Robert, I am not sure about that, in a number of countries in Europe, being unemployed is better than flipping hamburgers, so there is little incentive to get going on the first wrung of the ladder. They need structural changes in their social net systems which will incentivize people to get on that first wrung, and then get up further on the ladder, and support the economy. The economic "sinks" are still greater than the "sources". I think too little is attention is paid to the fact that in the last few years we restructured our own welfare system, taking a lot of people off and making them "tax paying" members of society.
I don't know what the current status is, but some ten years ago, I was faced with a situation where it would have been necessary to close a facility in France, and to my surprise, I was told by the "local" that in France and Germany, it was almost impossible to close an unprofitable facility. If that is still the case, workers mobility to more efficient work environment becomes quite difficult. If that is still the case, it is a yoke on the neck of their economies.
Zeev |
