NYT: Socialism Sucks

[chanel]

This story by Steven Erlanger of the New York Times:

PARIS — Across Western Europe, the “lifestyle superpower,” the assumptions and gains of a lifetime are suddenly in doubt. The deficit crisis that threatens the euro has also undermined the sustainability of the European standard of social welfare, built by left-leaning governments since the end of World War II.

Europeans have boasted about their social model, with its generous vacations and early retirements, its national health care systems and extensive welfare benefits, contrasting it with the comparative harshness of American capitalism.

Europeans have benefited from low military spending, protected by NATO and the American nuclear umbrella. They have also translated higher taxes into a cradle-to-grave safety net. “The Europe that protects” is a slogan of the European Union.

But all over Europe governments with big budgets, falling tax revenues and aging populations are experiencing rising deficits, with more bad news ahead.

With low growth, low birthrates and longer life expectancies, Europe can no longer afford its comfortable lifestyle, at least not without a period of austerity and significant changes. The countries are trying to reassure investors by cutting salaries, raising legal retirement ages, increasing work hours and reducing health benefits and pensions.

According to the European Commission, by 2050 the percentage of Europeans older than 65 will nearly double. In the 1950s there were seven workers for every retiree in advanced economies. By 2050, the ratio in the European Union will drop to 1.3 to 1.

“The easy days are over for countries like Greece, Portugal and Spain, but for us, too,” said Laurent Cohen-Tanugi, a French lawyer who did a study of Europe in the global economy for the French government. “A lot of Europeans would not like the issue cast in these terms, but that is the storm we’re facing. We can no longer afford the old social model, and there is a real need for structural reform.”

Must-Read Of the Day: The Times Discovers That European Socialism Sucks - Big Journalism


Well - duh.

 

[LibocalypseNow]

Yea this is pretty shocking coming from the NY Times. Thanks.

 

[rikules]

This story by Steven Erlanger of the New York Times:

PARIS — Across Western Europe, the “lifestyle superpower,” the assumptions and gains of a lifetime are suddenly in doubt. The deficit crisis that threatens the euro has also undermined the sustainability of the European standard of social welfare, built by left-leaning governments since the end of World War II.

Europeans have boasted about their social model, with its generous vacations and early retirements, its national health care systems and extensive welfare benefits, contrasting it with the comparative harshness of American capitalism.

Europeans have benefited from low military spending, protected by NATO and the American nuclear umbrella. They have also translated higher taxes into a cradle-to-grave safety net. “The Europe that protects” is a slogan of the European Union.

But all over Europe governments with big budgets, falling tax revenues and aging populations are experiencing rising deficits, with more bad news ahead.

With low growth, low birthrates and longer life expectancies, Europe can no longer afford its comfortable lifestyle, at least not without a period of austerity and significant changes. The countries are trying to reassure investors by cutting salaries, raising legal retirement ages, increasing work hours and reducing health benefits and pensions.

According to the European Commission, by 2050 the percentage of Europeans older than 65 will nearly double. In the 1950s there were seven workers for every retiree in advanced economies. By 2050, the ratio in the European Union will drop to 1.3 to 1.

“The easy days are over for countries like Greece, Portugal and Spain, but for us, too,” said Laurent Cohen-Tanugi, a French lawyer who did a study of Europe in the global economy for the French government. “A lot of Europeans would not like the issue cast in these terms, but that is the storm we’re facing. We can no longer afford the old social model, and there is a real need for structural reform.”

Must-Read Of the Day: The Times Discovers That European Socialism Sucks - Big Journalism


Well - duh.

ALL socialism sucks

except for social security
and medicare
and medicaid
and I really do think I should get tax breaks for my wife and 18 kids
while simgle people and responsible liberal parents with only 1 or 2 children pay MUCH MORE in taxes than I do

but I HATE SOCIALISM!

 

[Flopper]

This story by Steven Erlanger of the New York Times:

PARIS — Across Western Europe, the “lifestyle superpower,” the assumptions and gains of a lifetime are suddenly in doubt. The deficit crisis that threatens the euro has also undermined the sustainability of the European standard of social welfare, built by left-leaning governments since the end of World War II.

