This is John Batchel, a conversation with colleague Michael Toth of the Civitas Institute in

Austin, Texas, about the difference between European economy, European markets, and American

economy, American markets, especially since 2008, the Great Recession.

Why has the U.S. outgrown Europe dramatically, almost twice, maybe twice as much?

Michael's answer?

It's got a fancy name to it, but it means too much Europe.

He explains.

Much more of this tonight. Michael Toth. It's a very simple reason because there is too much Europe. That's the problem, right? In the European Union, over the

last several decades, every single policy challenge has to be answered in Brussels with a new

regulation, a new directive coming from Brussels, right? What initially started out as, you know,

essentially a trading block to try to limit the barriers of trade between European countries is now a pathway for ratcheting

up regulation at what we would call the federal level in Europe, right? So there has been

nothing in Europe like we see in the United States, which is a competition between the states

for who can provide the best ingredients for economic growth, right?

Witness California recently a billionaire's tax is getting, you know, attraction.

Well, what have we seen?

Mark Zuckerberg is looking for property in Miami.

Peter Thiel has moved out of this state.

One of the founders of Google, Larry Page, has left the state, right?

So we allow exits, exit ramps so that growth can continue in other places, right?

Whereas in Europe, the problem is too much Europe, which is another way of saying the problem is Eurosclerosis.

At the top level, there's too many directives, too many regulations, too much micromanaging of individual private economic decisions that can be left either to local regulation or the power of the markets.

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