00:00In the U.S., a lot of our 401ks, even our Social Security, it's all tied to our jobs.
00:06At a moment like right now, it does seem like it adds an extra layer of worry.
00:11Yeah, and it's not just retirement, right? It's your health care.
00:14We, in general, tie a lot of things to work in this country that other countries don't.
00:21And we don't have a lot of supports for people if and when they do lose their jobs, right?
00:27Our unemployment insurance system is not very generous.
00:32So in a moment like this of great uncertainty, are Americans worse off or do they have better reason to
00:39be worried than in other economically developed nations?
00:43There's pros and cons here.
00:45If you lose your job in the United States, you have many fewer supports than you get in other countries.
00:51On the other hand, you know, the U.S. economy, even now, is generally, you know, stronger, doing better than
01:00many other countries.
01:01It tends to have a much more resilient labor market.
01:04The United States is actually more resilient to energy shocks because we are such a big producer of energy.
01:10Energy shocks being like high gas prices.
01:11Yeah, disrupting the supply of energy, specifically oil coming out of the Middle East, tends to flow through to prices
01:18for people.
01:18But the U.S. is much more shielded from that because of our role as such a big producer of
01:24energy than, for instance, Europe, right?
01:26And big energy shock is much more disruptive for economies in Europe than it is in the United States.
01:33So, you know, on net, I would still rather be a worker in the United States.
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