Larry Cable wrote:

Any yet the CIA Fact Book doesn't paint a better picture of the Netherlands.

Nah, it also used to paint a picture of the Netherlands being run by
drug lords. That "fact" was even carried along by a high ranking general
on one of his tours to try to intimidate the Dutch government. He was
ashamed to find out that those facts were not.

Negative growth in GDP, and a public debt level that approaches the percentage
of GDP that the US has during a war time economy.

I look forward to seeing the numbers to support that thesis. Do you
happen to have any links that prove your point?

Why are we in deeper trouble that the Netherlands, or any of the other European
countries that are in the same shape?

Because the U.S. national debt is growing at an ever increasing rate,
because the U.S. has a negative trade deficit, because the U.S. has a
denomination in free fall, because the U.S. government needs to steal
from social security funds to finance its wars, because money being
borrowed is used to lower taxes for the super rich, and waging war.
Neither of which do much to help the economy in the long run, although
it may help it look like it is because for the time being a lot of that
money flows into the coffins of the big companies producing military
material.

This gives me a different pov from the one you're describing:

http://www.geographyiq.com/countries...my_summary.htm

and

http://www.geographyiq.com/countries...es_economy.htm

--
Wilko van den Bergh wilko(a t)dse(d o t)nl
Eindhoven The Netherlands Europe
---Look at the possibilities, don't worry about the limitations.---
http://wilko.webzone.ru/