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Why cant we be more like Europe in these Categories? (1 Viewer)

Scoresman

Footballguy
Friday Soapbox

1. Attitudes towards sex - Here in the US we're taught by the Christian Right that abstinence and social conservatism is best. Compare this to European countries, with much more liberal attitudes towards sex, who also have lower rates of teen pregnancies and STDs. Sex isn't and shouldn't be taught to be a bad thing like it is here.

2. More Vacation Time - Here in the US we have no government mandated paid time off. In Europe, they do. Government-mandated paid vacation time in Europe includes 35 days off in Austria, 31 days off in Italy and France, 34 days off in Germany and Spain, 30 days off in Belgium and 29 days off in the Republic of Ireland. Imagine if we had that here!

3. Universal Healthcare - I don't think I even need to explain this one. I'll only add that Europe blows the US out of the water when it comes to life expectancy.

4. Car Racing - NASCAR vs. F1.... come on.

5. Living more relaxed - The Spanish have their siestas, the Italians, riposos. It's not uncommon to see businesses close for 1-3 hours each afternoon. Here, everything is hurried and we're more stressed as a result. Europeans focus is on prioritization of family, vacation, taking time to actually cook meals, etc. You end up with a happier workforce that is more productive.

About the only thing we do better than Europe is dental care and Mexican food.

 
Yeah but they need us to save their *** when they screw up and give the wrong guy the keys to something important. Amirite.

 
3. Universal Healthcare - I don't think I even need to explain this one. I'll only add that Europe blows the US out of the water when it comes to life expectancy.
I agree with you on the others, but not this one. US life expectancy is 79.8. Portugal is 80. Germany, Greece, UK and Finland are all 81. Norway, Austria, France, Netherlands are Ireland are all under 82. I wouldn't call less than two years blowing us out of the water at all.

 
3. Universal Healthcare - I don't think I even need to explain this one. I'll only add that Europe blows the US out of the water when it comes to life expectancy.
I agree with you on the others, but not this one. US life expectancy is 79.8. Portugal is 80. Germany, Greece, UK and Finland are all 81. Norway, Austria, France, Netherlands are Ireland are all under 82. I wouldn't call less than two years blowing us out of the water at all.
Get back to us when you turn 79.7 years old.

 
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3. Universal Healthcare - I don't think I even need to explain this one. I'll only add that Europe blows the US out of the water when it comes to life expectancy.
I agree with you on the others, but not this one. US life expectancy is 79.8. Portugal is 80. Germany, Greece, UK and Finland are all 81. Norway, Austria, France, Netherlands are Ireland are all under 82. I wouldn't call less than two years blowing us out of the water at all.
There are several European countries below us too. The US life expectancy is also lower because we have much more violent crime. Plus our fast food diet and lack of excercize, it is amazing we are that close. I am not seeing our health care system as the issue at all.

 
3. Universal Healthcare - I don't think I even need to explain this one. I'll only add that Europe blows the US out of the water when it comes to life expectancy.
I agree with you on the others, but not this one. US life expectancy is 79.8. Portugal is 80. Germany, Greece, UK and Finland are all 81. Norway, Austria, France, Netherlands are Ireland are all under 82. I wouldn't call less than two years blowing us out of the water at all.
There are several European countries below us too. The US life expectancy is also lower because we have much more violent crime. Plus our fast food diet and lack of excercize, it is amazing we are that close. I am not seeing our health care system as the issue at all.
Cost for sure is, but not life expectancy. The number is gave is the one performed by the WHO, which I believe factors for homicides and such. Also, and it makes sense - lack of education has a direct connection to shorter life expectancy. There's about an 8 or 9 year longer life expectancy for bachelor degree recipients than for those who didn't finish high school.

Maybe we should add education to the list at the top of this thread....

