The Practical Choice: Not American Capitalism or "Welfare State Socialism" But
The Practical Choice: Not American Capitalism or "Welfare State Socialism" but an Economy That's Working for a Few or Many
by Robert Reich
http://robertreich.org/post/86359911960
"SNIP.................
Meanwhile, Canada and Europe continued on as before. Soviet communism went bust, and many of us assumed European and Canadian socialism would as well.
Thats why recent data from the Luxembourg Income Study Database is so shocking.
The fact is, were falling behind. While median per capita income in the United States has stagnated since 2000, its up significantly in Canada and Northern Europe. Their typical workers income is now higher than ours, and their disposable income after taxes higher still.
Its difficult to make exact comparisons of income across national borders because real purchasing power is hard to measure. But even if we assume Canadians and the citizens of several European nations have simply drawn even with the American middle class, theyre doing better in many other ways.
..................SNIP"