TIME TO SHUT OFF THE LIGHTS:

How Democrats Tell Time (DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH, January 5, 2007, NY Sun)

With the exception of the British, Europeans aren't allowed to work more than 48 hours a week. In France the limit is 35 hours. This may explain where Democrats get some of their European-style proposals.

As the new Congress begins work, it should peruse a recently published book, "The Future of Europe: Reform or Decline," by two Italian economists, Harvard's Alberto Alesina and Bocconi University's Francesco Giavazzi. They explain what went wrong in Europe — in particular in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain — and how Europe can continue as a major economic power.

"The Future of Europe" shows how the economies of Europe and America diverged in the 1970s. Higher taxes, increased regulation, and special interests stifled European entrepreneurship, causing fewer opportunities, shorter work hours, and lower productivity. That's why brilliant economics professors such as Mr. Alesina shiver in Boston rather than sit and enjoy the sunny cafes of Rome or Milan.

Unless Europe reduces taxes, government spending, regulation, and allegiance to special interests, and also restructures welfare payments, it is doomed to a continuing decline in living standards. An increasingly smaller percentage of workers will be left supporting a larger percentage of retirees, students, and unemployed.

The exquisite irony being that they'll have to work ever longer hours.

Posted by Orrin Judd at January 5, 2007 9:47 PM