NYT Can't Resist Editorializing Against the European Welfare State in Its News Section

The NYT has apparently designed to join the crusade against the European welfare state. A profile of German Chancellor Angela Merkel noted that Europe accounts for 25 percent of world GDP, but a "staggering" 50 percent of social spending.

There is nothing obviously out of line in this story. Poor countries don't have much by way of social spending. In the United States, benefits like health care and pension coverage are largely provided through employers. Europe has adopted a much more effic...