American Capitalism vs. European Socialism

[pricejj]

The American way:
1. Rugged Individualism
2. Low tax rates
3. Easiest place to start a business in the world (by far)
4. Innovation
5. Massive profits can be made
6. Extraordinary compensation among the elite
7. Low cost of living (in certain areas)
8. Melting pot
9. System encourages welfare abuse
10. Low growth

The European way:
1. Individual focuses on how they help and fit into society
2. High tax rates
3. Difficult to start a business (excessive regulation)
4. Not as much disparity between CEO pay and normal workers
5. High cost of living
6. Certain areas are Homogeneous
7. Mass unemployment
8. Large safety net
9. In a recession

Obama is obviously trying to turn America into Europe. Will the world lose the most innovative force the world has ever known in America? How can we have freedom, innovation, and prosperity going forward? Would high taxes kill American innovation? Did the American jobs engine create most of the jobs in the world today?

Which way works? Why?

[W*GS]

More simplistic right-wing laundry listing.

[houghtam]

The American way:
1. Rugged Individualism
2. Low tax rates (but apparently not low enough)
3. Easiest place to start a business in the world (by far) (yet you still complain about regulation and taxes on businesses)
4. Innovation
5. Massive profits can be made (many times on the backs of the workers)
6. Extraordinary compensation among the elite (and **** compensation for their employees)
7. Low cost of living (in certain areas)
8. Melting pot
9. System encourages welfare abuse
10. Low growth (so you admit we're out of the recession)

The European way:
1. Individual focuses on how they help and fit into society
2. High tax rates
3. Difficult to start a business (excessive regulation)
4. Not as much disparity between CEO pay and normal workers
5. High cost of living
6. Certain areas are Homogeneous
7. Mass unemployment
8. Large safety net
9. In a recession

Obama is obviously trying to turn America into Europe. Will the world lose the most innovative force the world has ever known in America? How can we have freedom, innovation, and prosperity going forward? Would high taxes kill American innovation?

Which way works? Why?

Americans are not exceptional, neither is the US.

[razorwire77]

I'll take oversimplified right-wing bullet points for $1000 Alec.

[Rohirrim]

Life is tough. It's even tougher when you're stupid.

[DenverBrit]

The American way:
1. Rugged Individualism
2. Low tax rates
3. Easiest place to start a business in the world (by far)
4. Innovation
5. Massive profits can be made
6. Extraordinary compensation among the elite
7. Low cost of living (in certain areas)
8. Melting pot
9. System encourages welfare abuse
10. Low growth

The European way:
1. Individual focuses on how they help and fit into society
2. High tax rates
3. Difficult to start a business (excessive regulation)
4. Not as much disparity between CEO pay and normal workers
5. High cost of living
6. Certain areas are Homogeneous
7. Mass unemployment
8. Large safety net
9. In a recession

Obama is obviously trying to turn America into Europe. Will the world lose the most innovative force the world has ever known in America? How can we have freedom, innovation, and prosperity going forward? Would high taxes kill American innovation? Did the American jobs engine create most of the jobs in the world today?

Which way works? Why?

Did the industrial revolution change the world, or can you think that far back?

[Arkie]

Life is tough. It's even tougher when you're stupid.

Some say ignorance is bliss.

[pricejj]

No attacks.

Looking for ideas and insight.

[Requiem]

Still batting .000, nice.

[Rohirrim]

No attacks.

Looking for ideas and insight.

No, you're not. You're trolling. And a weak attempt at that.

[Blart]

America:

1. Awesome

Europe:

2. Terrible



ENJOY YOUR SOCIALIST HELL, COMMIES

http://a1.cdn-hotels.com/images/themedcontent/en_GB/Copenhagen_Short%20Breaks.jpg


o wait

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_%28nominal%29_per_capita

Denmark (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denmark) GDP $59,709 per citizen
United States (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States) GDP $48,328 per citizen

The difference? Opportunity. You can't pull bootstraps if nobody gives you boots.

[Drek]

No attacks.

