USA vs. Europe - New Companies and New Innovations

[Ernie]

https://www.wsj.com/tech/europe-big-tec ... _permalink

I found this article from WSJ interesting.

A few quotes that seemed significant to me.

Only four of the world’s top 50 tech companies are European, despite Europe having a larger population and similar education levels to the U.S. and accounting for 21% of global economic output.

Over the past 50 years, the U.S. has created, from scratch, 241 companies with a market capitalization of more than $10 billion, while Europe has created just 14

The typical company in the top 10 publicly traded U.S. firms was founded in 1985, while in Europe, it was in 1911

A big reason why Europe is now behind can be summed up as a lack of speed. Entrepreneurs complain that everything takes longer in Europe: raising money, complying with local regulations, and hiring and firing workers...
“What is different in America is the speed of almost everything... Americans make decisions very fast. Europeans need to talk to everybody—it takes months.”

European cities crowd the top spots on quality of life rankings, far ahead of their American counterparts. That lifestyle might contribute to less appetite for risk, along with a culture of equality that frowns on naked ambition.

In some cases, though, old habits might die hard. The Draghi report, said McAfee at MIT, did a great job diagnosing Europe’s lagging tech sector, but then urged governments to spend more public money spurring the sector, missing the point that it was private money that was absent—most likely due to regulation and other problems.

Said McAfee: “That’s when I went from nodding my head in agreement to banging it on the table.”

[JohnL]

Those are interesting points. I see it as defining the differences between American and European cultures.

[barnhart]

I heard a report recently that on average GDP per capital in the US is double that of Europe. The closest is Germany with 50 something units to the US mid 80's. Greece and Poland were in the 20's. I realize GDP is a flawed metric but still I think it illustrates the wealth gap. In the early days of the EU it was roughly the economic equal of the US but now it is nowhere close. This data makes me wonder why voters in the US feel so victimized by Europe. We are "winning" in economic growth vs. everyone else and yet I hear many messages of victimization and decline.

[JohnL]

I heard a report recently that on average GDP per capital in the US is double that of Europe. The closest is Germany with 50 something units to the US mid 80's. Greece and Poland were in the 20's. I realize GDP is a flawed metric but still I think it illustrates the wealth gap. In the early days of the EU it was roughly the economic equal of the US but now it is nowhere close. This data makes me wonder why voters in the US feel so victimized by Europe. We are "winning" in economic growth vs. everyone else and yet I hear many messages of victimization and decline.

That’s interesting. Are these messages from individuals or the media?

[barnhart]

From the top, the president himself....

[Ken]

I heard a report recently that on average GDP per capital in the US is double that of Europe. The closest is Germany with 50 something units to the US mid 80's. Greece and Poland were in the 20's. I realize GDP is a flawed metric but still I think it illustrates the wealth gap. In the early days of the EU it was roughly the economic equal of the US but now it is nowhere close. This data makes me wonder why voters in the US feel so victimized by Europe. We are "winning" in economic growth vs. everyone else and yet I hear many messages of victimization and decline.

That’s interesting. Are these messages from individuals or the media?

Mostly Trump: https://news.sky.com/story/donald-trump ... s-13317606