Why worry about Germany? The real worry is Russia. The only worry about German power is there isn't enough of it - and the same goes for American power.

The responses are somewhat surprising to be honest. So the concept of Germany as EU hegemon isn't even that controversial, except to those that live in Germany :)


@Less, I'd actually read this magazine once before at a doctor's office and I too was surprised at the quality of international news coverage, with the same caveats.

Russia Today is similar in that they do a lot of quality journalism on geo-political topics, and have odd slants as they get closer to home. The Trumpet gets down right bat shit crazy as they approach the US border.(IMO)

Quote: If you look at what smaller countries in the EU are really worried about

Well, to be honest, the larger countries should rather worry about the smaller ones. If for example Greece undergoes national bankruptcy as some people fear at the present time, this will hit the larger countries more than it will hit Greece as such.
The EU will only have two options if that happens, pay the debts for Greece or call the Euro and the EU a failure. So, since the latter option obviously is a no-option, it will mean that the bigger countries will pay the debts.

Quote: have you ever been to the US? Now there's a first world country that looks like a third world one.

Yes, I have been, and yes, this may (partially) be right. However, the difference is that in the USA you know what you have (or don't have). You pay for what you get, or you get what you pay for (whichever way you look at it). It's not perfect, and it can be harsh, but then again, it is somewhat fair in its own way, too.
In Germany, however, the state makes the claim of being a caring "solidary" community. Oh yes, we are so much better than the rest of the world. Except that we aren't at all. I've worked in healthcare in 4 European countries, and Germany is by far the worst in every respect.
But, what is really wrong, that is that unless you are a Freiberufler (which 90% of the people are not) or earn more than 4,162/5,500 Euros (which, again 90% of the people do not), you do not even have a choice, you're bound to the public insurance for the better or the worse. You get no "opt out". You have pay, but you get next to nothing in return, bad luck for you.
On the other hand, if you are "elite", you don't need to put up with that crap. You pay considerably less and get a lot more. All animals are equal, but some are more equal, eh?

Quote: subventions

Obviously, since nobody can live from 400 Euros per month. :-)
However, that doesn't make it right. Basically this is shuffling from one pocket into the other. And, having to "beg" for subventions is quite humiliating for someone who is working every day.

Quote: Schröder

Ah, him... yes, have to agree to some extent, but not wholly. While Schröder certainly did a few things (the Ich-AG fraud, the 1-Euro jobs, or the Gazprom deal) which in my opinion range somewhere in between "crimial" and "treason", the root of evil for the financial situation that we face now was laid down by Helmut Kohl and Theodor Weigel, their false promises ("Blühende Landschaften"), as well as their buddies in the Treuhandanstalt who sold out pretty much everything of value as insider deals. They scammed the German people (both east and west) not for hundreds of millions, but for hundreds of billions, and they ruined whatever infrastructure may have existed in the east once upon a time.

The temporary solidary tax for the "Aufbau Ost" is another one of Kohl's children, "temporary" being 20 years meanwhile, and "Aufbau Ost" meaning a lot of things, such as "funding wars in other countries". Add to that Seehofer's (and later Schmidt's, which are even worse) healthcare reforms which managed to increase the cost and reduce the quality of service at the same time. Less money for the doctors, but twice as much for administration instead, limitation and rationing which does not make any sense at all (such as with insuline dosage, intraocular pressure screening, prostate screening) and which significantly increases the net cost instead of reducing it. True, Schröder did a lot evil, but not everything was his fault.

The "Spätaussiedler" thing which is separate from the reunification story but another one of Kohl's great doings at the same time certainly contributed to the present situation as well. While I do see that there were some people who may have had legitimate claims, as a matter of fact, they gave citizenship including full annuity and recompensation for whatever alleged losses to pretty much everyone who once owned as much as a German Shepherd dog. No matter what claims were made (without evidence), no matter how unreasonable. Obviously, a social system cannot possibly work if you keep giving out million after million to pretty much random people who never contributed to the pool.

