Strangely enough, these are the same places that another article listed yesterday as having the most freedom.
The only thing this report proves is that Europe, whether the so called right or the out and out Socialist Left, hasn’t got a clue how a free market operates. In Europe they all wanrt protectionism.
Oh, good Lord. People too inept to run a buisiness of their own (else why would they work for the government) deciding how best others may run theirs. That’s sure to work.
Compare this to what's happening with Starbucks here in the USA: they're forcing the competition to get better by natural market forces. Why do you think smaller chains and locally-owned coffeehouses are doing all kinds of upgrades to keep their customers from heading off to Starbucks?
I know I’m being dense here, but what is the reasoning behind disallowing a lowering of prices (i.e. sales) at certain times of the year? Talk about sticking it to the consumer.