[az09mugen]

I don't quite understand your point, you seem to imply the future Europe will have less good things than today's America ?

Maybe you're right, I can't predict the future.

So you don't care about living without good things today and seem to be satisfied with the only fact that Europe's future will be worse than US' present.

Luxury != decency

[jncfhnb]

My point is that in the parable about Americans bragging about economic achievement while the European auto replies while on vacation we are to assume that the European has the wiser and more worldly lifestyle. But if this parable ends with the Europeans grandkids have markedly worse opportunities in life because the elder generation chose leisure, then it’s not really wisdom they were invoking but some mix of selfishness and / or hubris about the sustainability of it.

Europe is trending down.