The comeback continent

[Skybird]

http://www.spiegel.de/international/...528002,00.html

In short, Europe continues to be a big-government sort of place. And that's why it's important to get the real story of the European economy out there.

According to the anti-government ideology that dominates much US political discussion, low taxes and a weak social safety net are essential to prosperity. Try to make the lives of Americans even slightly more secure, we're told, and the economy will shrivel up -- the same way it supposedly has in Europe.
But the next time a politician tries to scare you with the European bogeyman, bear this in mind: Europe's economy is actually doing O.K. these days, despite a level of taxing and spending beyond the wildest ambitions of American progressives.