Yea let's be more like europe.

[dude1394]

Couldn't happen to a nicer guy methinks.

Support for German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's party tumbled in elections to the European Parliament as voters across Europe protested everything from rising unemployment to the Iraq war.

Exit polls from the Czech Republic and the Netherlands showed setbacks for ruling parties there, as the European Union's first elections since it expanded to 25 nations last month shaped up as a continent-wide protest against a 9.1 percent jobless rate and the role of some countries in Iraq.

[FullBurst41]

Never mind the fact that morons in Belgium make the fascists one of the most powerful blocs in Flemmish politics. Good thing they're barred from governing. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

[mavsman]

While the emphasized "jobless rate" is really annoying, you have to keep in mind that our welfare system - as lousy as it may have become - is still strong enough that there's no need yet to invent jobs like "guy that packs your bags in the supermarket" just to nicen up the statistics. Yet.

[dude1394]

you mean that your welfare system is strong enough to let people sit on their rears and be on the dole while everyone else supports them? Or am I missing something?

[madape]

I'd rather have high-school dropouts sacking my groceries and earning a living than sitting on their asses watching TV and eating the food that my taxes pay for.

But what do I know, I'm not European.

[mavsman]

Common misconception. You don't let other people support you, but during your worklife you pay monthly fees into an unemployment insurance. If and when you're being sacked, then the insurance kicks in. What's wrong with that? I bet you dont have insurances for your houses and your cars, because you don't want other people to give you money should they be damaged.

Edited: spelling

[LRB]

That insurance only lasts a short time here in the good old USA, and then it's the free cheese line for you. But it's not really insurance as much as a tax. Sometimes you do need to use it, but you should be working your ass off to get a job. I know I did the one and only time I ever used it. But if someone is on the government dole for years at a time, they're more times than not working their ass off to get just any job. Now whether that's because they're lazy or whether the government disincentitizes them is open to debate.

[dude1394]

I on the other hand sat on my rear and partied my brains out until the guvment check ran out. Then...back to school. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

[twelli]

It ain't so bad to be European. Living in Asia I am often asked: 'Are you American'? I usually reply: 'No, I am European'. And I try to image what the asking person might associate with Europe. Quality cars from Germany, fine cuisine from France, passionate lifestyle from the south, welfare system from the north, and so on. I really feel sooooo sophisticated and cultivated. [img]i/expressions/rolleye.gif[/img]