http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/29/world/europe/29socialism.html
This is a post on the NYT website below this spun article:
About 16 paragraphs into this article Erlanger finally gets to the meat of the matter - although in an indirect way. He writes:
“…the question of the moment: how to preserve the welfare state amid slower growth and rising deficits.”

Welfare states do not merely exist “amid” slower growth and rising deficits.

Welfare states are the inexorable cause of slow growth and rising deficits. By rewarding mediocrity and punishing exceptionalism, welfare states always create more mediocrity. Regardless of all the good intentions of statists, what most people need in order to thrive is the self-responsibilities and motivations involved with being left alone (at least a little bit!).

Many Europeans have learned this truth and are pulling themselves back up out of the abyss one stroke at a time - while many Americans are transfixed by the Siren call of socialist Utopianism and are set to take the plunge.
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CRAWFISH NOTE: This is an accurate post on the spun article that strains to equalize blame between the right and left for the collapse of european socialism.
It pains the writer greatly but he still manages to avoid admitting socialism kills…in a slow painful way…
and he does not admit (conservatism) a smaller more efficient federal gov-meant, lowest possible taxes and basic morality is best…
soooo THE MODERN LIBERAL REMAINS AN ARROGANT BLIND SECULAR SOCIALIST never looking at the fatally flawed socialist principles but blame-shifting year after year.

http://conservablogs.com/theconservativecrawfish

Posted on September 29th, 2009 by Doug Schexnayder, Ph.D.
Filed under: ECONOMIC