Europes's ailing social model -- facts & fairy-tales

By Aussiegirl

A long article, but well worth studying, from the always-relevant Brussels Journal. To quote from the article: It is time to tackle the real and ultimate cause of Europe’s stagnation, namely the total discouragement of Europe’s work force. Judging from the reaction that the French students had to the proposed, surely modest, change in work regulations, this won't be an easy task.

Europe�s Ailing Social Model: Facts & Fairy-Tales | The Brussels Journal

On 23 and 24 March the European Council is meeting to discuss the future of Europe’s social model. The very essence of the welfare state is at stake. Europe’s present social model is unable to tackle the modern challenges of globalization, and has left Europe with gigantic problems: an unsurmountable public debt, a rapidly ageing population, 19 million unemployed, and an overall youth unemployment rate of 18%. The unemployment figures may easily be doubled to account for hidden unemployment. The untold reality is that Europe’s real unemployment stands at the level of the 1932 Depression.

[...] Curing the symptoms no longer helps. It is time to tackle the real and ultimate cause of Europe’s stagnation, namely the total discouragement of Europe’s work force. It is time to free Europe from its bureaucracy and its crippling tax burden. Failing this Europe will continue to lag behind ever further and its current relative impoverishment will soon turn into absolute pauperization, ultimately resulting not only in economic, but also in cultural and moral decline. If the economy is sick, it is because democracy is ill as well.