Why Can't We be More Like Europeans

BRUSSELS — For most Europeans, almost nothing is more prized than their four to six weeks of guaranteed annual vacation leave. But it was not clear just how sacrosanct that time off was until Thursday, when Europe's highest court ruled that workers who happened to get sick on vacation were legally entitled to take another vacation. Did you get that? Employers in Europe are not only legally required to pay for four to six weeks of vacation, but for another four to six weeks if you get sick while on the beach in Italy. This has consequences. With much of Europe mired in recession, governments struggling to reduce budget deficits and officials trying to combat high unemployment, the ruling is a reminder of just how hard it is to shake up long-established and legally protected labor practices that make it hard to put more people to work and revive sinking economies. Allow me once again to be simple minded. There are two things