[Muromec]

>Europe is so poor compared to other first world countries.

is it?

>Who exactly benefits from a business going under? Its bigger competitors? The less well off are the ones that suffer the most from oligarchic sectors and cartels.

The big thing going under right now is legacy auto manufacturers in Germany. That's sad, but the same happened in US without all the labor protections. It's just a lifecycle of industries -- they got fat and comfortable.

The way German manufacturers managed to outlive US ones while having stronger labor laws seems to contradict you story big time.