Looking for ideas and insight.

Really?

Well here's an idea for you. Stop being an ethnocentric halfwit. Then you might finally have some insight worth a ****.

The only "insight" provided in this thread is you unintentionally setting aside any pretenses of being a bigoted idiot and laying it all out there for the rest of us to see.

[nyuk nyuk]

What I find most interesting is that those who worship these socialistic systems so much never want to live in these countries. Instead we see people wanting to move here from such countries and facing national quota bottlenecks. They simply can't get in.

[nyuk nyuk]

America:

1. Awesome

Europe:

2. Terrible



ENJOY YOUR SOCIALIST HELL, COMMIES

http://a1.cdn-hotels.com/images/themedcontent/en_GB/Copenhagen_Short%20Breaks.jpg


o wait

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_%28nominal%29_per_capita

Denmark (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denmark) GDP $59,709 per citizen
United States (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States) GDP $48,328 per citizen

The difference? Opportunity. You can't pull bootstraps if nobody gives you boots.

Europe isn't Socialist, it's welfare state capitalism with heavy speech censorship to avoid offending the spineless.

[W*GS]

What I find most interesting is that those who worship these socialistic systems so much never want to live in these countries. Instead we see people wanting to move here from such countries and facing national quota bottlenecks. They simply can't get in.

Provide proof of a tidal wave of Europeans (start with Norwegians and Swedes) just trying to immigrate to the US.

[Rohirrim]

America has become a plutocracy. Wake the **** up.

[DenverBrit]

Europe isn't Socialist, it's welfare state capitalism with heavy speech censorship to avoid offending the spineless.

LOL Box of rocks!

In the annual evaluation from Reporters Without Borders, the US dropped from 20th to 47th in the world Press Freedom Index.

1. Finland and Norway
3. Estonia and the Netherlands
5. Austria
6. Iceland and Luxembourg
8. Switzerland
9. Cape Verde
10. Canada and Denmark
12. Sweden
13. New Zealand
14. Czech Republic
15. Ireland 94. Macedonia
16. Cyprus, Jamaica and Germany
19. Costa Rica
20. Belgium and Namibia
22. Japan and Surinam
24. Poland 100. Mongolia
25. Mali, OECS and Slovakia
28. United Kingdom
29. Niger
30. Australia and Lithuania
32. Uruguay
33. Portugal
34. Tanzania
35. Papua New Guinea
36. Slovenia
37. El Salvador
38. France
39. Spain
40. Hungary
41. Ghana
42. South Africa and Botswana
44. South Korea
45. Comoros and Taiwan
47. United States of America, Argentina and Romania

Have you any idea how much the FCC censors TV and Radio in the US?

Probably not.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2092173/World-Press-Freedom-Index-2011-U-S-U-K-drop.html

[Rohirrim]

All one needs do is look at the cop brutality thread. I doubt there are many countries out there with so many of their people in prison for non-violent crimes, and cops beating so many people to death, or just shooting them outright. Then you have the Patriot Act, not to mention drone surveillance. A paragon of liberty, America is not.

[razorwire77]

Provide proof of a tidal wave of Europeans (start with Norwegians and Swedes) just trying to immigrate to the US.

Hilarious!

Yep, from what I hear those Danes in that there Denmark are just lining up to trade their universal health system, top flight educational system, and top quality of life index status for the chance to buy a 3,900 sq foot McMansion on an ARM, pay through the roof for insurance from Kaiser and the opportunity to lease an Escalade.

[Rohirrim]

Hilarious!

Yep, from what I hear those Danes in that there Denmark are just lining up to trade their universal health system, top flight educational system, and top quality of life index status for the chance to buy a 3,900 sq foot McMansion on an ARM, pay through the roof for insurance from Kaiser and the opportunity to lease an Escalade.

And if they get some catastrophic illness, like cancer, they can look forward to bankruptcy and ruin. Yay!