Europeans have boasted about their social model, with its generous vacations and early retirements, its national health care systems and extensive welfare benefits, contrasting it with the comparative harshness of American capitalism.

Europeans have benefited from low military spending, protected by NATO and the American nuclear umbrella. They have also translated higher taxes into a cradle-to-grave safety net. “The Europe that protects” is a slogan of the European Union.

But all over Europe governments with big budgets, falling tax revenues and aging populations are experiencing rising deficits, with more bad news ahead.

With low growth, low birthrates and longer life expectancies, Europe can no longer afford its comfortable lifestyle, at least not without a period of austerity and significant changes. The countries are trying to reassure investors by cutting salaries, raising legal retirement ages, increasing work hours and reducing health benefits and pensions.

According to the European Commission, by 2050 the percentage of Europeans older than 65 will nearly double. In the 1950s there were seven workers for every retiree in advanced economies. By 2050, the ratio in the European Union will drop to 1.3 to 1.

“The easy days are over for countries like Greece, Portugal and Spain, but for us, too,” said Laurent Cohen-Tanugi, a French lawyer who did a study of Europe in the global economy for the French government. “A lot of Europeans would not like the issue cast in these terms, but that is the storm we’re facing. We can no longer afford the old social model, and there is a real need for structural reform.”

Must-Read Of the Day: The Times Discovers That European Socialism Sucks - Big Journalism


Well - duh.

ALL socialism sucks

except for social security
and medicare
and medicaid
and I really do think I should get tax breaks for my wife and 18 kids
while simgle people and responsible liberal parents with only 1 or 2 children pay MUCH MORE in taxes than I do

but I HATE SOCIALISM!

Europe is not a single country even thou they are moving in that direction. The financial problems are centered primarily in Spain, Greece, and Italy. As you go north things get better. Countries such as Switzerland, and Sweden are on very sound financial footing yet they have socialized medicine and social security. I don't think it is fair to say that the existence of these programs are the problem. It is how the programs are managed that causes the problem. In southern Europe retirement ages have been set too low. In fact in Greece they are raising it by 5 years which should bring it in line with the US retirement ages.

Another problem is that many people just don't pay taxes that they owe Tax rates in the southern Europe are quite high compared to the US which limits their options for increasing revenue.

I think that there should be some adjustments in our Social Security in the form of slightly higher taxes and an increases in retirement age. I doubt that much can be done with Medicare.

 

[Luissa]

The US is ranked 42nd on child mortality, behind most of Europe, and Cuba.

 

[boedicca]

That is a bogus statistic. The U.S. includes severely premature babies as live births. In many parts of the world, including advanced European nations, such babies are classified as still births and allowed to die post partum.

The exclusion of any high-risk infants from the denominator or numerator in reported IMRs can be problematic for comparisons. Many countries, including the United States, Sweden or Germany, count an infant exhibiting any sign of life as alive, no matter the month of gestation or the size, but according to United States Centers for Disease Control researchers,[6] some other countries differ in these practices. All of the countries named adopted the WHO definitions in the late 1980s or early 1990s,[7] which are used throughout the European Union.[8] However, in 2009, the US CDC issued a report which stated that the American rates of infant mortality were affected by the United States' high rates of premature babies compared to European countries and which outlines the differences in reporting requirements between the United States and Europe, noting that France, the Czech Republic, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Poland do not report all live births of babies under 500 g and/or 22 weeks of gestation.[6][9][10] However, the report also concludes that the differences in reporting are unlikely to be the primary explanation for the United States’ relatively low international ranking.[10]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infant_mortality#Comparing_infant_mortality_rates


The report includes some weasel wording to minimize the difference in how live birth is defined in various countries - but it is a factor. Two other major factors are the lifestyle of the parents, especially the mother, and the mother's age.

 

[Big Black Dog]

Socialism doesn't suck nearly as much as the dumb asses do in Washington that are trying to ram socialism down our throats. Seems like they could see that it isn't working out so well in other parts of the world and maybe GET A CLUE.