Re:At this point ... (Score 2, Informative)

Actually, the services/taxing and employment laws cause massive unemployment in the EU, not low income per se. What causes low pay is that Americans work their asses off (average hours for the full time worker is over 40 hours per week) whereas in most of Europe this number is well under 40. Productivity (basically measured by income per hour worked) in Europe is on par with America. In the early 90s it was slightly higher, now it is slightly lower. Thus Europeans pay themselves by not working, and therefore it looks like they are poorer when its really they just get to chill more.