Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Are Americans Becoming Europeans?

Are Americans Becoming Europeans?

When it comes to public policy, Europe has taken a wrong turn. Its welfare state has sapped initiative and driven jobs abroad; its treatment of immigrants is shameful; unemployment is in the double digits; health policy is making people sicker; and foreign policy is based on isolationism and moral posturing. The results are predictable: The countries that use the euro will grow 1.2 percent this year, according to The Economist; the U.S. will grow 3.5 percent. Similar disparity has prevailed for a decade, and Americans today have a living standard about one-third higher. The notion that Europe will be able to compete with resurgent China and India in the next 30 years is laughable. […]I worry that we are beginning to see the initial signs of just such a turn for the worse. A distinguished 20-member panel of experts convened by the National Academies, America’s top science advisory group, has warned in a new study that the U.S. “could soon lose its privileged position” as the world’s top innovator and growth engine. With competitors “who live just a mouse click away,” we stand to lose high-paying jobs, especially to Asia.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home