4 ms·

> At the end of 2016, the rate of unemployment among young people was 42.91% [in Spain] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Youth_unemployment_in_Spain#Current_stat

> At the end of 2016, the rate of unemployment among young people was 42.91% [in Spain] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Youth_unemployment_in_Spain#Current_statistics https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Youth_unemployment_in_Spain#... Not everything is unicorns and roses in Europe. They have massive structural issues.

point78 7y ago
Those are ages 15 - 24 and the numbers are a little better now. Cost of living is so low where unemployment is highest that it's not the end of the world. Still free health care and education.
- suaveybloke 7y ago
  Pedantic point I know - but it's only 'free' at the point of access, it still has to be paid for by the taxpayer.
  - marcosdumay 7y ago
    Well, it isn't paid by the unemployed, and it doesn't impose exorbitant costs to unlucky people.
    - TheOtherHobbes 7y ago
      Or bankrupt anyone.
  - dijit 7y ago
    Heh, Ben Shapiro likes to make a point of "liberals" expecting his wife to work for free. Yes, in the majority of societies "free" healthcare is free at point of access and subsidised by taxes. Much like trash collection or road renovations. It's underlying infrastructure for a healthy society. FWIW the US actually pays more taxes towards healthcare than europe, but that's because your medical industry is price fixing and gauging.[0] [0]: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/10/16/americans-already-pay-gigantic-hidden-health-care-tax-economists-say/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/10/16/americans...
  - sdwa 7y ago
    You're right, it is pedantic, it goes without saying that nobody is suggesting that Europeans have figured out how to bypass the laws of thermodynamics to generate free healthcare in the most literal sense.
  - point78 7y ago
    Well if you want to get more pedantic it's free for the unemployed since they are not paying taxes.
pietrovismara 7y ago
I'll take unemployment all the time over not being able to get health treatments due to their cost. Another important factor is that even though US has recently a low unemployment rate, jobs are not enough to sustain people's life, so it's not rare to be forced to have 2/3 jobs. Employment quality is as important as employment quantity, not many seem to consider it though.
- SamReidHughes 7y ago
  Many employers are hiring for no-skill jobs paying $15-20 an hour in this country, you just have to show up on time and pass a drug test.
  - hellisothers 7y ago
    But will they hire you for 40hrs with benefits or 20 hours with none so you have to work 2-3 jobs on opposite sides of the city? I think that is the quantity/quality issue OP was referencing.
    - tropo 7y ago
      29 hours seems likely. Mandating health insurance had predictable results. It is expensive, and no employer will pay for it if it makes up a significant portion of total compensation. Highly paid employees: already have health insurance Low paid employees: never going to get health insurance Every employee ends up in one of those two categories. As needed to comply with the law, hours will be adjusted up or down. If a person worked 40 hours at a modest wage, there were two possible outcomes. One is that hours are cut below 30, keeping the low-paid employee without health insurance. The other is that the employee ends up with enough hours to be highly-paid, but there is a limit to the hours a human can work and there may be a higher overtime rate that prevents this solution. As an example of the less-common solution, suppose the job was $18 per hour for 40 hours. That could be changed to be $8 per hour ($12 during overtime) with a total of 80 hours per week, with healthcare included. It's easier to just cut hours below 30.
pteraspidomorph 7y ago
According to Trading Economics, Spain seems to be hanging around 32%~34% currently, with a clear trend of improvement since 2014. Portugal, right next door, is at 17%~19%, also after steady improvement since 2014. One of the good things about being an EU citizen is that you can just go work anywhere else in the EU... I mean, much like you can move to another state in the US, I suppose. https://tradingeconomics.com/spain/youth-unemployment-rate https://tradingeconomics.com/spain/youth-unemployment-rate https://tradingeconomics.com/portugal/youth-unemployment-rate https://tradingeconomics.com/portugal/youth-unemployment-rat...

point78 7y ago

Those are ages 15 - 24 and the numbers are a little better now. Cost of living is so low where unemployment is highest that it's not the end of the world. Still free health care and education.

suaveybloke 7y ago
Pedantic point I know - but it's only 'free' at the point of access, it still has to be paid for by the taxpayer.
- marcosdumay 7y ago
  Well, it isn't paid by the unemployed, and it doesn't impose exorbitant costs to unlucky people.
  - TheOtherHobbes 7y ago
    Or bankrupt anyone.
- dijit 7y ago
  Heh, Ben Shapiro likes to make a point of "liberals" expecting his wife to work for free. Yes, in the majority of societies "free" healthcare is free at point of access and subsidised by taxes. Much like trash collection or road renovations. It's underlying infrastructure for a healthy society. FWIW the US actually pays more taxes towards healthcare than europe, but that's because your medical industry is price fixing and gauging.[0] [0]: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/10/16/americans-already-pay-gigantic-hidden-health-care-tax-economists-say/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/10/16/americans...
- sdwa 7y ago
  You're right, it is pedantic, it goes without saying that nobody is suggesting that Europeans have figured out how to bypass the laws of thermodynamics to generate free healthcare in the most literal sense.
- point78 7y ago
  Well if you want to get more pedantic it's free for the unemployed since they are not paying taxes.

pietrovismara 7y ago

I'll take unemployment all the time over not being able to get health treatments due to their cost. Another important factor is that even though US has recently a low unemployment rate, jobs are not enough to sustain people's life, so it's not rare to be forced to have 2/3 jobs. Employment quality is as important as employment quantity, not many seem to consider it though.

SamReidHughes 7y ago
Many employers are hiring for no-skill jobs paying $15-20 an hour in this country, you just have to show up on time and pass a drug test.
- hellisothers 7y ago
  But will they hire you for 40hrs with benefits or 20 hours with none so you have to work 2-3 jobs on opposite sides of the city? I think that is the quantity/quality issue OP was referencing.
  - tropo 7y ago
    29 hours seems likely. Mandating health insurance had predictable results. It is expensive, and no employer will pay for it if it makes up a significant portion of total compensation. Highly paid employees: already have health insurance Low paid employees: never going to get health insurance Every employee ends up in one of those two categories. As needed to comply with the law, hours will be adjusted up or down. If a person worked 40 hours at a modest wage, there were two possible outcomes. One is that hours are cut below 30, keeping the low-paid employee without health insurance. The other is that the employee ends up with enough hours to be highly-paid, but there is a limit to the hours a human can work and there may be a higher overtime rate that prevents this solution. As an example of the less-common solution, suppose the job was $18 per hour for 40 hours. That could be changed to be $8 per hour ($12 during overtime) with a total of 80 hours per week, with healthcare included. It's easier to just cut hours below 30.

pteraspidomorph 7y ago

According to Trading Economics, Spain seems to be hanging around 32%~34% currently, with a clear trend of improvement since 2014. Portugal, right next door, is at 17%~19%, also after steady improvement since 2014. One of the good things about being an EU citizen is that you can just go work anywhere else in the EU... I mean, much like you can move to another state in the US, I suppose. https://tradingeconomics.com/spain/youth-unemployment-rate https://tradingeconomics.com/spain/youth-unemployment-rate https://tradingeconomics.com/portugal/youth-unemployment-rate https://tradingeconomics.com/portugal/youth-unemployment-rat...