Low Consumer Debt - Europe set to recover earlier...

[WhiskeyGirl]

The Continent has some competitive advantages over the U.S. and could still emerge from the crisis more quickly. Thanks to decades of investment in nuclear, solar, and wind power as well as a history ofenergy conservation, Europe is less vulnerable to oil shocks than the U.S. Consumer debt is relatively low in most countries, helping to offset other risks to the banking system. And conservative lending practices mean that, outside of Britain and Ireland, European banks could recover their ability to lend more quickly than devastated U.S. institutions. Deutsche Bank Chief Executive Josef Ackermann argues that, by refusing state aid, he will have more freedom to operate internationally than weakened rivals subject to government intervention. "We can determine our own fate," Ackermann told reporters on Feb. 5.

And in the U.S. our leaders want us to spend more!!!  Since we haven't, they must pick up the slack...burdening future generations with massive debts...

Imagine if there was low consumer debt and few subprime mortages...

http://www.midasletter.com/news/09022703_How-the-crisis-is-hitting-europe.php

jmho

[WhiskeyGirl]

That's not the way it was supposed to be. Europe's economy was built for stability more than speed, and policymakers scoffed at the reckless Americans and their greedy bankers. Slower growth was a price Europeans were willing to pay for job protection and a generous safety net. "The German social market economy is a good model" for balancing free markets and social protections, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 30.

By some measures, she's right. Europe has averted bank failures on the scale of Lehman Brothers. While some British banks are deeply troubled, institutions such as Spain's Banco Santander and BBVA and Germany's Deutsche Bank are in better shape and have so far managed to avoid a government bailout. In most countries, unemployment has risen gradually, while consumer spending has proved resilient.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,610229,00.html

An interesting read.  Imagine...an economy built for stability and not profit and credit card payments.