
Say what? I have relatives in Europe and they wouldn't change healthcare systems with us for a million dollars. (That is not saying they don't have other problems...but we have our own problems here, no?)
And millions of Americans live in the equivalent of "shanty towns" too.
And are you suggesting there are no Christians in Europe?
Sheesh...
Say what? I have relatives in Europe and they wouldn't change healthcare systems with us for a million dollars. (That is not saying they don't have other problems...but we have our own problems here, no?)
And millions of Americans live in the equivalent of "shanty towns" too.
And are you suggesting there are no Christians in Europe?
Sheesh...
They have an age problem instead. Read an article yesterday which said Germany will run out of skilled workers in the near future (German Telekom and similar companies already have thousands of vacancies they can't fill) as more and more people reach retirement age. Some suggest more immigration, but language is a huge barrier...
Plus, there is a fatal dependence on exports (of goods) and imports (of natural resources).
So Germany's current success is built on shaky ground...
Given the current state of the American economy what is there to build on?
The American economy is currently built on most people having service related jobs. We've become a nation of strip malls and fast food joints. There is a manufacturing sector that has declined significantly as a percentage of the overall economy for the past 30 years. Banks and financial institutions have slowed their investment growth in this country drastically since 2001. At the same time they've dramatically increased their investments in emerging market nations.
Basically the people who get ahead in America are now talented and highly skilled people who can market their skills to a variety of clients, and investors and speculators with the knowledge and skills to profit in the international financial markets and business owners. Wage earners are now commodities that have seen little wage growth in the past decade.
There is also an age problem ahead for America as the Baby Boom generation heads toward retirement with a Social Security and Medicare system that may not be able to accommodate them all. On top of that our education K-12 system is no longer competitive with other developed or developing countries and our national infrastructure system is in decline. On top of all these social problems related to racial tensions in this country will increase dramatically in the next 20 years as the United States goes through the biggest demographic change in its history.
If Europe in on shaky ground, then America is on crumbling ground.
The next 20 years will test which economic systems in the world the best and which countries have the most capable leadership.
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Since the screen is small, I don't need a big room to look at it from a distance as with those monster plasma thingies 
You could have learned from the Russian failure and left Afghanistan alone...
