Heh...wow! I think your statistics don't mean at all what you think they mean. When I mentioned growth, I was talking about year-over-year growth (or decline) in national GDP. According to that statistic, Europe contains some of the fastest growing (Turkey, Estonia, Lithuania) and slowest growing (Greece, Italy, Spain) countries in the world.
Your statistic shows poverty rate. The fact that there is greater variation between states in the US than between countries in Europe just shows what many of us have known for years: even if your economy sucks, the worst-off do better in Europe than in the US. In other words, the US is a great place to be if you are wealthy and successful. Europe is a much better place to be if you are anyone else.
Your statistic shows poverty rate. The fact that there is greater variation between states in the US than between countries in Europe just shows what many of us have known for years: even if your economy sucks, the worst-off do better in Europe than in the US. In other words, the US is a great place to be if you are wealthy and successful. Europe is a much better place to be if you are anyone else.