The job situation, particularly in the east, is outright scary. It is not surprising that ultra right wing parties are in almost every Landtag in the east (with turnouts from 7-12%). This is what you get if people have no job, no money, no perspective, and no hope. Calling the right-wings "unconstitutional" and attempting ban them after the elections doesn't help either, it is merely a confession of failure. If you have elections, you must accept what the people votes for, otherwise you have dictatorship, not democracy. And if a considerable proportion turns into a "dangerous" direction, one has to realize that this is a symptom, not a cause, something is going terribly wrong in the state, and that is what must be fixed.
It was not much different with that infamous Austrian postcard painter in 1938. The German people was not more evil than any other people. They had no jobs and no perspective, everything was bad. Nobody knew exactly why things did't work, but they did't like it. So there came a "prophet" who knew exactly whose fault it was (the jews and the communists) and who knew exactly what to do (invade Poland) and who promised everyone a job and a good life. People went to war for that.
To me, this does not look so much different from what we are steering at today. Hey, we are even participating in war again in explicit disaccord with our mock consitution. Oh wait, excuse me... killing people in another country is "peace keeping" if they're muslims, not war. My mistake.

Quote: Throughout the last decade in Germany, taxes which are generally independent of income and wealth, such as VAT and taxes on gas have indeed gone up. On the other hand, taxes which depend on income have gone down significantly for those in the top income bracket. In particular, high end income tax levels are at a record low, there is no tax at all on wealth, taxes on inheritances have been reduced significantly, taxes for income generated from selling companies, you name it, they've all been reduced.

Ah, but those are half-truths, too. Or, governmental lies, as I like to put it :-)
For example, it is true that the top income tax has been reduced, which is beneficial for the top 10% (and really good for the top 1%) of the population. At the same time, the other ancilliary wage costs have gone up dramatically, and they affect everyone. Plus, the VAT has been increased drastically, which again effects everyone (and, more than most people would think). The net effect for the average guy is less money in the pocket. At the same time, annuity and subventions have been decreased significantly in two ways. First, directly, and second, indirectly by added insurance. This only hits a smaller part of the population (maybe 15-20%), but it hits those who really feel it.
Add to that the "non real" Euro inflation, which, contrary to what the government publishes, is very real. One can discuss for days whether this or that has gone so and so much more expensive or not, but one glance at my credit card bill reveals that I've spent 540 Euros at REWE and Tengelmann on staple food for a household of 2 during the last month. Ok, I am not economising hard, and maybe I could get it 10-20% cheaper with ALDI, but I'm not buying anything fancy either, just things like potatoes and salad, and a piece of meat every now and then. No lobsters and no shrimps, or such. I'm sorry, but 540 Euros is an awful lot of money just for a little food. To my eyes, the Teuro is a very real thing. Or, just compare what it costs you to go out for dinner -- this is basically Euro for DM. In that light, it is not surprising that a lot of average people have empty pockets by month's end these days.
It is true that inheritance tax has been reduced slightly and that the amount of exemption has been expanded somewhat (mostly for class II heirs), but at the same time the base of valuating estate value ("Bemessensgrundlage") has been changed so inheriting a house is now 2-3 times more expensive than it used to be.

Quote: Managers have to be paid exorbitant salaries, otherwise companies cannot attract or keep talent.

Nothing wrong with that in principle. However, they do get exorbitant salaries even if they burn their investors' money and drive the company to the brink of bankruptcy. The same goes for politicans.
I don't object to each of the 598 parlamentarians gaining 13,000 Euros per month (though I do wonder why 59 istead of 598 aren't enough) and getting an outrageous annuity for free, if they rule the country so everyone lives a good and happy life. But I do object to someone getting 13,000 Euros per month for sleeping and reading newspaper or not attending at all, or for watching child porn (for "research", of course). I do object if there are 12 million people in the country below the poverty line at the same time.
I don't object to a manager at a company like VW getting half a million or a million Euros if he is leading the company so it makes good profits and everyone has a job and everyone is happy. I do object, however, if the managers of public insurances like the TK or the DAK give themselves salaries of 200,000 to 300,000 Euros for doing nothing, but at the same time deny treatment to people who are ill because there allegedly is no money.