[orinjkrush]

This is where I want to live...the third option


guys rule! Girls drool.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gW3yzJew08g/TuZbEbGt06I/AAAAAAAAAWc/vOPqaYrxLjY/s320/Saudi-Arabia-women-being-beheaded-for-witchcraft2.jpg

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

Hilarious!

Yep, from what I hear those Danes in that there Denmark are just lining up to trade their universal health system, top flight educational system, and top quality of life index status for the chance to buy a 3,900 sq foot McMansion on an ARM, pay through the roof for insurance from Kaiser and the opportunity to lease an Escalade.

L0L! :laugh:

[Arkie]

Hilarious!

Yep, from what I hear those Danes in that there Denmark are just lining up to trade their universal health system, top flight educational system, and top quality of life index status for the chance to buy a 3,900 sq foot McMansion on an ARM, pay through the roof for insurance from Kaiser and the opportunity to lease an Escalade.

Denmark only has 5.6 million people. America has 1.5 million Danish-Americans. That's a large percentage of them. Historically, America has been the land of opportunity even for the Danish. It's not that way anymore. Globalization has "Americanized" the rest of the world while making America less free.

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

Denmark only has 5.6 million people. America has 1.5 million Danish-Americans. That's a large percentage of them.

The 1.5 million figure (source?) doesn't necessarily say what you want it to say when you don't know when those folks emigrated to the U.S.

[pricejj]

...

U.S. disposable household income is 2nd in the world.

U.S. median disposable household income - $31,000
Denmark median disposable household income - $22,000

European tax rates are the highest in the world.

[pricejj]

Really?

Well here's an idea for you. Stop being an ethnocentric halfwit. Then you might finally have some insight worth a ****.

The only "insight" provided in this thread is you unintentionally setting aside any pretenses of being a bigoted idiot and laying it all out there for the rest of us to see.

You've got nothing huh? Looking for some ideas here. No backhanded slurs, or posts filled with hate.

Everything in the list is accurate, to my knowledge, with positives and negatives in each column. Obviously, you just can't handle that.

But really, I'm looking for a constructive dialog. Chances of that happening appear slim-to-none with you and others.

[pricejj]

If anybody wants to have an intellectual discussion about the current American/European state of affairs, and the best way to handle things going forward, that would be nice.

Otherwise, this thread is probably not for you. If all you have are insults, then kindly post in another thread.

[Rohirrim]

U.S. disposable household income is 2nd in the world.

U.S. median disposable household income - $31,000
Denmark median disposable household income - $22,000

European tax rates are the highest in the world.

And what do they get for that, Don Pardo?

[Spider]

The American way:
1. Rugged Individualism
2. Low tax rates
3. Easiest place to start a business in the world (by far)
4. Innovation
5. Massive profits can be made
6. Extraordinary compensation among the elite
7. Low cost of living (in certain areas)
8. Melting pot
9. System encourages welfare abuse
10. Low growth

The European way:
1. Individual focuses on how they help and fit into society
2. High tax rates
3. Difficult to start a business (excessive regulation)
4. Not as much disparity between CEO pay and normal workers

5. High cost of living
6. Certain areas are Homogeneous
7. Mass unemployment
8. Large safety net
9. In a recession

Obama is obviously trying to turn America into Europe. Will the world lose the most innovative force the world has ever known in America? How can we have freedom, innovation, and prosperity going forward? Would high taxes kill American innovation? Did the American jobs engine create most of the jobs in the world today?

Which way works? Why?

wtf are you babbling about ?

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

You've got nothing huh? Looking for some ideas here. No backhanded slurs, or posts filled with hate.



::)

Riiiiiiiiight - when another forum member calls you on your constant ethnocentric and xenophobic tripe, he's just a "hater."

There is definitely something sociopathic about your inability to look in the mirror.

[Arkie]

The 1.5 million figure (source?) doesn't necessarily say what you want it to say when you don't know when those folks emigrated to the U.S.

The world is more free today. We've lost some liberties over time, and the rest of the world gained some. It's a combination of these trends that dampened the desire to come to America. It's not because we aren't socialist enough.

