Next time some socialist statist says the United States should be more like Europe, tell him to digest this (but from the opposite direction one usually digests things so he can have a real chance of actually getting it):

Government Budget Deficits
and Public Debt
(Percentage of Gross Domestic Product)

Nation 2002 2003 Deficit Debt Deficit Debt 15 EU nations 2.0 62.5 2.6 64.0 12 eurozone nations 2.3 69.2 2.7 70.4 Austria 0.2 66.6 1.1 65.0 Belgium -0.1 105.8 -0.2 100.5 Denmark -1.7 47.2 -1.5 45.0 Finland -4.3 42.6 -2.3 45.3 France 3.2 58.6 4.1 63.0 Germany 3.5 60.8 3.9 64.2 Greece 1.4 104.7 1.7 102.4 Ireland 0.2 32.3 -0.2 32.0 Italy 2.3 108.0 2.4 106.2 Luxembourg -2.7 5.7 0.1 4.9 Netherlands 1.9 52.6 3.0 54.8 Portugal 2.7 58.1 2.8 59.4 Spain 0.0 54.6 -0.3 50.8 Sweden -0.0 52.6 -0.7 51.8 United Kingdom 1.6 38.5 3.2 39.8 United States 1.5 34.1 3.5 36.1

Note: Percentages in red indiciate violation of the terms of the 1997 Stability and Growth Pact, which require that each European Union (EU) member maintain deficits of no more than 3% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), as well as move its public spending accounts into surplus during times of growth. Each member must further keep debt below 60% GDP or be reducing it steadily to less than this figure.     France and Germany have both repeatedly breached the deficit ceiling. Britain is bound by the targets in the pact although it is not at risk from a penalties procedure laid down for eurozone countries.     EU finance ministers have suspended application of the procedure against France and Germany. [How convenient.]Sources: Eurostat, eubusiness.com, Congressional Budget Office.

First communism - Russian style - went bankrupt and collapsed because of no real ability to sustain itself. In light of those debt numbers coming out of socialist Eutopia, won't be too many decades before we see the same thing happen there.

	11:23 AM

Comments (registered users)