An interesting column today from Nicholas Kristof. He describes himself as a liberal and a big fan of Europe who has lived in both the UK and France. But the main thrust of this piece is that, compared to America, Europe isn’t doing so well these days.
Northern Europeans work less than Americans — only about 1,400 or 1,500 hours a year compared with 1,800 for Americans — and mostly enjoy universal health care, free or subsidized child care and solid public schools…
Yet it’s also only fair to point out that Europe is struggling today. The U.S. economy last year grew six times as fast as in the European Union, 2.5 percent to 0.4 percent…
…by one European calculation, if economies continue to grow at the current pace, by 2035 the average American and the average European will be as far apart economically as the average European and Indian are today…
The upshot is growing…