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

The world is more free today. We've lost some liberties over time, and the rest of the world gained some. It's a combination of these trends that dampened the desire to come to America. It's not because we aren't socialist enough.

No one mentioned anything about socialism.

The argument was essentially that our standard of living was inferior to some of the European countries mentioned.

[Arkie]

No one mentioned anything about socialism.

The argument was essentially that our standard of living was inferior to some of the European countries mentioned.

European socialism is in the thread title.

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

European socialism is in the thread title.

But your comment was directed at Razor's post about the Danes.

http://www.bartcop.com/ws-record-profits.jpg

[spdirty]

Americans are not exceptional, neither is the US.

Not anymore.

[Pony Boy]

But your comment was directed at Razor's post about the Danes.

http://www.bartcop.com/ws-record-profits.jpg

31808

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

^

Poor righties - those mean ol' comedians and cartoonists just won't stop picking on them.

Maybe you should stop providing them with so much fodder.

[pricejj]

No one mentioned anything about socialism.

The argument was essentially that our standard of living was inferior to some of the European countries mentioned.

I don't buy that argument. U.S. median disposable household income is the second highest in the world. Obviously that would indicate that average U.S. standard of living is higher.

Europe has higher taxes, and thus more infrastructure, so there is that. But we are the world leaders on spending for education and healthcare.

Why do you say that Europeans have a higher standard of living?

[pricejj]

Not anymore.

I disagree. Haven't most of the products we use been invented in the U.S.? The T.V., the internet, the microwave, the refrigerator, the digital clock, modern textiles, etc. It's not a coincidence.

hat's the essence of the main post. If the U.S. turns into a Socialist Democracy (with the necessarily high tax rates)...isn't it inevitable that the world suffers?

What can we do to avoid that?

[DenverBrit]

I disagree. Haven't most of the products we use been invented in the U.S.? The T.V., the internet, the microwave, the refrigerator, the digital clock, modern textiles, etc. It's not a coincidence.

hat's the essence of the main post. If the U.S. turns into a Socialist Democracy (with the necessarily high tax rates)...isn't it inevitable that the world suffers?

What can we do to avoid that?
Many products in use were invented as a result of multiple inventions, by different people, at different times in different countries.

ie: Radio, light bulb television, modern textiles, telephone, movies etc. There is a difference between 'inventing' and making 'commercially viable.'

[houghtam]

Many products in use were invented as a result of multiple inventions, by different people, at different times in different countries.

ie: Radio, light bulb television, modern textiles, telephone, movies etc. There is a difference between 'inventing' and making 'commercially viable.'


Yeah, everyone likes to think of us as the sole innovators, the only ones who contribute anything to world culture. Like if this were Star Trek, we'd be the Federation. Everyone thinks we'd be the Federation. But we're not...we're the goddamn Ferengi every time.

"How much money is in it for me?"

[elsid13]

Yeah, everyone likes to think of us as the sole innovators, the only ones who contribute anything to world culture. Like if this were Star Trek, we'd be the Federation. Everyone thinks we'd be the Federation. But we're not...we're the goddamn Ferengi every time.

"How much money is in it for me?"

You speak Klingon, don't you? :~ohyah!:

BTW Star Trek's Federation appears to be either communist or socialist political system.

[Rohirrim]

It seems to me that the problem arises whenever you go to extremes. Extreme socialism is unsustainable. In the end, it becomes too expensive to maintain. So is extreme capitalism. It leads to a breakdown in social cohesion that creates a level of civil unrest which then makes the conduct of business impossible. Somewhere, there is an optimum blend. When you swing to one extreme, you can bet that it's only a matter of time before you start swinging back toward the other.

Of course, paradise is impossible until you first resolve the unrest in the crazy ape's head. ;D

[DenverBrit]

Yeah, everyone likes to think of us as the sole innovators, the only ones who contribute anything to world culture. Like if this were Star Trek, we'd be the Federation. Everyone thinks we'd be the Federation. But we're not...we're the goddamn Ferengi every time.

"How much money is in it for me?"

LOL