European Malaise

Those who fear a so-called North American Union may be especially frightened by the possibility that the United States might become the kind of uncompetitive welfare state embodied in the EU. Regardless of whether it represents the future of North America, we can learn a lot from examining the past, present, and future of Europe. Where has it been? Where is it going? And why? We’ll provide the answers.

In 2006, the last year for which we have complete results, the U.S. unemployment rate stood at 4.7 percent.....