tom2050
Deity
- Joined
- Oct 12, 2005
- Messages
- 5,516
But we should listen to your random bar graph?
No, you should research the topics yourself, look at all sides, and come to a proper conclusion through research (not saying you should do some official research project). But, if you had to ask a question like that, I guess some people will just continue to believe everything someone feeds them. Therefore, I will feed you this below.
------ Continuation of the difference of America and Europe from here.
Perry underlines the point by comparing European countries with American states. "Although [the] Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark are among Europe's wealthiest countries, as U.S. states they would be between 14.5 percent and 18 percent below the U.S. average.... If France became a U.S. state, it would rank No. 48 out of 51 by per capita [gross domestic product], just barely ahead of America's two poorest states, West Virginia and Mississippi.... Belgium, Finland, Britain, Germany, and Spain would rank in the bottom 20 percent of U.S. states by per capita GDP, just barely ahead of Arkansas but below Kentucky."
.....
Put it this way: If America's living standards suddenly descended to Europe's, rather than the other way round, it would be a calamity that would make the country's present economic difficulties look trivial.
And yet, as I say, higher U.S. productivity is not the main reason for this prosperity gap. Comparing America with the richest European countries, output per hour worked is not that different. In levels of productivity, Europe's most successful economies have caught up. Then why are they still so much poorer? Because Europeans work less. A higher proportion of the U.S. population is employed, and Americans work longer hours. Effort, not efficiency, is why Americans are richer.