[extropy-chat] FWD [SK] Re: Europe vs America (was Depressing thought....)

[randy]

On Thu, 13 Nov 2003 12:45:50 -0700, you wrote

>> in France/western Europe, or the USA. These numbers and financial
>> situational comparisons fascinate me. I would like to write a book
>> about this subject, as there is nothing that descibes this adequately,
>> that I can find anyway.
>
>He may be interested, but he isn't well informed about US income or taxes.
>
>Total US taxes rates are basically flat:
>http://graphics7.nytimes.com/images/2003/01/20/business/21DOUBLE.chart.jpg
>http://slate.msn.com/id/2077294/
>
>

Yeah, well, I call Bullsh*t on that and will deliver appropriate
rebuttal later. In the meantime., chew on this:


http://216.239.57.104/search?q=cache:vGjrVdKaeocJ:faculty.insead.fr/fatas/econ/Articles/Chasing%2520the%2520Leader.htm++Economist+%22Robert+Gordon%22+Northwestern+economic+Europe&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

>US income stats:
>Median Household http://www.census.gov/hhes/income/histinc/h06.html
>Median Personal  http://www.census.gov/hhes/income/histinc/p05.html
>By quintiles household: http://www.census.gov/hhes/income/histinc/h01.html
>
> Table H-1.  Income Limits for Each Fifth and Top 5 Percent of Households
> (All Races):  1967 to 2001
>
> (Households as of March of the following year.  Income in current and
> 2001 CPI-U-RS adjusted dollars28/)
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>                                                                    Lower
>                                                                 limit of
>                         Upper limit of each fifth (dollars)        top 5
>               Number   ---------------------------------------   percent
> Year         (thous.)   Lowest    Second     Third    Fourth   (dollars)
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Current Dollars
>
> 2001           109,297   $17,970   $33,314   $53,000   $83,500  $150,499
>
>Jim Lund
>
>---------------------
>
>> I COMPLETELY AGREE.  And also, by the way, people also live about 3
>> years more in France, on average. Correct? This is a subject not in
>> the least off-topic here on this list, of course.
>
>Currently France was judged to have the best health system
>amongst developed countries, they work the shortest hours and have 
>the longest hols. If I had a chance I'd move there tomorrow
>from this miserable island where everything is rotting
>but for some obscure reason it still have good 
>publicity.
> Also, in France,  when their education system
>or pensions are attacked they have the guts to go out to the streets
>in their millions and put stop to such attempts.
>
>Eva
>
>------------------------
>
>the only problem is that such more effective 
>social re-distribution of profits leads to a slow down
>in profits and losing competition to other less
>socially conscious countries.
>So all the social advantages are constantly under attack,
>especially at the times of the inevitable economic slow down.
>Eg. see the attack at present all over Europe on
>the pension provisions and on health and education.
>The solutions are ludicrous - making the pensionable age
>go up - thereby making sure there are even less
>work opportunity for the new generation.
>Ofcourse social democracy is preferable to
>uncontrolled free-market, but ultimately
>it leads to stagflation and disappointment that allows
>rightwing conservatives such as Thatcher, Kohl,
>Berlusconi Aznar or whats his name in Spain,
>so they all can have a go their ways of ruining further
>the living standards and working conditions of the population.
>I'm afraif capitalism sucks, whichever 
>of its methods are applied, the contradictions won't go away.
>
>Eva



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The United States of America: If you like low wages, you'll love long hours!