Re: Unionizing? (getting OT)

Subject: Re: Unionizing? (getting OT)
From: "Bob Hooker" <rlhooker -at- telocity -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Sat, 7 Dec 2002 16:16:26 -0500


> > All figures are for 2001.
>
> I had different numbers for 2001 ...

Although economic indicators are important, splitting hairs over the
relative GDPs of countries that are at pretty much the same level of
development misses some crucial points about the success of various systems.
We have a habit of reducing all issues to money, as if GDP = GDH (Gross
Domestic Happiness). Europeans as a whole quit playing this game after World
War II, our at least quit taking it as seriously as Americans do.

Look around. All these countries have reached an economic level at which
food, clothing, and shelter are not an issue. After you've got the basics
taken care of, then you can move onto quality of life types of things, such
as education, medical care, and quality of family life. Or not. You can just
go on accumulating goods.

Europeans, and to a lesser extent Canadians, put their wealth into such
things as education, vacation time, and other quality of life types of
endeavors to a much greater extent than do Americans. European unions play a
big part of seeing to it that everyone shares in the benefits of living in a
modern Western society. Not all of these benefits can be measured by GDP.

There was a time when unions played much the same role in American society.
After all, it was unions that gave us the 40-hour work week and universal
public education. That was before unions, too, took up playing the
he-who-dies-with-the-most-toys-wins game of economics.

Bob Hooker




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References:
Re: Unionizing? (getting OT): From: Jan Henning

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