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0 pointsbmmayer18y ago0 comments

To be fair, Americans work. Work work work work[1]. Americans love work and elect politicians who love work.

Europeans hate work. Hate hate hate hate[2]. They hate work and elect politicians who also hate work.

That major (cultural? economic? social? political?) difference between American and European attitudes towards work might explain these statistics:

American vs EU unemployment rate: 4.7% vs 8.2% American vs EU youth unemployment rate: 9.4% vs 17.3% American vs EU GDP per capita: $56k vs $35k

And so on.

Point being, things are only the way they are because we want them to be that way--and elect politicians who do as well.

That said, I agree with the core premise: corporate-sponsored healthcare is a lousy drag on the economy...

[1] http://www.projecttimeoff.com/news/press-releases/americans-... [2] https://www.etui.org/Topics/Trade-union-renewal-and-mobilisa...

0 comments

mamon8y ago

One thing about EU vs US comparisons: EU is not a monolith, it is an organization with 28 different member countries.

Some of EU members are on the same level as US (e.g. GDP per capita is $51k for Netherlands, $48k Germany), and then there are poor, post-communist countries like Romania and Bulgaria which have GDP of $20k, which brings EU average down.

Same goes for unemployment: Germany -> 3.9%, Netherlands -> 5.1%, Spain -> 18.75%

Plus, there is no such thing as "European attitude towards the work", because Europe is very diverse in that regard.

acjohnson558y ago

The USA is likewise not that monolithic. More so than Europe, for sure. But still.

bmmayer1OP8y ago

+1 true. I only grouped EU together for simplicity. It also makes sense since they, by their own political and economic admission, are a unified trade bloc and should share some responsibility for EU-wide economic indicators.

kstenerud8y ago

That's strange... I spent 6 years living and working in America and I never met anyone who loved work, with the exception of some founders, perhaps.

kentt8y ago

I get that people don't love work in America in the way you're saying. I think the idea is that in America you're less likely to get a positive reaction to things such as you're the man and the primary breadwinner:

- You opt to cut your hours from 45-30 and live on less - You take a few months vacation - You take a year paternity leave

I know from experience that those can seem irresponsible to many.

linkregister8y ago

It's irresponsible because social welfare in the U.S. is poor compared to what is available in Germany, France, and Scandinavia.

pm246018y ago

No one in my American family prefers to work. For many of them they have no choice. The job is a job -- not a career or a calling. It is simply what pays the bills and keeps the kids feed.

For many of them, the job is very physically demanding and the body starts failing apart at age 40 (construction, health care).

phkahler8y ago

unemployment rates and youth unemployment rates sound interesting, but what about measures of happiness? depression? In America we tend to select metrics which also enforce the work, work, work, mentality by making it look like a good thing.

AlphaSite8y ago

Unemployment figures are people who aren't employed but are searching for work, so I'm not sure it says exactly what you're trying to say.

People who don't want to work, don't show up in unemployment.

astrange8y ago

The people who count these figures _have_ thought of this, you know - this is called "mid-brow dismissal". They publish more than one number.

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