The Difference Between U.S. & Europe
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts) on June 6th, 2010 4:34 am by HL
The Difference Between U.S. & Europe
Arthur Brooks, Wall Street Journal
Our friends across the Atlantic are fond of saying that Europeans work to live while Americans live to work. According to the data, they are basically right. Statistics from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development show that while the average Italian, for example, enjoys 42 days of vacation per year, the average American has 16.A predictable corollary: Many Europeans also expect others to work so they can live. The International Social Survey Programme asked Americans and Europeans whether they believe “It is the responsibility of the government to reduce the differences…
Praising Blanche Lincoln’s Derivatives Proposal
Lee Sheppard, Forbes
Sen. Blanche Lincoln's derivatives proposal, usually referred to as the divestiture or “push down” requirement, is the only worthwhile proposal in the Senate financial regulation bill. The rest of the derivatives regulation component of both the House and Senate bills is meaningless filler. The Lincoln proposal would encourage financial intermediaries regulated as commercial banks–including former investment banks Goldman Sachs ( GS – news – people ) and Morgan Stanley ( MS – news – people )–to…
China’s Existential Angst
Fareed Zakaria, Newsweek
Last week Tony Blair appeared before the Chilcot Inquiry "” a public hearing launched by Gordon Brown with the seemingly innocuous purpose of learning the lessons of the Iraq war. Is this a rare example of a party being transparent and turning a critical eye inward on itself "” and doing it in front of rolling cameras unlike the U.S. Senate's health care debate? Certainly not.The protesters outside the inquiry held signs condemning Blair as a war criminal. A casket was carried by "pallbearers" with bloody hands wearing blood soaked…
Forget the PIIGS, U.S. Debt Is Out of Control
Robert Barone, Minyanville
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Poll Finds Federal Debt, Terrorism Top U.S. Threats
Lydia Saad, Gallup
PRINCETON, NJ — Terrorism and federal government debt tie as the most worrisome issues to Americans when they consider threats to the future wellbeing of the U.S. Four in 10 Americans call each an “extremely serious” threat, with healthcare costs ranking a close third.On a broader basis, a majority of Americans consider all but 1 of the 10 issues rated in the May 24-25 USA Today/Gallup poll as either “extremely serious” or “very serious” threats. Discrimination against minority groups is the sole exception, with 46% calling it extremely or very serious.Partisans…
