Posted on 09/19/2003 2:19:19 PM PDT by Sub-Driver
European Holiday Europeans wonder why Americans have it so good. The answer: We work hard for it while they take vacations. by Irwin M. Stelzer 09/16/2003 12:00:00 AM
Irwin M. Stelzer, contributing writer
ENVY IS A TERRIBLE THING. Not so much because it makes those whom it afflicts unhappy, or as myth has it, turn green, but because it dulls their analytical skills. At meeting after meeting, in university seminars and in think tanks around the world, envy of America distorts discussions of what accounts for the wealth of nations.
Europeans know that America's standard of living exceeds their own by a very substantial margin. They know this not because they have pored over arcane statistics about output-per-man-hour, or investment in research and development, or other indicia on which economists rely. They know it because they have seen with their own eyes what a modest Holiday Inn at DisneyWorld offers by way of accommodation, service, and food; they know it because they see on television how Americans live, or hear it from relatives living in Florida--or even Detroit; they know it because their policymakers, many of them viscerally and violently anti-American, are always trying to devise programs that will enable their economies to match the performance of America's. When E.U. policymakers are shielded from public view in the safety of a seminar room, they concede that the American economy is the gold standard when it comes to producing the material good things of life.
This knowledge is pervasive. Young Italian men are too poor to set up their own living quarters long after American men have graduated from their starter accommodations. Germans are more frequently out of work, and for longer periods, than even the least lucky Americans. Brits snack on tiny sandwiches taken out of refrigerators that barely house a small bottle of milk and a few daily necessities, while America's housewives shop less frequently because their refrigerators are close to walk-in size. All because American working folks produce more of just about everything in any year than their European counterparts.
Ah, say Europeans, but the availability of material goods is one thing, "happiness" and "the quality of life" are something else, and very different. Start with vacations. Italians get 42 days of paid vacation every year, the French 37, the Germans 35, and the British 28. We Americans, meanwhile, take off only 14 of the 16 days to which we are entitled. Figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that Americans also work a 49-hour-week, which adds up to 350 more hours of labor a year than the typical European worker. Woe unto the frazzled Americans.
IF ANYTHING, these figures understate the difference between Americans and Europeans. Take the British. Anyone who has ever tried to do business in Britain in August knows that the month should be counted as vacation time. Even those trying to work find so many of their colleagues on holiday that they might as well stay home or leave town themselves. Add to that the period between, say, December 15 and January 10, when many Brits down tools, pens, and copious quantities of beer and champagne, and several bank holidays. Throw in the time off now cascading on the work force from the fevered brains of New Labour policy wonks--maternity and paternity leave, sick days, and, soon Europe Day (May 9, as mandated in Part IV, Article IV-1 of the new constitution), and the official figure of 28 days becomes, at best, a lower limit.
THE 14-DAY "vacation" estimate for Americans, on the other hand, is an overstatement. The ubiquitous Blackberry enables us to read and send emails from the seas and oceans, from beaches, fields, hills, and rooftops; call forwarding routes those who dial an office directly to the cell phone of the lawyer, consultant or engineer who is technically on vacation; and vacation days at posh spas are often scheduled around a company or industry conference.
A good way to sum up Americans' views of vacations is to study the habits of George W. Bush. He retreated to his ranch, where the temperature regularly exceeds 100 degrees, to clear brush. For relief from that vacation activity, he met with his foreign policy team, then with his economic advisers, then traveled to national parks to push his plan to reduce the incidence of forest fires, then on to California for a fund-raising tour. By contrast, Europe's leaders disappeared from view, some to the Caribbean, others to Tuscany, still others to California and Montana. No vacatio interruptus for them.
SO EUROPEANS INSIST that Americans may be more "productive," as economists measure productivity, but only because they work longer hours. In any given hour, they contend, European workers can produce as much or more. The fact that Europe's economies typically produce fewer goods and services for the delectation of their citizens then becomes a matter of choice--the voluntary selection of leisure over work.
Not a bad argument, if correct. After all, perhaps the one thing the French have got right is their famous chacun à son gout. The problem is that although an American worker can often trade off higher income for more leisure time, it is not so easy for Europeans to do the opposite. An Italian worker who would like more income and less vacation time can show up for work in August, but his factory or office will be closed. A British worker who would like to make a few extra pounds by working in the week after Christmas will have a hard time being productive in an empty office or plant. About the only thing a European worker can do to improve the ratio of income-to-leisure is emigrate to America. Which is why millions of Italians, Irish, Germans, and other Europeans have voted with their feet in favor of America's balance between work and leisure, with no discernible flow in the opposite direction.
All of this, of course, makes one wonder just how Europe's policymakers know, as they claim they do, that the less productive lifestyle of their citizens is, indeed, a matter of choice? The answer is simple: they know that Europeans are "happier," in good part because incomes, although lower than in America, are more equally distributed. So the Economist cites a study of Harvard students in which those polled say they would prefer to earn $50,000 a year while others earned half that, than to earn $100,000 annually while others earned twice as much.