 
3. Universal Healthcare - I don't think I even need to explain this one. I'll only add that Europe blows the US out of the water when it comes to life expectancy.
I agree with you on the others, but not this one. US life expectancy is 79.8. Portugal is 80. Germany, Greece, UK and Finland are all 81. Norway, Austria, France, Netherlands are Ireland are all under 82. I wouldn't call less than two years blowing us out of the water at all.
There are several European countries below us too. The US life expectancy is also lower because we have much more violent crime. Plus our fast food diet and lack of excercize, it is amazing we are that close. I am not seeing our health care system as the issue at all.
Also our lack of vacation and stressful lifestyles.

 
3. Universal Healthcare - I don't think I even need to explain this one. I'll only add that Europe blows the US out of the water when it comes to life expectancy.
I agree with you on the others, but not this one. US life expectancy is 79.8. Portugal is 80. Germany, Greece, UK and Finland are all 81. Norway, Austria, France, Netherlands are Ireland are all under 82. I wouldn't call less than two years blowing us out of the water at all.
Their costs are significantly lower and we commies are gonna keep whining about this until we get it. We'll get it, too, just like we're getting all the other pinko stuff.

 
3. Universal Healthcare - I don't think I even need to explain this one. I'll only add that Europe blows the US out of the water when it comes to life expectancy.
I agree with you on the others, but not this one. US life expectancy is 79.8. Portugal is 80. Germany, Greece, UK and Finland are all 81. Norway, Austria, France, Netherlands are Ireland are all under 82. I wouldn't call less than two years blowing us out of the water at all.
There are several European countries below us too. The US life expectancy is also lower because we have much more violent crime. Plus our fast food diet and lack of excercize, it is amazing we are that close. I am not seeing our health care system as the issue at all.
But Europeans smoke more and dont take care of their teeth.

 
Aren't you Canadian? Either way - feel free to move to Europe if you think it's so great.
I am not Canadian. I would move to Europe if I could. I have a lot of family in Belgium and could definitely see myself living there.

Either that or I'm retiring in Bologna, Italy to open a deli.

 
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Europe healthier than U.S.
Older Americans have higher rates of serious diseases than aging Europeans, a study says.
October 02, 2007|Lisa Girion | Times Staff Writer













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Costly diseases, many of them related to obesity and smoking, are more prevalent among aging Americans than their European peers and add as much as $100 billion to $150 billion a year in treatment costs to the U.S. healthcare tab, a new study says.

The study by researchers at Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health found higher rates of several serious diseases -- including cancer, diabetes and heart disease -- among Americans 50 and older as compared with aging Europeans.

For example, heart disease was diagnosed in nearly twice as many Americans as Europeans 50 and older. More than 16% of American seniors had diagnosed diabetes, compared with about 11% of their European peers. And arthritis and cancer were more than twice as common among Americans as Europeans.

The study published on the Web today by the journal Health Affairs found that Americans were nearly twice as likely as Europeans to be obese (33.1% versus 17.1%), and they also were more likely to be current or former smokers (53% versus 43%).




 
When I was in Europe 2 things stood out.

People used bikes for local transportation vs hopping in your car to go a local destination

No fat slobs riding motor scooters through the grocery stores picking off every frozen crap food they could get their hands on from their scooter seat.

 
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3. Universal Healthcare - I don't think I even need to explain this one. I'll only add that Europe blows the US out of the water when it comes to life expectancy.
I agree with you on the others, but not this one. US life expectancy is 79.8. Portugal is 80. Germany, Greece, UK and Finland are all 81. Norway, Austria, France, Netherlands are Ireland are all under 82. I wouldn't call less than two years blowing us out of the water at all.
Get back to us when you turn 79.7 years old.
:lmao:

 
I've been to Europe, I certainly didn't want to move there after visiting.

Now Barbados and island time.. Yeah I'll take it

 
1. I don't think the Christian Right is as to blame as some want them to. Just about every Christian I know (anecdotally, I know) encourages/claims to have a healthy sexual relationship with their spouse and that sex isn't bad.......spouse being the key word. I don't think Social Conservatives hold the monopoly on sticking their head in the sand or condemning to teenage and non-marital sex either.

