Another supply side/libertarian myth dies

They will always tell you the welfare state drags down economies. Safety Nets hurt the ones they are designed to help. We can not have Single Payer health care in this country as it would destroy us. We do better than everyone else because our regulations are lax.

Foreign Affairs - Mind the Gap - Robert C. Pozen: "Gross domestic product has grown at an average rate of 3.3 percent a year in the United States over the last decade, compared to 2.1 percent a year in the EU15. Per capita GDP growth, however, has been very similar: 1.8 percent a year in the United States, 1.7 percent in the EU15. The main factor driving higher U.S. economic growth is not greater productivity gains; it is a more rapidly expanding population."

We work significantily more hours and women are less likely to work outside the home in Europe. So with some changes, they should pass us. Europe's long term economic problems is not one of a welfare state dragging them down but of low birth rates and xenophobia.