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| Re: Obama ''extraordinarily impressed'' by European *leadership* . . . (433846) | |||
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Re: Obama ''extraordinarily impressed'' by European *leadership* . . . |
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Posted by SMAZ on Tue Apr 7 02:22:27 2009, in response to Re: Obama ''extraordinarily impressed'' by European *leadership* . . ., posted by Orange Blossom Special on Mon Apr 6 17:44:10 2009. Vacation, sick days, maternity leave and health care are something that Europe does much better and it brings great benefits to individuals and families alike, not to mention the kind of piece of mind that is essential in a healthy society. The German/Swiss/Dutch health insurance system would be an especially good fit for the US.On labor union issues, I think they go too far towards labor while we go too far towards management. A middle point would be a boost to both cultures. I think that they should be more like us when it comes to discrimination enforcement, attitudes towards race and immigration (the legal kind), the administration of justice, our more streamlined bureaucracies and the decentralization and localized decision-making that makes American society and culture innovative and vibrant. I can get into the European way of mass transit, road and other public infrustructure but those kind of gas taxes would as anathema to those of us here in the US as our gun laws would be to most of them. Some rocks are better left unturned. I think the education systems both here and there generally work well for the societies they are designed for and would not be easily exportable though we are behind the Scandivanian countries when it comes to job retraining. I can't think of a better use that can be made of one's time on unemployment benefits then re-training for something new. I also think they do pre-K early childhood education much better too. Generally speaking I think that our respective pension systems are in trouble and need to be reformed. Either way, I don't think it is wise to instictively oppose anything that comes from somewhere else. History's greatest civilizations are the ones that adopted the best things while rejecting the worst things that the world has to offer. The ones that didn't ended up in the trashbins of History. |
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