Obama v. the EU: Who Hates Business More?
We all know, as 3M's CEO recently discovered, that the Obama administration is anti-business. But how does it stack up against that other engine of economic decline, the European Union?
The EU's Court of Justice has ruled that insurance companies cannot charge men and women different rates for medical or car insurance. Don't say I didn't warn you. Last October I noted that an opinion by the EU's Advocate General made this ruling more or less inevitable. The Court does not deny that the differing rates are based on actuarial data, as in, women live longer and drive more safely. Nonetheless, the Court felt itself compelled by "the equality provisions of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the Lisbon Treaty."
They must be kicking themselves over at the White House today! Oh, how I wish we had a Charter of Fundamental Rights! Why can't we sign up for the Treaty of Lisbon? And just like the White House’s enlightened policies, Europe's latest diktat is expected to cost industry billions, which will get passed on to consumers in the form of higher insurance rates. Honestly, I don't know how Obama will be able to show his face at the next G-20 unless he can find some new way to punish the insurance industry.
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May '10
Re: Obama v. the EU: Who Hates Business More?
I have been running a company in the UK for 2 1/2 years and the 7 years prior were spent running a company in Spain. The answer to your question is: Obama is the clear winner!
To begin with, businesses in Europe are used to dealing with the idiocies that come from govt. and know how to handle them. Thinking of Europe as a homogenous whole is also incorrect - in Britain the pay rigid attention to the rules. In other places they are more guidelines than mana from heaven.
Obama on the other hand is injecting a cancer of state controlled crony capitalism that goes right to the heart of American exceptionalism. It also serves as a dagger to the heart of small business generation, favoring the large firms who have the economies of scale to absorb the killing regulation cost generated by his regime.
On degree of negative impact, it isn't remotely close. O wins hands down.
Re: Obama v. the EU: Who Hates Business More?
Excellent point - thank you. And it accords with my limited experience. I lived in the UK 1989 - 91, while studying English and European Law. Amazing how so many leading European cases have names like "Commission v. Italy" or "Commission v. France." The countries that publicly embraced Europe as a grand ideal were also the perpetual scofflaws of European directives. The British (at least under Thatcher and Major) would fight during the rulemaking process, but once a rule was issued, would dutifully comply.
Jun '10
Re: Obama v. the EU: Who Hates Business More?
Similarly, rent is much higher in San Francisco than in Sacramento, which is higher than San Antonio... The idiocy is beyond my ability to fathom. The funny thing is trying to talk with someone who holds the idea that this is a good thing. It's amazing how inept they are at dealing with it and how adept and dancing around the issue.