Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
With the pressures of globalization, Europe is having to rethink some
of its “live more, work less” ideals. For example, the Spanish government is
funding incentives to keep workers from going home for a midday siesta,
which most agree hurts productivity. And I have a theory that in Ireland
(where sales of Guinness are down), the number of pubs is shrinking at the
same rate that the number of cafés is increasing, because that society is ramp-
ing up its productivity. Drinkers of heavy stout are shifting to lighter lagers,
and drinkers of lager are shifting to cof ee. Replacing beer with caf eine is a
symptom of our faster-paced, more competitive world.
Europe's Internal Marshall Plan
Europe is dedicated to bringing its infrastructure up to snuf . After World War
II, the United States invested in rebuilding Europe with the Marshall Plan.
It was a smart policy designed to assure us strong and stable trading partners
and allies. Recently, for essentially the same reasons, Europe has employed a
kind of internal Marshall Plan—investing in roads, rail lines, communication,
education, and other improvements to strengthen their union.
When a nation joins the European Union, it's either a “net contribu-
tor” or a “net receiver.” While there's lots of wrangling in Brussels about just
who gives and gets what, Europeans know their economic union is only as
strong as its weakest link. h erefore, wealthy countries give more than they
get—willingly, if not always enthusiastically. h at money bolsters the poorer
countries until they develop to the point where, rather than weak links, they
become net contributors as well.
Europe (led by France and Germany) is investing hundreds of billions
of euros to build a transportation and communication infrastructure for the
future. Travelers not only see
this, they benei t from it.
Among the original members of the
European Union, Portugal, Greece,
and Ireland were the net receivers.
Back then, I remember no freeways
in any of those countries. Now
they're rolling out freeways in all of
them. And every time you drive on
a slick new thoroughfare, you see
a European fl ag reminding locals
where the funding came from.
