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I am not saying that it is a brutally harsh life in France or the UK, but the fact is they are really not particularly productive on a global scale.
You are full of it, productivity (GDP per hour worked) is HIGHER in France than in the US. Productivity in Europe in general is not noticeably different than in the US.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chet everett
I don't mention this to "bash" the Europeans, but to remind the naysayers that despite the apparent problems the US economy faces, things are almost with out exception worse elsewhere.
Yes and apparently your view here is based on a bunch of short sighted comparisons and ill-conceived judgments.
From what I've read impact of computer age on "productivity" was calculated using very dubious if not laughable assumptions.
Besides, what is so called productivity is good for? People are being squeezed from essential industries into unessential ones which are driven solely by horse doses of marketing and brainwashing to create a new "want". I can live without most of those goods and services creatively displaced people produce in their "new economy" jobs. Actually, for the sake of future generations displaced people should be awarded life long pensions instead of wasting resources (future generations will need) to create new and new wants.
You are full of it, productivity (GDP per hour worked) is HIGHER in France than in the US. Productivity in Europe in general is not noticeably different than in the US.
Wrong
National Statistics Online (http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=160 - broken link)
National Statistics Online (http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=160 - broken link)
Nope, you are just stupidly citing a different statistic. In fact that link mentions both numbers, but only graphs one. The graph is for "per worker", yet I explicitly stated France was greater in terms of "GDP per hour worked". France has a shorter work week so its only natural for its per worker statistic to be lower.
But even the per worker statistic shows that there is not a dramatic difference between Europe and the US.
Yes and its all in terms of USD and there is a special note for France, for whatever reason this is including "overseas departments". Regardless, this has France and the US very close to each other. I really don't care which is higher, the last time I looked at the numbers France was just a bit above the US. The important point is that they are very close to each other, contrary to the ridiculous picture chet is trying to paint.
If you want to say there is "no hope" for the US economy and then claim we'll be beat by some place that has a 30 hour work week then I really doubt that people that work in agricultural or even industrial roles in the China or India or any place else can be tossed into the mix with their slave like work hours.
So which is it?
I mean big picture wise there are some similarities to the technological economies of Singapore or other PacRim standouts to PARTS of the US economy, and the finance heavy employment of NYC has a lot in common with Luxemborg or other money centers, with the noted difference that over there they are not just "hands off" they also so deep into the "don't ask, don't tell" mindset that it is no stretch to say their "regulators" should use the "hear no evil, see no evil, SPEAK no evil" peek-a-boo/ hands over ears/mount monkeys are their IDEALS... Counter this to the meddling rule makers of the EU that make the US pay czars seem a joke.
The US is far from perfect but the sum total of our economy and political system has yet to be bested by any other nation of even remotely similar size. It would take decades of wrong headed policies to "break" our economy, the seeds of which are being resisted by those who see the lunacy of unenforceable energy/carbon usage goals as the seeds of such madness...
The US is far from perfect but the sum total of our economy and political system has yet to be bested by any other nation of even remotely similar size.
This is just dogma, you being a conservative will think any country with a more socialized system is worse politically than the US. But that means nothing. Which political systems are providing the best standard of living for the greatest number of people? In terms of the economy, European economy and the US economy are not all that different. Of course you are just myopically looking at individual countries instead of the entire Euro-zone despite that the Euro-zone works much like the United states. How about the Europeans compare Alabama to the Euro-zone to demonstrate their superior standing in the world?
The economic numbers on the US vs Euro-zone are all mixed, showing different preferences in the two economics. Europeans seem to value leisure time more, hence why productivity in terms of hours worked is very similar to the US while other measures differ (e.g., per worker).
But go ahead, continue with the conservative rants.
I can get on a plane to Birmingham or Mobile or Hunstville and even if I drive an hour out into the rural countryside I'll be minutes from very 21th century signs of America like WalMart and 3G mobile and our vast productive system of agriculture, transportation, healthcare, retail and even the government itself (from Post Offices to military bases to Social Security offices there are lots of direct and quasi-government jobs in this country).
If you limit yourself to even the "top third" of EU zone countries a very different situation exists -- even these economies just don't measure up to US standards. Broaden your vision to all the EU and you get so many countries that are still screwed up by the ravages of socialism (both the benevelot kind that tends to people with lavish security net and the malevolent type that made serfs of countries in the Soviet Bloc) that you might as well roll back the daily life to something from half a century ago.
There is a lot of good that comes from being a fishermen on the Adriatic or a some one who hangs hams in air dried caves for a living, but these sorts of activities will never be as economically impactful as the sorts of jobs held by people of similar social stature in the US...
This is not mere jingoism, this is the reality that makes people choose to leave the EU for the US, a trend that is unlikely to flip 180 degrees...
There is a lot of good that comes from being a fishermen on the Adriatic or a some one who hangs hams in air dried caves for a living, but these sorts of activities will never be as economically impactful as the sorts of jobs held by people of similar social stature in the US...
Like who? Those suits you see sitting at desks staring at computer monitors for 12 hours a day trafficking and trading in paper and other "securities"?
At least a fisherman or ham-hanger does something useful, productive, and beneficial. It's a tangible skillset.
Tell me. A person that plays magic numbers all day. What do THEY contribute to society? Do they have a skillset that is actually of any practical use? Or is all they do something "so complex that we just can't explain it to some lowly mortal such as yourself." In others words, a completely fabricated vocation that really isn't one for someone who otherwise HAS no skills.
Give me a freaking break. I'll respect the aforementioned ham hanger or fisherman any day. The person who sits there and is afraid to even get up to take a leak or eat lunch lest he miss some "crucial market move" is someone who IMO isn't worth the air they breathe.
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