Sometimes I struggle to grasp the giant gap in the way of thinking between the Europeans and the Americans on certain issues. I'm going to tell you two different stories about people I have encountered.
When I was living in California, I worked with a guy who started out in the same position I did at Ashford University. We both worked in the Enrollment department together for a few months then I moved into Academics as an adviser and he moved up in the enrollment department to Manager and then to Director all within a year of when I started in 2008. Towards the end of 2009 however he lost his job do to poor performance of his managers and complaints. While I don't know what his salary was at the time I know mine was just over $40,000 per year so I'm sure his was double or even triple mine. I stayed in contact with him after he lost his job and one year later he was still searching for something. The way it works in America you can only get unemployment benefits in certain situations and for whatever reason he didn't qualify. He had to move back into his parents home in Northern California, and because he was over 25 years old he didn't fall under his parents health insurance anymore. So within a year he went from an estimated $120,000 salary to zero with no health insurance coverage and no housing other than his parents place.
Story number two: I worked with a guy here in Dublin for 9 months at the retail job that I had when I first arrived. We both made the same salary and stayed at the same level for the entire time we were there so roughly making about 8.75 euros per hour. In June we both left the job me to move to my current job at the college I work for and him to the unemployment line. I still stay in contact with him as well and it's been almost 6 months since we left the job and he collects almost 200 euro per week, unlike America there is no end to him collecting that money he can get it for the rest of his life if he chooses. On top of that he has a girlfriend and they have a child together so they get a housing benefit from the government which I believe is up to 800 euros a month just to pay for the apartment they live in. Oh yea and I didn't mention that they have healthcare provided to them by the government as well. Then on top of that there is a child benefit allowance that they are entitled to. It seems there is no end to the amount that the governments of Europe give there citizens while we get almost nothing in America. How is it that these two places are so far apart on this issue?
The most annoying thing about it all however is that the Europeans complain that they don't get enough while the Americans aren't complaining at all. Why aren't American people protesting for there right to at least have universal health insurance provided by the government? I've heard people take the easy way out and say that America has too many people but in fact that's not a good argument. America's population is around 310 million people while the population of Europe is over 400 million and 90% of the governments here provide universal healthcare for thier people. Argument number two I've heard that the governments in Europe are all socialist that's why they give so much. Well turns out that isn't a good argument either as anyone who does there homework will see that while some of the governments have socialist ideals they are all infact working on capitalist systems just like the United States.
So while I don't have an answer for you as to why the United States and Europe are so far apart when it comes to taking care of citizens basic needs, I can tell you which one I prefer, and I don't think you need to be a scientist to figure it out.   ¶ 10:34 AM

  It's not very often that I've written blogs about my family but the other night I woke up crying because of a dream that I had that seemed so real. I was having a conversation with my grandmother who for the last ten years has been badly effected by Alzheimer's. In the dream she remembered who I was and we talked about how things were going for me and how she was doing. She told me that she was proud of me and that she was glad to see that I had grown up so much from when she last remembered seeing me. The conversation was very basic but it was exactly the kind of conversation I've wanted to have with her for years now.
When I woke up I was crying and the pillow was soaked with tears, because I miss her so much and the only place where she exist as the woman I remember and the woman I love in in my dreams. People that have embedded themselves into our hearts and minds never truly go away even if the state this exist in here on earth has changed they will always have a place in our minds. When people talk about the possibility of eternal life or living forever it is only really in the minds of other people that we are kept alive. I look forward to the next time that I can have a conversation with my grandmother, as I'm sure it will happen again in the future.   ¶ 9:14 AM