Why can Europeans afford indefinite unemployment benefits, but America only 99 months?

Maybe we shouldn't go to war at the drop of a hat, and stay at war for a decade. We blew a trillion on Iraq, and turns out, they had no atomic bombs, just like the rest of the world told us. Look at this poor woman who is destitute, it's not her fault, and she can't find a job. So sad.





http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43675816/ns/business-eye_on_the_economy/43668611





"SEWELL, New Jersey 鈥?Mary Kay Coyne has just filed what she says is her 1,862nd job application since being thrown out of work three years ago.





She is one of millions of Americans whose unemployment benefits have expired 鈥?after 99 weeks in many states 鈥?as the United States suffers its highest level of long-term unemployment since 1948.





Coyne had to move in with a friend after benefit payments ran out last year. Now she gets by on Medicaid 鈥?U.S. health insurance for the poor 鈥?and food stamps, contributing what little she can to her friend's household costs.





"You're 56-years old and you feel like you are sitting on a big pile of nothing," said Coyne, who spends about four hours a day sending out resumes.





"For the better part of a year, I have something sitting on my chest. It's not a medical condition. It is that pressure of 'Is this going to end, when is this going to end?"'





Unlike in much of Europe, the safety net of the U.S. welfare system times out for the long-term unemployed. The federal government and many states have provided extra help for those caught up in the worst labor market in decades but the U.S. debt crisis rules out further extension of the programs.





Coyne is typical of many middle-class Americans now struggling to get by.





She used to earn $70,000 a year as an administrative assistant until her firm began to downsize and left Coyne among the growing number of Americans struggling to live on unemployment benefits, and eventually on minimal food aid.





Now Washington is considering cuts to social welfare programs to shrink a swelling budget deficit.





It may not only be Americans like Coyne who feel the pain. Some economists say the cuts could make it even harder to shrink long-term unemployment that damages the wider economy by dampening consumer demand and lowering output."|||Because "indefinite unemployment" is getting free money for life, aka socialism, which we don't want. At least I don't, you might though..............................|||They can't. Maybe you missed the latest news on Greece and Portugal.



Additional: "Why can Europeans afford indefinite unemployment benefits...". Last time I checked, Greece and Portugal are European.|||WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will not back off in his efforts to solve U.S. debt problems and will make the case to congressional leaders in talks on Sunday for taking on "this critical challenge. all smoke and mirror.|||because europeans fought hard for it. americans just accept whatever their corrupt politicians throw at them|||You've never heard of Greece?|||Because they have America to do all the world policing for them.

And America is there for businesses to make up the money they don't milk out of Europeans because costs controls.|||They have American do all the work they refuse to do anyways. BTW have you heard of Greece for example?





Look at the European Union for example. They are three times more debt than us. Lets look at a few countries debt/capita.





USA: $46,000.





United Kingdom: $150,000.





Germany: $65,000.





France: $80,000.





Netherlands: $230,000.





Spain: $52,000.





Italy: $40,000.





Ireland: $520,000.





Luxembourg: $4,000,000.





Belgium: $130,000.





Switzerland: $185,000.





Canada: $25,000.





Austria: $100,000.





Sweden: $72,000.





Denmark: $110,000.





Norway: $110,000.





Hungary: $12,000.





Romania: $5,000.





Monaco: $570,000.





And now lets add up the European Union's debt into one, because its only valid if we look at two countries's debt that have a population of about the same(almost锘?the same). I only added the top 7 Eu countries and you're already over 30 TRILLION, so please...锘?think twice. The European Union has a debt about three times bigger than the US.|||Countries in northern Europe like Germany, France, Holland, Sweden, etc. have much lower health care costs, so the government has more money to spend on things like unemployment benefits.


This is mainly because 30% of Americans are overweight, but only 10% of north Europeans, so it doesn't need to spend as much on the elderly with health problems that have resulted from obesity. America's medicare eats up most of the federal budget.