Lemmy.zip

2,802 readers
205 users here now

Welcome to Lemmy.zip - a community for like minded people to come and have a chat about almost anything. From games to tech, to anything else, come and have a chat.

If you're new and would like to join Lemmy.zip, please fill in the sign up form. Email verification is required. (Please check your spam folder!)

Once you're signed up, come and introduce yourself in our Home community!

Useful Links

Instance Rules

To maintain the high standard of discourse and interaction we all value, each user must adhere to the guidelines outlined in our Code of Conduct. This set of rules is designed not just to maintain order but also to ensure a safe and inclusive environment for everyone to share their thoughts and ideas.

What to Expect in Our Code of Conduct:

If you enjoy reading legal stuff, you can check out legal.lemmy.zip.

Funding

If you would like to contribute to the upkeep of Lemmy.zip, please head over to OpenCollective.
Anything you're happy to donate is very highly appreciated!
You'll even get your name in the Thank You thread.

Open Collective backers

If you want to use PayPal, you can donate via Ko-Fi:

Server

Uptime

founded 1 year ago
ADMINS
Demigodrick
Sami
ZippyBot
listing: all - local
search
1
21
'The GDP gap between Europe and the United States is now 80%' [Paywall] (www.lemonde.fr)
2
108
The GDP gap between Europe and the United States is now 80% (www.lemonde.fr)
submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
32 comments fedilink
 
 

It was early this summer, before Americans started crossing the Atlantic to savor the sweetness of European life. Prices are very much affordable for them there, and the Wall Street Journal gave the reason as being Europe's inexorable impoverishment: "Europeans are facing a new economic reality, one they haven't experienced in decades. They are becoming poorer," wrote the business daily. In 2008, the eurozone and the US had equivalent gross domestic products (GDP) at current prices of $14.2 trillion and $14.8 trillion respectively (€13.1 trillion and €13.6 trillion). Fifteen years on, the eurozone's GDP is just over $15 trillion, while US GDP has soared to $26.9 trillion.

As a result, the GDP gap is now 80%! The European Centre for International Political Economy, a Brussels-based think-tank, published a ranking of GDP per capita of American states and European countries: Italy is just ahead of Mississippi, the poorest of the 50 states, while France is between Idaho and Arkansas, respectively 48th and 49th. Germany doesn't save face: It lies between Oklahoma and Maine (38th and 39th). This topic is muted in France – immediately met with counter-arguments about life expectancy, junk food, inequality, etc. It even irks the British, who are just as badly off, as evidenced in August by a Financial Times column wondering, "Is Britain really as poor as Mississippi?"

Europe has been (once again) stalling since Covid-19, as it does after every crisis. The Old Continent had been respected as long as Germany held out. But Germany is now a shadow of its former self, hit by Russian gas cuts and China's tougher stance on its automotive and machine tool exports. The Americans don't care about these issues. They have inexhaustible energy resources, as the producers of 20% of the world's crude oil, compared with 12% for Saudi Arabia and 11% for Russia. China, to them, is a subcontracting zone, not an outlet for high-value-added products. The triumph of Tesla is making Mercedes and BMW look outdated.

3
3
The GDP gap between Europe and the United States is now 80% (www.lemonde.fr)
view more: next ›