The Washington Post has a fascinating article comparing Britain (and to a
much lesser degree, Europe) to the United States in Tuesday's edition.
Check it out here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A88672-2001May28.html
Excerpt:
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Income and social security tax rates are generally higher here than in the
United States, and on every retail purchase consumers pay a whopping
national sales tax of 17.5 percent. In contrast, the combined state and
local sales tax for a shopper in Arlington, Va., is 4.5 percent.
The revenues pay for a broad range of social services known collectively as
the "welfare state."
In U.S. politics, that phrase is a pejorative. In Europe, it is a point of
pride. Hague promised at Edgbaston that "a Conservative government will not
cut a penny of spending on our welfare state."
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JDG
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John D. Giorgis - [EMAIL PROTECTED] - ICQ #3527685
"The point of living in a Republic after all, is that we do not live by
majority rule. We live by laws and a variety of institutions designed
to check each other." -Andrew Sullivan 01/29/01
