EU lags behind the US, big time

http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentSe...=1073281184586

The EU wants its economy to catch up to the US by 2010... it just can't.

Their reasons:

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It cites Europe's low investment, low productivity, weak public finances and low employment rates as among the many reasons for its sluggish performance.

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Maybe, like Glenn Reynolds on Instapundit says, it also has to do with:

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Bloated public sectors, high taxes, excessive regulation, and inflexible hiring rules...

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Anyway, I look at the EU now, and we have governments like France and Germany who are getting a pass on the strict budget/deficit rules put in place, a few leaders who are realizing that the Socialist/government supported daydream of certain countries is not working or making things better, we have a bunch of countries which are in no way even close to meeting the Kyoto Protocol regulations that they were supposedly so enlightened to commit (while we are so destardly for not committing to them), and aren't even close to catching up to the US' economy... which is why I thought the EU was started in the first place! So even shitty little countries in Europe could help to compete with the US on a global scale.

What a goddamn mess.

p.s. Some alternate titles for this thread were "US > EU", and "US is kicking Europe's ass, what a surprise".

The EU is currently in it's infancy, so I'd say this is to be expected. Honestly I think the only way to get the EU to work well is to consolidate all of the countries in Europe into one large country. But the odds of that happening any time soon are slim to none.

USA! USA!

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Originally Posted by bbobb

The EU is currently in it's infancy, so I'd say this is to be expected. Honestly I think the only way to get the EU to work well is to consolidate all of the countries in Europe into one large country. But the odds of that happening any time soon are slim to none.

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If Geoge Bush's plan of The Americas goes through, and free trade policies are enacted between the US and Australia, the EU doesn't stand a chance, EVER.

For some reason I thought that EU was "Estados Unidos".....

And another thing; why is it E.E.U.U. when there is only one "E" word and one"U" word?
Feh.....

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Originally Posted by Gymkata

And another thing; why is it E.E.U.U. when there is only one "E" word and one"U" word?
Feh.....

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It's an echo echo.

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Originally Posted by Gymkata

For some reason I thought that EU was "Estados Unidos".....

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lmao me too, I was confused reading the title as I tough it said USA lags behind USA wtf XP

"And another thing; why is it E.E.U.U. when there is only one "E" word and one"U" word?"

hmm maybe I'm wrong but I think it's for the exact same reason, so you don't confuse it with Europa :) but maybe i'm wrong... it was something like that... :sweat:

E.U.?? More like P.U.!!!!

AHAHAHAHAHAA!!

French people smell funny!

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Originally Posted by Mzo

E.U.?? More like P.U.!!!!

AHAHAHAHAHAA!!

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Talk about a stinker... :p