Sorry to be a naysayer, but Americans are not willing to live like Europeans, ie no 2 car, 6 telephone, 2 1/2 bathroom, timeshare, materialistic way that many Americans believe is their God given right. I always hear about what this group has,(paid sick days) another group (long extended vacations) but in the end, Americans want it both ways.

Our system is based on stuff. Not on conditions. I have a friend who practices medicine in Denmark. He enjoys a terrific lifestyle based on the system of government there. He also lives in a very meager humble home compared to most middle class folks in AMerica. AMerican physicians would never put up with this, although he works about 1/3 to 1/2 the hours his counterpart in America does We need to rethink our value systems, perhaps as a nation of consumers, but much of the problem lies in what the workers demand, not in what is thrust upon them.