2. I agree with that. I'm not one who thinks the government should neccessarilly regulate that. I work for a place that it's almost impossible to use all your vacation (and I take a lot)....but the trade off is less money. Most times, I'm fine with it.

3. Health Care or Preventative Health Care?.....I'm not one who thinks we should be shelling out billions to help career smokers or porkers in the WAL-MART frozen food aisle. Telling people "live whatever unhealthy lifestyle you want...we'll fix it" isn't very productive. But...I have no problem with 1) free annual physicals for people, 2) more drastic attempts to show unhealthy people how unhealthy their lifestyles are (this probably won't work with "career" unhealthy people.....but its more of a long game to reach youth. I know my children are terrified of smoking just from that commercial where the guy has to pull out his teeth to get more cigarettes and 3) I think dental needs to be looked at more as healthcare instead of just superficial.

4. Meh.

5. I kind of agree with that.....and I think that while 3 hours is extreme.....we as a culture have gotten away from even taking a relaxed lunch break. I remember visiting relatives in Canada in the 90s/2000s and most all went home for lunch....took a break from the work culture. It seems like we're discouraged from even this anymore.

 
Also, cheese.

America - Cheese whiz, American "cheese", Cheddar, Jack

Europe - The entire swiss cheese family, Italian cheeses, regionals.

Its not even close.

 
3. Universal Healthcare - I don't think I even need to explain this one. I'll only add that Europe blows the US out of the water when it comes to life expectancy.
Apples and oranges. There are many factors that differ between countries that affect life expectancy, including homicides, suicides, and accidental deaths, and also potentially relating to lifestyle choices (e.g., obesity).

It has been shown that the U.S. life expectancy is #1 among countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development if homicides, suicides, and deaths from auto accidents are normalized for all countries. That means the U.S. life expectancy independent of those factors is higher than that of the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.

There are plenty of good reasons to justify universal healthcare in the U.S., but poor life expectancy isn't one of them.

2. More Vacation Time - Here in the US we have no government mandated paid time off. In Europe, they do. Government-mandated paid vacation time in Europe includes 35 days off in Austria, 31 days off in Italy and France, 34 days off in Germany and Spain, 30 days off in Belgium and 29 days off in the Republic of Ireland. Imagine if we had that here!

5. Living more relaxed - The Spanish have their siestas, the Italians, riposos. It's not uncommon to see businesses close for 1-3 hours each afternoon. Here, everything is hurried and we're more stressed as a result. Europeans focus is on prioritization of family, vacation, taking time to actually cook meals, etc. You end up with a happier workforce that is more productive.
These items are related, so I grouped them. More leisure time for Europeans is one reason they lag the U.S. in per capita GDP. However, I don't have a strong enough understanding of this area to understand the ramifications of the U.S. shortening the work week and "living more relaxed" on our economy, culture, etc.

About the only thing we do better than Europe is dental care and Mexican food.
Come on, man. American football, baseball, food, beer, agriculture, military, foreign aid, healthcare/pharmaceutical research, innovation/entrepreneurship, billionaires, university education, roads, road trips, national parks, roller coasters, movies, TV, jazz, the blues, muscle cars, free speech, diversity, porn....

 
1. Attitudes towards sex
this is mostly due to our propensity for Chrisitan fundamentalism, this is slowly changing and will eventually get to European standards IMHO.

2. More Vacation Time
Our market is more free, therefor until our market dynamics support more vacation, this likely won't happen. The easiest way to cure this is to have very low unemployment where the labor force will demand more vacation. If I'm not mistaken the average American has more vacation now, than it did 30 years ago so we are trending in the right direction.

3. Universal Healthcare
meh, Euros socialist policies also breed laziness...there is a reason why America leads the world in innovation and GDP.

