tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20692053.post114185247740230024..comments2023-11-03T06:35:48.003-05:00Comments on Shark and Shepherd: Euro "compassion" v. American "greed"Rick Esenberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07280070509167910367noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20692053.post-1141915870658787322006-03-09T08:51:00.000-06:002006-03-09T08:51:00.000-06:00For the last 10 years I have said that the level o...For the last 10 years I have said that the level of taxation, in combination with the cost of regulatory compliance in the USA, has increasingly eaten into disposable income which could/should be sent to charities.<BR/><BR/>We could agree that the 'cost of living' in the USA has also been artificially pumped up by materialism; simply compare the size of a typical 1940's bungalow closet to the size of a typical 1990's closet...<BR/><BR/>But materialism is less and less affordable, too, as the costs-with-guns-to-enforce-them (tax/reg) continue to crawl upward.Dad29https://www.blogger.com/profile/08554276286736923821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20692053.post-1141877653453677692006-03-08T22:14:00.000-06:002006-03-08T22:14:00.000-06:00HelmutThe point I am making is that the degree of ...Helmut<BR/><BR/>The point I am making is that the degree of income inequality (which I agree is less pronounced in Europe) is not the end all and the be all.<BR/><BR/>I agree that some people in Mequon do forget a lot of important things. I'm trying not to.Rick Esenberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07280070509167910367noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20692053.post-1141865935136023942006-03-08T18:58:00.000-06:002006-03-08T18:58:00.000-06:00Probably the euro welfare states are unsustainable...Probably the euro welfare states are unsustainable over the long run, given their demographic trends, global competition, and their inability to integrate immigrants well.<BR/><BR/>But the Shepherd would probably advise you to adopt a more chastened view of America's success. America's average per capita income (GDP ppp) conceals a much larger degree of income inequality than is the case in the advanced European economies. Their distribution of income tends to be significantly more compact. As a result, poverty hits the poor harder here than there. People in Mequon tend to forget that.<BR/><BR/>Compare, for example, infant mortality rates here and there. For such a rich country, ours is scandalous. Note, also, that the IMR is higher in the red states, land of the Christian conservatives--who talk the talk of compassion but don't walk the walk when it comes to public policy.<BR/><BR/>And some euro cases beat us in virtually every indicator, including GDP per capita. Take a look at Norway.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com