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“Europe’s Promise” author Steven Hill on why U.S. businesses can learn from business model of many European companies.
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There's going to be very sorry European leaders agree to bail out Spanish banks today after a two day meeting in Brussels it.
Even as Europe faces this financial crisis we did find somebody says -- European way.
Is better than the way to go about things in the United States joining us now the author of Europe's promise Stephen -- Yeah first of all we're not sure that the deal was done -- got its work.
Circles facing a lot of criticism at home the Germans may not be happy with a steel but.
Why would we want to get deeper into.
Our policy to European policy that they are now trying desperately to dig their way out up.
Well I think you shouldn't confuse.
What's going -- the European level.
Where there in the process of deciding how united they want to be user content they want to be united states of Europe.
And which what's going -- individual country level there where they had -- are having its biggest problems are the ones that have the most.
Dramatic form of this this kind of social us state socialism that they have over -- -- -- You know maybe -- filed for resources about one that that we seem intent on moving into.
No that's not true -- all the countries they have the most what European type policies are Sweden.
I Germany they have way more than Greece and don't really try to portray it also increase.
The retirement -- -- increase their retirement age of Greece's 150 -- years of major means.
That's one -- reasons they're in trouble.
-- Greece certainly has a lot of problems and they have to fix that but that date agrees that a small economy and European countries like Germany.
For example that have things like better support for small and medium size businesses.
They have more job training for the young people are they have ought but it won't lower cost health get a look at what's going on -- the health care United States were still trying to figure out.
How to get health care to people and and Germany -- and for even France.
They have what universal health care -- -- the cost that we pay and they have better metrics in terms of health so I mean there's just things that we can learn from we don't have debt decide.
Who's -- who's the best it's a matter how we learn from each other.
But Stephen so I -- but I'm still not convinced that I haven't you know that the United States has much to learn it.
From Europe you're really gonna have to give me something else to bite into here I mean don't quite to the health care system -- folks at -- -- not gonna get into that went.
I wouldn't give -- example -- in Germany for example.
They you have small and medium size businesses and you'll have a small business that has maybe twenty employees and they make.
Like some widget that's used in the industrial process and they are the big the best in the world making that -- And they exported all over the world to China India Brazil and even United States.
And so they have cultivated these small and medium -- businesses to become export -- -- As a result Germany's largest exporter in the world.
And we don't we eighty million people compared to 300 million play nice people United States to export more than we give.
They have a manufacturing base that we have lost in the United States that's one example they also have other examples like for example.
Fortune 500 companies in Europe and and it yeah Europe has more fortune 500 companies that United States and China combined.
And it in those fortune 500 companies the workers get to act.
Percent of the members of the boards of directors and as result you get much more concentration between employers and employees.
And it allows the business to be more efficient morning.
Now given that it's certainly going I'm not an awful allows them to be more efficient are a lot of US companies it would say that's one of the reasons they have so much inefficiency over their but we got to leave it -- -- you gotta come back we -- have more this debate -- right.
The whole -- -- appreciated the book is called Europe's problems seasonal.
