"The story you hear all the time about Europe — of a stagnant economy in which high taxes and generous social benefits have undermined incentives, stalling growth and innovation — bears little resemblance to the surprisingly positive facts. The real lesson from Europe is actually the opposite of what conservatives claim: Europe is an economic success, and that success shows that social democracy works. The European economy works; it grows; it’s as dynamic, all in all, as our own." The BEA recently released data for the amount of GDP produced by U.S. states in 2010, which allows for a updated comparison of output per capita in U.S. states to European countries (and Japan and Canada), see table below (international countries are adjusted for PPP). Key findings:
1.The European Union as a group ($32,700 GDP per capita in 2010) ranks below America's poorest state, Mississippi ($32,764).
CARPE DIEM: How About Europe Learning from Mississippi?