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Trivia Tidbit Of The Day: Part 344 -- Europe Lags America In Globalization.

Very Michigan-like, Europe Is-

Relative to the United States, Europe is failing. Badly. Take France, for example:

...unemployment is averaging 10% this decade and has not been below 8% for 20 years. And, while the overall level of unemployment has remained stable – albeit at a shockingly high level – the unemployment rate among young men (in the 16-24 age group) jumped from 15.3% in 1990 to 21.4% in 2005.

Europe needs to seriously reexamine its ideas and policies, before its ideas and policies lead Europe to relative economic ruin. As we've seen, small-sounding differences compound into huge differences over time.

Here's why, from the Dallas Fed (.pdf):

#1, Economic Freedom:

#2, Economic Growth:

#3, Unemployment:

#4, Productivity:

#5, Not Long Ago, Things Were Different:

#6, Innovation:

#7, Labor Rigidity (or lack thereof):

#8, Globalization Index:

What all this adds up to is simple and straightforward:

More government interference in the economy is bad.
Freer markets, fewer regulations, and less government micromanagement and tinkering is good. Openness and innovation = good. Protectionism and subsidizing = bad.

We have some choices. The Michigan/Europe way. Or the American way. I choose success. I choose the American way.

Previous Trivia Tidbit: Cha-Ching For The Government: Lower Taxes Have Produced "Record" Revenues.

Posted by Will Franklin · 13 June 2006 03:00 PM

Comments

Posted by: Ken McCracken at June 13, 2006 05:04 PM