Europe: better off than conservatives depict it

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Via Atrios, a Washington Post opinion piece challenging following 5 assumptions about the European economy:
1. The sclerotic European economy is incapable of leading the world.
 2. Nobody wants to invest in European companies and economies because lack of competitiveness makes them a poor bet.
3. Europe is the land of double-digit unemployment.
 4. The European "welfare state" hamstrings businesses and hurts the economy.
 5. Europe is likely to be held hostage to its dependence on Russia and the Middle East for most of its energy needs.
Not true, says Steven Hill.

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