The Southpaw Spot

"I've listened carefully to the president's speech [to a joint session of Congress and the nation]. I think it is the boldest effort we've seen to create a European socialist model," - Newt Gingrich

First of all, Newt (may I call you Newt?) There are no countries in Europe that are socialist. Almost all are democracies. Social democracies, yes. Some controlled by social democrats, yes. But they are not socialist.

Second, I'd like to know why so many conservatives are hostile towards European models. They produce some pretty solid results:

Percent of population living with HIV:

Germany .6%
Switzerland .4%
Denmark .2%
Netherlands- .2%
Italy- .5%
United States- .6%

Rate of Inflation

France 3.4%
Germany 2.8%
Switzerland 2.4%
Denmark 3.5%
Netherlands 2.6%
Italy- 3.6%
United States- 4.2%

Number of citizens without health insurance:

France- Zero
Germany - Zero
Switzerland- Zero
Denmark - Zero
Netherlands- Zero
Italy- Zero
United States- 40 million plus

Amongst European nations, only Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova have higher homicide rates than the U.S. The U.S. has more rapes per capita than any European nation.

I'm not moving there anytime soon, but what is so wrong with Europe, Newt?

posted by The leftist southpaw @ 8:16 AM