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How should the U.S. be more like Europe?

seymourflops

seymourflops

Keep Calm and Rebuy!
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Have the Europeans gotten some things right that we in the states have gotten wrong?

I feel there must be, but I'm not sure what they are.

I could ask the same question about Asia.

I could ask the same about Japan which I see as different enough from the rest of Asia that any lesson we learn from the would be separate from the lessons we learn from the rest of Asia.

But let's start with Europe.

What do they do that we should do? What do they understand that we do not?

Please be ready to defend that these European ideas would work in the U.S.
 
Some things may work better in Europe, but be undoable in the US. If you could cherry pick a few things by country, German unions work well, UK style health system would save the US more than it's federal deficit compared to current costs. French labor laws give a much better work/life balance, but hurt productivity in France at least. Scandanavian style laws around parental leave and child support are good for society. Not sure the US could ever adopt them though with it's politics. Europe style gun laws might save 1000's of lives per year, but not going to happen in the US.
 
Swedish Fika

It's a mid day coffee break with pastries.
 
Ishm said:
Some things may work better in Europe, but be undoable in the US. If you could cherry pick a few things by country, German unions work well,
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Basically nationalized unions. Or as Americans would say ... communism.

Ishm said:
UK style health system would save the US more than it's federal deficit compared to current costs. French labor laws give a much better work/life balance, but hurt productivity in France at least.
Click to expand...

Productivity in France is as good as you could expect with workers being drunk half the time. Seriously, it's exactly the Euro average.

Ishm said:
Scandanavian style laws around parental leave and child support are good for society.
Click to expand...

I totally agree. It's odd though that birthrate is practically zero above replacement.

Ishm said:
Not sure the US could ever adopt them though with it's politics. Europe style gun laws might save 1000's of lives per year, but not going to happen in the US.
Click to expand...

"From my cold dead hands" has a secret meaning. Hands don't go cold immediately after death, so maybe they're threatening suicide?
 
seymourflops said:
Have the Europeans gotten some things right that we in the states have gotten wrong?

I feel there must be, but I'm not sure what they are.

I could ask the same question about Asia.

I could ask the same about Japan which I see as different enough from the rest of Asia that any lesson we learn from the would be separate from the lessons we learn from the rest of Asia.

But let's start with Europe.

What do they do that we should do? What do they understand that we do not?

Please be ready to defend that these European ideas would work in the U.S.
Click to expand...
1. less guns, especially big guns with loads of bullets coming out
2. drinking age is 18 (to buy at least), what a parent allows at home (within reason is their choice)
3. (Netherlands) all schools are funded by the government and all have to comply with the same basic rules. Religious and social groups can all start schools as long as they comply with the rules and with the minimum requirements
4. (Netherlands) everybody has to buy healthcare, all healthcare is affordable. For the ones with the lowest wages/benefits they get money from the government as a subsidy to pay their healthcare.
5. men and women get extra paid vacation days after deaths, births and medical problems of close family members.
6. (Netherlands) women get "kraamhulp" which is a free home help during the time just after birth, they help clean, cook, teach parents to feed the child, clean the child, make sure the woman gets enough rest
7. I had 25 vacation days when I started and after a few years you get more and more paid vacation days. When I was about 35 I had 28 paid vacation days, paid national holidays, guaranteed overtime and if you lived far from your work you could get travel allowance
 
Lets look at British and German HC, then compare it to the Australians (since you are cruising around the world) and come up with something for us. It is about time we get this settled.
 
Sven Karma said:
Less fetishization of your constitution? It is e.g. a 2nd "amendment" rather than a golden plate presented by an angel as per Joseph Smith. Or Moses.
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No war at the schools about simple things like biology and history. No elected judges, no elected sheriffs/prosecutors/school board.

No standing up for the pledge of allegiance daily, not having to put up the flag everyday (in the minds of some people) as a patriotic gesture.

No stuff like praying in school.
 
make prostitution legal, but all people working as prostitutes have to be 23 or older, have to pay taxes, have to work with condoms, get checks by health officers and must go through regular checkups for sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/Aids.

Pimps are illegal. You rent a room or you work in a brothel but no pimps allowed. Only legally allowed women/men can work as prostitutes.

No street prostitution, this is for a multitude of reasons. It increases the feeling of safety, stops drug prostitutes and does not attract masses of johns and drug dealers.
 
A lot of people have covered things I wanted to say, but something to add I think is making cities bikeable. When I was in Copenhagen I couldn't believe how easy it was to get around. Even outside of Denmark most larger cities have much better bike lanes and/or public transportation than the US. Many European cities feel more modern than most US cities.
 
