My Letter to the Editor of the LA Times re: Euro vs American time at work

[dumpster_baby]

re: Niall Ferguson's "Bone-Tired? You Need a Job in Europe," Aug. 11
To: [e-mail]


Mr. Ferguson pointed out that Europeans work much less
than Americans. He asserted that the reason why
Europeans work so much less than Americans is that
Europeans attend church less than Americans, and thus,
they presumably are less exposed to "good old
fashioned work ethic", and have succumbed to what Mr.
Ferguson called the "Atheist Sloth Ethic."

I assert that Europeans work so much less than
Americans because they simply do not have to work as
much as Americans. The Europeans have arranged for
their governments to support them and provide for
their medical care if they are unemployed or broke.
The European countries have strong welfare states that
provide universal healthcare and years of unemployment
payments. THe Europeans pay for their plush welfare
state through progressive taxation (read: tax the
rich).

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

P.S. DU really needs a seperate LTTE board, right?

[fsbooks]

1. Americans have to work more

because our government is arranged to facilitate the transfer of wealth from the poor and middle class to the rich. In other words, I agree.

[LittleApple81]

2. I agree totally. People in Germany, at least, feel more like members

of society and not its peons.

[eurolefty]

3. Family values in Europe

We rather spend time with our kids than with our boss. O8)

Yes, the cheap health care and education do empower ordinary European blue collar folks like me.
And the American model, skyrocketing health care costs, also also causes your jobs to be exported.

I don't want my American cousins to get shafted. So you'd better get rid of that Chimp. :evilgrin:

[Bhaisahab]

4. this is a very interesting topic of discussion...

my 1 cent: could the mods move it to GD?
cheers

[ixion]

5. The reasons American's work so much...

-- It's the culture in America. The protestant work ethic is alive and well.

-- Mo' money.

-- Because they have to, in order to keep their job.

I work between 60-80 hours a week. I could work less, but then I would probably be out of a job. The last two companies I've worked for (including the present) both told my that my work load would be more reasonable than my previous arrangement.

This was a lie, of course. :-(