Europeans who cite this study in an effort to bring Americans down a peg or two provide a perfect example of the addled thinking resulting from envy. Harvard students are not famously stretched to pay the rent (parents foot dorm bills) or meet family obligations or medical bills; even the neediest receive subsidies from the richest and most generous university in the world. So, to resort to the vernacular, their talk is cheap: until they earn their livings by the sweat of their own brows, they would do well not to tell pollsters that they prefer earning half as much so long as others earn less.
When Europe's policymakers rise above envy and politically correct talk of "happiness," "equality," and "leisure-trumps-income," they express real worry. Not only is the American economy more productive than Europe's, the gap is widening--output per man-hour in the United States continues to rise, as the infrastructure left behind by busted dot.coms becomes more and more efficiently deployed. Worse still for those who want to play catch-up, America's outlays on research and development, a harbinger of future improvements in productivity, continue to outstrip those in the European Union.
The good news for the European Union is that serious European policymakers understand the problem. The bad news for Europe is that they prefer to hide behind talk of the advantages of not working, rather than to implement policies that make work more attractive. Meanwhile, they might give a thought to the Chinese, who seem to view leisure with even greater suspicion than we Americans do.
Irwin M. Stelzer is director of economic policy studies at the Hudson Institute, a columnist for the Sunday Times (London), a contributing editor to The Weekly Standard, and a contributing writer to The Daily Standard.
No lie. Last week I'm in rural Idaho on vac and I'm fielding technical support calls while I'm clearing brush with a chainsaw. Pity they won't let me take the chainsaw to the office...
It isn't just productivity - another difference in economic performance stems from the layers of bureaucracy and regulation that hinder enterpreneurialism in the EU. Take, for example, the ease with which an entire grassroots industry - nail and manicure shops - blossomed in the U.S. from a myriad of small operators getting business licenses and doing their thing. The fact is that it's just plain harder to do this in the EU. Same with Mom-and-Pop software shops, franchise outlets, web-based mail-order concerns, etc, etc. It seems like such a little thing, but multiplied by the number of players (or potential players) and it's not so small at all. All IMHO and subject to debate, of course.
That's usually lost on Europeans. I cannot recall them acknowledging our defense umbrella maintains world stability.
A what if: If the United States pulled away from the world affairs by becoming isolationists. How many wars would happen in ten years around the world? It sure wouldn't be good for the global economy.
15,000 elderly French citizens just learned THAT the hard way.
1) There is probably a "law of diminishing returns" operative with days off -- the longer their number, the more marginal the rest and restorative effect of each additional day -- so our 14 days, scattered throughout the year, may do us more good than the Eurocritter's 28+;
2)Because our whole country doesn't shut down and go on vacation for a whole month, but instead staggers vacations, our whole economy can keep up and running for 12/12ths of a year instead of 11/12ths;
3) It is difficult enough to come back to work and deal with the backlog of e-mails, voice mails, snail mails, etc., after just a few days off -- I would shudder to even imagine what a 4-week absence would greet me with upon my return;
4) Because we don't all go on vacation at once, our vacation spots are not all filled to the brim at one time of the year and empty the rest -- meaning that we can actually ENJOY our vacations when we get there, and we can AFFORD them (and even take advantage of great bargains), thanks to the law of supply and demand.
Next question.
I remember a story about one of the founders of Sun Microsystems - a German - who said that he came to America to found the company because he never would have been able to get it off the ground in Germany due to red tape.
I had an interesting experience some years ago when I returned from working in the Middle East. I came back to the States through Europe, and I could see the various work ethics from the ME to the US. The author is right--Americans just plain work harder (don't even get me started on the ME work ethic!).
They would have wake up to reality and spend money on defense away from their cherished social programs. Europe has been at peace for the longest time in thier history because of the United States defense of Europe.
Not to mention what would happen in the rest of the world.
Please FReepmail me if you want on or off my infrequent ‘miscellaneous’ ping list.
And I agree with them.
And 15,000 French grannies died of heat stroke because the family was at the beach for a few weeks. Rather than return to bury them and interrupt their vacations, they basically told the government to just sort to prop them in the corner until they got back.
It still looks like our system is best.
Back in 1979-1982 I was working as an construction bricklayer apprentice for a local Construction Company (Karl Schaeffer & Sons in Dransfeld, Niedersachsen; I have to mention him just because he(the Old man) helped me tremendously shape my future.)
In any case, it was this law on the books called "winter time" whereby from Nov 22nd to March 20th, all but a hand full of the regular employees were furloughed with full pay.(25% owner, 75% city)
Do not get me wrong, I kinda liked it, but now a lot older and wiser, having a second look at it, I do not think it was a good law and based on the quagmire their economical house is in it, I belive THAT particular law was/is part of the problems they have to face now and the future.
One other thing, "die Gewerkshaften" (Unions) are very powerfull and on the loose in Germany and the politicians are quite impotent to do anything against their wishes, except kiss the hand and get the blessings.
Europe has a very "BIG" problem on their hands, not only Germany, but France, Italy, Holland, Belgium etc., are in the same leaky boat and sadly it does not look too good for the future. They have had created a very lazy and complacent "monster" "aka 800 lbs Gorilla" class with no desire for change.
Like the say goes..."you reap what you sow"...
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