Quote: Original post by Diodor
Why worry about Germany? The real worry is Russia. The only worry about German power is there isn't enough of it - and the same goes for American power.

...going to saddle up my bear [smile]

That's a cool picture. That guy in the background is so bad ass that he can fire his AK with one hand...

Quote: Original post by samoth

Quote: Throughout the last decade in Germany, taxes which are generally independent of income and wealth, such as VAT and taxes on gas have indeed gone up. On the other hand, taxes which depend on income have gone down significantly for those in the top income bracket. In particular, high end income tax levels are at a record low, there is no tax at all on wealth, taxes on inheritances have been reduced significantly, taxes for income generated from selling companies, you name it, they've all been reduced.

Ah, but those are half-truths, too. Or, governmental lies, as I like to put it :-)
For example, it is true that the top income tax has been reduced, which is beneficial for the top 10% (and really good for the top 1%) of the population. At the same time, the other ancilliary wage costs have gone up dramatically, and they affect everyone. Plus, the VAT has been increased drastically, which again effects everyone (and, more than most people would think). The net effect for the average guy is less money in the pocket.
... snip ...

So, if you re-read my post carefully, it appears that we agree.
Increasing taxes that affect everyone while decreasing taxes for the very rich = social inequality and big problems.

I still disagree about your statements as far as the re-unification is concerned. I'm definitely not a fan of Helmut Kohl, and yes, a lot of false promises were made. But that was 20 years ago, which translates to plenty of time to deal with any problems. If something is still wrong, you cannot blame it on re-unification anymore: it must be blamed on more recent politics.

And yes, those bears are awesome :)

Quote: Original post by Krokhin

Quote: Original post by Diodor
Why worry about Germany? The real worry is Russia. The only worry about German power is there isn't enough of it - and the same goes for American power.

...going to saddle up my bear [smile]

Exactly! ^_^

Hate to dig up an old topic, but on the topic...

Sounds like you want to bring back the monarchy :|

A constitutional monarchy WOULD fix some of the problems... a big problem of a true republic is that successive governments have differing ideals, meaning that a plan put into action by one is either never completed or is bastardized to a point that it cannot work - there is no direction, and the fact that people are replaceable means they either work hard and do good things, or they extort while they can until they are replaced. The latter is often found to be easier.

A monarch has his countries interests at heart - without a country his dynasty has nothing - what advantage does he have in selling his own country out? None. He also has a 'guiding hand' in regards to issues and problems. Honestly, the last time Germany was immensely successful was before World War 1 during the Kaiserreich -- Germany was often considered competing with Britain directly for the #1 spot in the world.

I'm an American looking in, but I know of German culture and history, and I wouldn't mind seeing a new Kaiserreich. My family is Reichsdeutsche - left when Hitler came to power, and we still fly the Schwarz-Weiß-Rot.

Quote: Original post by Ameise
stuff

Err... what? What does anything in this thread have to do with a monarchy?

Quote: Original post by Prefect

Quote: Original post by Ameise
stuff

Err... what? What does anything in this thread have to do with a monarchy?

The complaint is that the current regime has difficulty coping with problems which is leading to poor decision-making and bad policy overall. The current leadership has very little reason to do a 'good job' -- they can be voted out for very little reason, and it's often easier to quickly extort a lot of money and then be voted out than do actually do your job well to not be voted out.

Monarchs have a good reason to do a good job because it's "their country"... and they lend a stability not seen in other system as a guiding hand -- it's unlikely that one day the monarch is a liberal and then the next is a conservative. You will get set ideals from the onset, and hopefully laws and policy will follow suit. Good chance many of Germany's problems in the last 20 years could have been avoided if George Friedrich was the Kaiser :)