4. Car Racing
meh

5. Living more relaxed - The Spanish have their siestas, the Italians, riposos. It's not uncommon to see businesses close for 1-3 hours each afternoon. Here, everything is hurried and we're more stressed as a result. Europeans focus is on prioritization of family, vacation, taking time to actually cook meals, etc. You end up with a happier workforce that is more productive.
Our workforce is more productive, so your premise appears to have a leap of logic.

 
Also, cheese.

America - Cheese whiz, American "cheese", Cheddar, Jack

Europe - The entire swiss cheese family, Italian cheeses, regionals.

Its not even close.
Swiss cheese is American. It resembles Emmental cheese, which originated in Switzerland. Cheddar originated in the UK. Here is a better comparison:

America: American, Cream, Colby, Jack, Colby-Jack, Monterey Jack, Muenster, Parmesan, Pepper Jack, String, Swiss, Velveeta

Europe: Asiago, Brie, Cheddar, Emmental, Feta, Gouda, Gruyere, Havarti, Manchego, Mozarella, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Pecorino, Provolone, Roquefort, and hundreds of others

Yep, Europe wins on cheese, at least on origins. On the other hand, the U.S. produces more cheese than any other country, 26% of the world's cheese, including European origin cheese like Cheddar and Mozzarella...

 
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5. Living more relaxed - The Spanish have their siestas, the Italians, riposos. It's not uncommon to see businesses close for 1-3 hours each afternoon. Here, everything is hurried and we're more stressed as a result. Europeans focus is on prioritization of family, vacation, taking time to actually cook meals, etc. You end up with a happier workforce that is more productive.
Our workforce is more productive, so your premise appears to have a leap of logic.
Look at France - productivity nearly as high as the U.S. but they work 5 less weeks a year.

 
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I wouldn't emulate Europe regarding workplace productivity. And a hugely expensive socialistic democracy may not be the dream for the long term.

I agree on health care AS LONG AS we require improvements in preventative health. With our current tech we can monitor so many behaviors and outcomes its Orwellian.

 
I live in Australia right now. While not part of Europe last I checked, they still call their coffee weird #### (long black, short whites, whatever) and have universal healthcare, at least four weeks vacation time for everyone, subsidized childcare, paid time off for parents, and no (non-koala) bears. It's awesome because I'm terrified of bears.

 
i cant speak for all of europe, but italy has its pros and cons. the universal health care, coupled with a society based on pensions has esentially crippled this economy. they don't create any jobs and seem adverse to change. politically its Also a mess. but they have strong values around family. its not uncommon to see 4 generations in a house or close proximity. many stores still close for 3-4 hours mid day for lunch. most places don't open dinner service till 7.30p and don't turn tables over. they live smaller and simpler and don't seem as caught up in having stuff like americans. they smoke and drink like fiends. overall, the big difference to me is pace of life. a 3 hour dinner is not uncommon. people watching is an activity. fun fact, when people move they take their kitchens with them, including cabinets.....living the space completely empty.

 
I live in Australia right now. While not part of Europe last I checked, they still call their coffee weird #### (long black, short whites, whatever) and have universal healthcare, at least four weeks vacation time for everyone, subsidized childcare, paid time off for parents, and no (non-koala) bears. It's awesome because I'm terrified of bears.
That's great and all, but you also have to check the toilet every time you take a dump just in case THE MOST POISONOUS SPIDER IN THE WORLD isn't hiding waiting to bite your balls.

 
3. Universal Healthcare - I don't think I even need to explain this one. I'll only add that Europe blows the US out of the water when it comes to life expectancy.
I agree with you on the others, but not this one. US life expectancy is 79.8. Portugal is 80. Germany, Greece, UK and Finland are all 81. Norway, Austria, France, Netherlands are Ireland are all under 82. I wouldn't call less than two years blowing us out of the water at all.
True, but they're also spending 8-10% of their GDP on health care while we spend 18%.

