It could be down to the fact that they still have something to produce - compare this with the UK whose traditional manufacturing base has been all but wiped out by cheap imports. We are more in service industry now (call centres etc) - which doesn't 'produce' much. Could be similar with other countries too maybe?
EXACTLY!!! Hellllllooooo!!!! America????? WE don't make ANYTHING anymore. You can't even buy an American made car anymore. It's all either made from foriegn parts or foriegn labor. Everybody has an office job. Nothing gets produced in office buildings. Factories produce. It's part of the reason America has such a large trade deficit. We have nothing to trade! Seriously. We buy everything from China! Try to go to a local store and buy something American made. It used to be common. Now, if you find an American made product, it's a novelty!
As an American, I can tell you that we work harder than just about anybody else in the world. 40 hour work week? That's just a good start in America. Most successful people are working at least 60 hours a week. I know of a few guys working 3 jobs. 3 THREE!!! It ain't easy. Also, I don't know anybody who has 6 weeks vacation. After many years of work, I have managed to get 3 weeks vacation, but I rarely take more than 2 days of vacation back to back because work is too demanding. I usually use vacation time to do more work. Home improvement projects, auto repair, etc., etc. I have a brother who works at least 12 hours a day 7 days a week.
A lot of people are jealous of America's prosperity, but I assure you, most of us work very hard for it. If America doesn't start tightening the amount of money we let flow out of America to buy cheap crap from China, pretty soon we'll have no money to buy stuff from China or anywhere else. We'll all have to move to China.