From the Everett Herald: [Ed.: Check out 10 Myths of Europe - busted on WaPoWa to learn more.]
Can you imagine a world in which you receive health care when you need it, and don’t have to worry about losing your coverage when you change jobs? How about when you have a child, being able to take six months to care for your baby at three-quarter pay? Or when you retire, receiving an annual pension worth three-fifths of the average of your best five years’ salary? A place where college tuition costs close to nothing and a train gets you from Everett to Seattle in 15 minutes, every half hour?
In this world, as an employer I do not have to negotiate health insurance. I do not have to figure out how to start a deferred compensation plan. I do not have to cover costs for leave when one of my employees has a baby. I do not have to set up a cafeteria-style program of benefits and hope my employees guess the correct amount of pre-tax dollars to cover their child-care costs.
All these social responsibilities would be shifted from my business, enabling me to focus on one thing: creating the best possible products and services. An educational pipeline provides me a ready supply of talented workers — and I can get back and forth between business meetings in Everett and Seattle without the hassle of sitting in traffic.
Of course, in the largest and most dynamic economy in the world, this isn’t just a fantasy. Wait, aren’t we talking about the United States? No, it’s Europe — specifically the European Union — with an economy based on universally available health coverage, higher education, pension security, maternity and paternity leave, and a transportation system that moves goods and people around with speed and efficiency.
I got a taste of this world recently.
Filed under: health care, work and family, economic security, economy, government, health, myths of europe, public policy
