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Oh right- Its the People's fault. We elect leaders to solve problems, the last 20 + years all that has happened is the creation of problems and the people are supposed to support that type of Government?
Please.
The German people would not stand for the corruption, inefficiency and greed our politicians give us.
I'm having a difficult time trying to see sarcasm in your first para. Or, are you really being serious? If people buy into anti-government rhetoric by politicians and elect them, who would you rather blame?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. Joshua
Half of Germany is still climbing out of the communist era. It's a mini China. It also was not very long ago that Germany was the "sick man of Europe" that Greece now is. Still it is impressive what they have done.
Really? When I think of "mini China", likes of Singapore come to mind, complete with, an oppressive, micro-management... but then it happens to be one example I've seen used often to demonstrate the reality of libertarian utopia.
As for Germany, yeah, having to rebuild after getting completely destroyed in more ways than one, would be a recipe for being sick, but Germany has risen to the occasion, and for a long time now. If anything, I think of Italy as the sick man.
Yep since germany reunited when r{}Reagan waspersdient it has again become the leader in Europe.A very inductrialist country has they have shown agin and agian.
Half of Germany is still climbing out of the communist era. It's a mini China. It also was not very long ago that Germany was the "sick man of Europe" that Greece now is. Still it is impressive what they have done.
Yes, they were called the "Sick Man of Europe" and they alleviated it by adopting many Anglo-American strategies and policies.
Amusing that some folks woke up today and discovered this nation called Germany. And they exports lots of things! Neato! Is that some kind of new revelation? Germany has always made quality products. I knew that 35 years ago.
I lived in Germany and its a better place than most. Very clean, cultured, and lots of fun. Succesful? You bet. Pretty much always has been.
But like anywhere, it has its negatives. Some of the fawning pundits on this site would wretch were they to encounter their inept bureacracy, static class systems, low-level racism and xenophobia, and a university system that is a bizarre combination of elitism and dysfunction. Germany has slums, addicts, crime, and people who die for no good reason.
Yes, their apprentice system generally works pretty well. I would be willing to take an idea or two from that. But I would also note it ofen functions as a way to procure dirt cheap labor.
Sure, there are good manufacturing jobs. Most are in small, family-owned factories (Mittelstand). Nothing wrong with that. But the big firms have moved production to cheaper Eastern Europe and the threat of more has helped neuter the previously strong unions. So it goes.
I would certainly applaud the Germans for not blowing trillions of Euros on some kind of bust stimulus like Obama did. I cannot fathom why Obama has encouraged them to do so. And I do not blame them for their disdain toward Greece.
Germany is a great place, no doubt. But they are not immune to economic cycles. They will hit another rough patch someday. We all do.
Germany is full of Germans, hence the name. Their nation is a product of their own unique experience of history and culture, like any nation. Nothing wrong with grabbing some ideas from them- that Kindergarten thing was a good get. But thinking we are going to tear up our entire economic system to replicate theirs is naive.
Why were we once the largest exporter? How could we have been the largest exporter and still manage to pay workers a good wage? Why is any country with a thriving manufacturing base thriving?
All we need to do is go back to what we once did to get jobs and manufacturing back in this country. To do that we'd need to get rid of most of the regulations and departments of the government that only increase the red tape, restrictions, fees and penalties of small businesses whose purpose is to destroy the competition against BIG corporations. Get rid of Obamacare and any regulations that force an employer to provide or penalize an employer if he does not provide health insurance to workers. End the so called "free trade" agreements.
Simply go back to doing what we were doing in the early 60s when we were successful. It doesn't take rocket science to figure out. By doing those things we allow the free market and capitalism to work. We stop binding it and gagging it with restrictions, regulations, mandates, fees, penalties , taxes and threats of jail sentences if the government rules aren't followed.
Show me a successful exporter and I'll show you a country that allows a free market to work and has very little government intervention.
All we need to do is go back to what we once did to get jobs and manufacturing back in this country. To do that we'd need to get rid of most of the regulations and departments of the government that only increase the red tape, restrictions, fees and penalties of small businesses whose purpose is to destroy the competition against BIG corporations. Get rid of Obamacare and any regulations that force an employer to provide or penalize an employer if he does not provide health insurance to workers. End the so called "free trade" agreements.
So please explain how it is that Germany, with high wages, high unionization, high taxes, universal healthcare, stringent labor laws, extravagant mandatory vacation policies, and regulations that would make an American bureaucrat green with envy succeed when your prescription has repeatedly failed?
Quote:
Simply go back to doing what we were doing in the early 60s when we were successful.
You mean when we had high levels of unionization, substantial pension plans and employer paid health insurance? Back to those days?
^^Both Germany and China export more than the US, and the gov'ts in those countries play a larger role in the economy than the US gov't does in the US.
Why were we once the largest exporter? How could we have been the largest exporter and still manage to pay workers a good wage? Why is any country with a thriving manufacturing base thriving?
All we need to do is go back to what we once did to get jobs and manufacturing back in this country. To do that we'd need to get rid of most of the regulations and departments of the government that only increase the red tape, restrictions, fees and penalties of small businesses whose purpose is to destroy the competition against BIG corporations. Get rid of Obamacare and any regulations that force an employer to provide or penalize an employer if he does not provide health insurance to workers. End the so called "free trade" agreements.
Simply go back to doing what we were doing in the early 60s when we were successful. It doesn't take rocket science to figure out. By doing those things we allow the free market and capitalism to work. We stop binding it and gagging it with restrictions, regulations, mandates, fees, penalties , taxes and threats of jail sentences if the government rules aren't followed.
Show me a successful exporter and I'll show you a country that allows a free market to work and has very little government intervention.
America was the biggest exporter in those decades after WW2, when the rest of the world was basically a bomb crater. America had the factories, resources and infrastructure. Everyone else needed the products to rebuild.
What worked then was having no competitors. And that worked pretty well.
What we're seeing today is the result of trying to continue what was successful without competition, in a world with strong competitors. And an economy grown to rigid with past success to learn from others.
One of my biggest disappointments with Bill Clinton and Barak Obama (there's simply no hope for Republicans) is that they both ran on a platform arguing for the development of industrial policies for the United States, only to see that vanish from the national discussion. For thirty years I have watched and studied how the major industrial nations have used government ministries to target areas of industrial growth, develop a cooperative partnership between government, corporations and labor to implement those plans and then watch them capture entire markets once dominated by American manufacturing. And all that time I have wondered, when will the U.S. wake up and smell the coffee.
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