Here is a brilliant economic analysis

From The Therapy Sessions:

Liberals like to point to Europe as a collection of gleaming welfare states. The press works with them, and it rarely reports stories like this.

Europeans are clearly proud of their system and its policies, but they can't understand why they keep falling further behind the US. They boast about their socialized medicine, but they'd rather not think of their ageing populations, high public sector debt, and stubborn unemployment.

Government policies are at the root of these things.

The Democratic Party wants to copy many of these failed policies: increased protectionism, more social spending and higher taxes.

The Republicans want somewhat higher social spending, a little protectionism and TAX CUTS.

Both parties are insane.

This is based around an article about the Italian economy. Capitalism, Italian-style these doorknobs call it.

The world's eighth-largest economy has long been "notorious," as one recent analysis put it, "for its sclerotic labor markets, lack of respect for the rule of law and stifling bureaucracy." Not to mention the militancy of its trade unions and the unwillingness of politicians to stand up to them.

Of friend or ours (my wife and mine) moved here from Italy as an eighteen year old man in the fifties. On their last trip to the Old Country in the late nineties, he and his wife, a second generation Italian from New York City, experienced repeated railroad strikes lasting anywhere from half an hour to a couple of days. Most of them in support of other unions. Usually, because of the brevity of most of them, they were unable to leave the train. These sometimes occurred several times a day. No rhyme or reason, at least to visitors to the country.

As for the global fixation with big government, eventually annoying economic reality will intrude.

It will just come first Italy, second to Europe and finally to the US:

"Italy is going to reach a situation where, suddenly, people are going to realize they are going full speed into a wall. The problem is, they may not realize it until they hit it."

So it will be for everyone.

A gloomy prognosis, but more than merely possible.