No plea bargains, no jury system and no death penalty. But there has to be a system like we have, at the behest of the government. This means that a child molester who is viewed as a sex predator can be locked up for life until he is cured or dead. A child molester usually gets several years in jail, but if the investigation at a psychiatric center proves/indicates that the person is a dangerous sex predator who will keep re-offending, then the prosecutor will ask for him to be remanded to a special jail, some are sent there with mandatory treatment/others will not. But not until a psychiatrist has ruled him cured/no longer dangerous, will that person be released.

In this way the government does not have to wait until that predator kills someone or rapes multiple children and get tens of years of jail time, it can jail them in this psychiatric hospital potentially for life.
 
Peter King said:
make prostitution legal, but all people working as prostitutes have to be 23 or older, have to pay taxes, have to work with condoms, get checks by health officers and must go through regular checkups for sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/Aids.

Pimps are illegal. You rent a room or you work in a brothel but no pimps allowed. Only legally allowed women/men can work as prostitutes.

No street prostitution, this is for a multitude of reasons. It increases the feeling of safety, stops drug prostitutes and does not attract masses of johns and drug dealers.
Click to expand...
It's nothing I didn't already know, but I'm starting to get upset reading all these practical social laws that Europe has but in the US are too radical to even be on the table.

No politcian here talks about legalizing prostitution. None of them talk about increasing vacation days. Nobody seriously talks about lowering the drinking age (even though you can join the Army at 17). We are struggling to even legalize weed. Half the population would literally have a breakdown if a mainstream politician suggested that school didn't do the pledge of allegiance
 
America needs another thousand years of shared history so the difficult and controversial bits feel less significant on the grand scale. :cool:
 
Spirit of The Millennium said:
Basically nationalized unions. Or as Americans would say ... communism.



Productivity in France is as good as you could expect with workers being drunk half the time. Seriously, it's exactly the Euro average.



I totally agree. It's odd though that birthrate is practically zero above replacement.



"From my cold dead hands" has a secret meaning. Hands don't go cold immediately after death, so maybe they're threatening suicide?
Click to expand...
I once had operations in 25 european countries. The unions in Germany that I initially thought would be a pain were in reality easy, if slow, to work with. Much more sensible/pragmatic than I expected.

I had over 200 staff in France when they introduced their short working week and overtime ban etc. I like what they are trying to achieve, but French labor laws are not very conducive to attracting offshore companies and investment. I much preferred working with the German unions or the UK labor laws. For all the talk about being overly liberal etc, Scandanavia is the nicest part of Europe if only the damn weather wasn't so cold. Any of the scandanavian countriea in summer are a delightful place to be.
 
Peter King said:
1. less guns, especially big guns with loads of bullets coming out
2. drinking age is 18 (to buy at least), what a parent allows at home (within reason is their choice)
3. (Netherlands) all schools are funded by the government and all have to comply with the same basic rules. Religious and social groups can all start schools as long as they comply with the rules and with the minimum requirements
4. (Netherlands) everybody has to buy healthcare, all healthcare is affordable. For the ones with the lowest wages/benefits they get money from the government as a subsidy to pay their healthcare.
5. men and women get extra paid vacation days after deaths, births and medical problems of close family members.
6. (Netherlands) women get "kraamhulp" which is a free home help during the time just after birth, they help clean, cook, teach parents to feed the child, clean the child, make sure the woman gets enough rest
7. I had 25 vacation days when I started and after a few years you get more and more paid vacation days. When I was about 35 I had 28 paid vacation days, paid national holidays, guaranteed overtime and if you lived far from your work you could get travel allowance
Click to expand...
Speaking of the Netherlands, they can drink the tap water. That would be nice, if Americans could actually drink the tap water.
 
Ginger Ale said:
Speaking of the Netherlands, they can drink the tap water. That would be nice, if Americans could actually drink the tap water.
Click to expand...

Yeah but to be faith, they don't frack. They can't even light their water on fire with a match.
 
Nomad4Ever said:
It's nothing I didn't already know, but I'm starting to get upset reading all these practical social laws that Europe has but in the US are too radical to even be on the table.

No politcian here talks about legalizing prostitution. None of them talk about increasing vacation days. Nobody seriously talks about lowering the drinking age (even though you can join the Army at 17). We are struggling to even legalize weed. Half the population would literally have a breakdown if a mainstream politician suggested that school didn't do the pledge of allegiance
Click to expand...
But, but, but, I thought we were the home of the free?

I guess that is just a rally cry and has no foundation in fact.
 
phoenix2020 said:
Better pastries and higher quality table wines at inexpensive restaurants.
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No pharmaceutical ads on the telly.

Often better food. That wasn't always the case but it is more so today than ever before. Much of the meat contains less chemicals. The bread is often better.

Transportation systems are often better than in the US, especially rail.

Europe on the whole is less materialistic than the US.

Europe is becoming better educated than the US.
 
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