zlacker

Somehow European countries pull it off without bankrupting themselves.

>>ttfkam+(OP)
>Somehow European countries pull it off without bankrupting themselves.

While providing universal health care to a similar number of folks and with a smaller aggregate economy.

Those Europeans must be cooking the books, eh? /s

US GDP[0]: $25,462,700 million

Aggregate EU GDP[1]: 15.8 trillion euros

N.B.: USD/Euro Exchange rate (23 July 2023)[2]: 0.89 Euro == 1 US Dollar.

[0[ https://countryeconomy.com/gdp/usa?year=2022

[1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/279447/gross-domestic-pr...

[2] https://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/convert/?Amount=1&From=...

>>ttfkam+(OP)
In most cases higher education is to some extent "rationed" and generally less accessible than in the US. Only a few countries in Europe have more University graduates. Which is of course perfectly rational if you have no ideological objects to some degree of centralized planning.

>>ttfkam+(OP)
It helps when we subsidize their military budget and their drug development costs like the status quo.

If America disappeared, Europe would look a lot less socialist

>>ttfkam+(OP)
Indeed, but not without tradeoffs, including:

- accepting fewer students (having strict requirements).

- failing students out in early classes (fewer opportunities to retake classes).

- more professionally focused and shorter curriculum.

- less class and subject choices

- the degree commanding significantly less earnings

For whatever reason, the best students seem to end up at a few top European schools (like Oxford) or go to the US.

>>common+6k
Oxford (like Harvard) is often less about what you'll know and more about WHO you'll know.

At the undergrad level, the subject matter is generally very well-established. But when you want a job after graduation, being close friends with the CEO's child helps far more than a few tenths of a point on your GPA.

Legacy admissions and nepotism are still very much a thing.