It's very frustrating how so many people fail to realize how poorly we are doing in this area, especially financially. So many people so adamantly opposed to universal care when such care clearly works just as well (with life expectancy as just one of many possible measuring sticks) at barely half the cost.

 
Friday Soapbox

1. Attitudes towards sex - Here in the US we're taught by the Christian Right that abstinence and social conservatism is best. Compare this to European countries, with much more liberal attitudes towards sex, who also have lower rates of teen pregnancies and STDs. Sex isn't and shouldn't be taught to be a bad thing like it is here.

2. More Vacation Time - Here in the US we have no government mandated paid time off. In Europe, they do. Government-mandated paid vacation time in Europe includes 35 days off in Austria, 31 days off in Italy and France, 34 days off in Germany and Spain, 30 days off in Belgium and 29 days off in the Republic of Ireland. Imagine if we had that here!

3. Universal Healthcare - I don't think I even need to explain this one. I'll only add that Europe blows the US out of the water when it comes to life expectancy.

4. Car Racing - NASCAR vs. F1.... come on.

5. Living more relaxed - The Spanish have their siestas, the Italians, riposos. It's not uncommon to see businesses close for 1-3 hours each afternoon. Here, everything is hurried and we're more stressed as a result. Europeans focus is on prioritization of family, vacation, taking time to actually cook meals, etc. You end up with a happier workforce that is more productive.

About the only thing we do better than Europe is dental care and Mexican food.
2. you can have as much time off as you wish. if you aren't happy with your present allotment of vacation time, I would invite you to either negotiate for more, or seek a different employer. One thing that's great about America - you have the opportunity to easily change your situation, including starting your own business.

5. if your living isn't "relaxed", that's on you. You are free to prioritize as you wish. if you feel like everything is hurried and you are more stressed, I suggest making changes in your life.

There is nothing preventing you from adopting whatever lifestyle you wish.

 
also, i'm in Germany for work this week. These guys take 30 minutes for lunch (if that) to go the company cafeteria, and are back at it quickly. no siestas here.

I think these guys are subsidizing the siesta countries.

 
"I wish we could be like the Europeans. They have fully paid pensions after 15 years of employment (ref: Greece) AND strong GDP with full employment (ref: Germany)."

 
Doesn't the US have like 9 of the top 10 richest porn companies in the world? Seems accepted here by most with a noisy minority??

Vacation time isn't mandated but I always negotiated mine.

While I do believe universal healthcare is probably the smartest way to go, i have ZERO confidence our politicians can do it correctly.

"yeee haw" car racin' !!!!

Living relaxed is on the individual. No one can help the tightly wound but themselves.

 
You forgot the fact that the women take their tops off at all inclusive resorts

And Im not talking about fat ugly ones.

 
also, i'm in Germany for work this week. These guys take 30 minutes for lunch (if that) to go the company cafeteria, and are back at it quickly. no siestas here.

I think these guys are subsidizing the siesta countries.
They very much are.
 
3. Universal Healthcare - I don't think I even need to explain this one. I'll only add that Europe blows the US out of the water when it comes to life expectancy.
I agree with you on the others, but not this one. US life expectancy is 79.8. Portugal is 80. Germany, Greece, UK and Finland are all 81. Norway, Austria, France, Netherlands are Ireland are all under 82. I wouldn't call less than two years blowing us out of the water at all.
True, but they're also spending 8-10% of their GDP on health care while we spend 18%.

It's very frustrating how so many people fail to realize how poorly we are doing in this area, especially financially. So many people so adamantly opposed to universal care when such care clearly works just as well (with life expectancy as just one of many possible measuring sticks) at barely half the cost.
As I said in post #8 above, cost is clearly an issue. That said, lets not use life expectancy as a measuring stick claiming that they "blow us out of the water." They don't. If you want to say they have similar results in that category at roughly half the price, go right ahead.

 

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