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Completely agree. I'm currently getting downvoted to hell on this thread for a little joke I made to mirror the strawman nature of his arguments: "Americanesque

Completely agree. I'm currently getting downvoted to hell on this thread for a little joke I made to mirror the strawman nature of his arguments: "Americanesque slavery system"??? "80 hour weeks"??? "3 hour commutes"??? What's galling (pardon the pun) is the arrogance that's often on display towards any company or country that has the temerity to question the wisdom of these rules: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323549204578316101127838118.html http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142412788732354920457831... PG himself has posted this little graphic that illustrates quite nicely where the European economy is heading, no doubt in part because of these attitudes: http://media.economist.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/290-width/images/print-edition/20120728_FBC674.png http://media.economist.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/29...

harrytuttle 13y ago
Sorry - that was an exaggeration (or was it considering a lot of poorer people and debtors do two jobs and proportionally there are more of these people?) Yours is a pretty corporate-centric view of things and doesn't include mergers, manufacturing moving to the East, outsourcing and the rampant globalisation since the 1950's when communications and travel became considerably less tiresome... Most businesses by employee volume are SME's. Large businesses don't just suddenly appear. They grow over time.
- wikiburner 13y ago
  >(or was it considering a lot of poorer people and debtors do two jobs and proportionally there are more of these people?) Being an American, the only people I've known who have had to work more than one job was because their first employer wouldn't give them enough hours because of the type of regulations and "work rules" you are championing. >Yours is a pretty corporate-centric view of things and doesn't include mergers, manufacturing moving to the East, outsourcing and the rampant globalisation since the 1950's when communications and travel became considerably less tiresome... I would view it as reality-centric. It's supply and demand. It turns out Western peoples aren't the only ones who can perform sophisticated labor in exchange for payment. People in the East have every right to participate in the global economy. Your original comment stated: "we're there to get paid for our time". You're wrong - it's not kindergarten. You're paid in exchange for the value you bring to your employer. >Most businesses by employee volume are SME's. Large businesses don't just suddenly appear. They grow over time. That's the point of the chart. They aren't suddenly appearing (successful startups) or growing over time. From what I've heard, many of the legacy Euro-corps (Airbus for example) have a pretty incestuous relationship with the government. All told, it doesn't sound like a very healthy business ecosystem.
tinkerina 13y ago
That little graphic only shows that Europeans are now less likely to create huge companies, and has nothing to do with the stability of the local economy there. For example, Germany has a strong economy built around an agglomeration of small and medium-sized businesses. More about the "Mittelstand": http://www.make-it-in-germany.com/en/working/introducing-the-german-mittelstand/ http://www.make-it-in-germany.com/en/working/introducing-the...
mike-cardwell 13y ago
I'd be more interested in seeing the equivalent graph but for small companies, rather than big companies.

harrytuttle 13y ago

Sorry - that was an exaggeration (or was it considering a lot of poorer people and debtors do two jobs and proportionally there are more of these people?) Yours is a pretty corporate-centric view of things and doesn't include mergers, manufacturing moving to the East, outsourcing and the rampant globalisation since the 1950's when communications and travel became considerably less tiresome... Most businesses by employee volume are SME's. Large businesses don't just suddenly appear. They grow over time.

wikiburner 13y ago
>(or was it considering a lot of poorer people and debtors do two jobs and proportionally there are more of these people?) Being an American, the only people I've known who have had to work more than one job was because their first employer wouldn't give them enough hours because of the type of regulations and "work rules" you are championing. >Yours is a pretty corporate-centric view of things and doesn't include mergers, manufacturing moving to the East, outsourcing and the rampant globalisation since the 1950's when communications and travel became considerably less tiresome... I would view it as reality-centric. It's supply and demand. It turns out Western peoples aren't the only ones who can perform sophisticated labor in exchange for payment. People in the East have every right to participate in the global economy. Your original comment stated: "we're there to get paid for our time". You're wrong - it's not kindergarten. You're paid in exchange for the value you bring to your employer. >Most businesses by employee volume are SME's. Large businesses don't just suddenly appear. They grow over time. That's the point of the chart. They aren't suddenly appearing (successful startups) or growing over time. From what I've heard, many of the legacy Euro-corps (Airbus for example) have a pretty incestuous relationship with the government. All told, it doesn't sound like a very healthy business ecosystem.

tinkerina 13y ago

That little graphic only shows that Europeans are now less likely to create huge companies, and has nothing to do with the stability of the local economy there. For example, Germany has a strong economy built around an agglomeration of small and medium-sized businesses. More about the "Mittelstand": http://www.make-it-in-germany.com/en/working/introducing-the-german-mittelstand/ http://www.make-it-in-germany.com/en/working/introducing-the...

mike-cardwell 13y ago

I'd be more interested in seeing the equivalent graph but for small companies, rather than big companies.