Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A flipside of this system is that Europe doesn't have the ethic of individual charitable
giving that we have in the US. We go to auctions and bake sales to support a good
cause. We help our children raise money to subsidize school projects. Our local orchestras
wouldn't exist without financial gifts from donors committed to that slice of culture. And
public television is made possible through generous support from viewers like you. You
don't see that so much in Europe. Europeans expect the government to care for the needy
and fund the arts, youth groups, and foreign study opportunities. Europe's tax-funded al-
ternative to charity auctions, pledge drives, and school car washes works for them.
In our system, the thinking is that, after we all get wealthy, we'll be sure to make char-
itable contributions to the places where the fabric of our society is frayed. But Europe is
more socialistic. Rather than a thousand points of light emanating from generous commu-
nity members who care, Europeans prefer one compassionate, well-organized searchlight
from their entire society as orchestrated by elected officials. While we care individually,
they care collectively. What's perceived as good for the fabric of their community (such as
having bike lanes, heroin maintenance clinics, public broadcasting, after-school childcare
for working parents, paid maternity and paternity leave, and freeway art) trumps business
interests.
The United States and Europe are similar in many ways. But I've noticed a funda-
mental difference: We're both enthusiastic about “government by, for, and of the people.”
But in America this is by, for, and of the people via the corporations we own. In other
words, we think a primary role of government is to create an economic atmosphere where
the corporations we own can prosper. I was raised with the business mantra, “What's good
for GM is good for America.”
In Europe, on the other hand, they choose government by, for, and of the people
in
spite
of the corporations they own. Their government would be more likely to go to bat
for the environment, the poor, the future, and the long-term interests of society.
Consequently, Europe is willing to make laws that are (at least in the narrow view)
bad for business. While in Europe, the notion of paying for a car's disposal when you first
buy the car makes sense, it would be dismissed in the US as bad for the economy. Because
carbon taxes are considered good for the environment but bad for business, I doubt you'll
see them anytime soon in the US—but several European countries already have them.
European Solutions
Throughout the world, people solve similar problems with different approaches.
Here are some European answers.
