Spreading the Linky Goodness

Sebastian Holsclaw was apparently feeling masochistic today, because he was inciting people to comment on this statement:

My conjecture is: The United States cannot expect to successfully emulate the policies of the more socialistic European countries even if it found the political will to attempt it.

This is because the socialistic European countries are free riders in certain crucial areas. They are able to be so successful because the US bears the costs in these areas. If the United States were to adopt the economic policies of these countries, there would be no one left bearing these costs. This would be detrimental to the United States and to the world as a whole.

One of those things that is mostly either bloody obvious or whatinhell, judging from the comments. For me, the military spending thing (the first factor mentioned) is bloody obvious and the technological research thing (the second)... is something that I'd ask the womenfolk here at Chez Lane* about, but they're not available, so beats me.

Anyway, check it out.

Moe

*I check with them for all my scientific and technological questions, because they know calculus and geometry and conics and... stuff, and, well, math is hard.

Comments

[marky]

Well, in terms of health care, we spend almost as much federal money as the Europeans do, and that's about half of total spending. I don't know the economic effect if we got decent national health care which cost more federal dollars, but reduced total health care expenditures by hundred of billions of dollars, but I'd like to!

[BDH]

In terms of innovation, the US does not benefit much from its system. Big business research, government research - very little impact, generally due to incompetence. Yet they claim credit falsely -esp NASA. The US benefits from a "brain drain" which is now REVERSING and a somewhat more innovative culture.