Why does Germany have better jobs/middle class than us?

Discussion in 'Economics' started by noob_trad3r, Jan 19, 2012.

  1. clacy

    clacy

    Ouch, busted! That is typical of the socialist. Always wants someone else to pay for it.
     
    #11     Jan 19, 2012
  2. clacy

    clacy

    The ethnic makeup of Germany is 90%+ German. Look at the IQ bell curve for various races. Compare that with the racial makeup of the US and do the math yourself.

    A more relative comparison is to compare all of the EU with the US and when you do that, it's a complete mismatch in terms of median income, middle class living standards, etc.
     
    #12     Jan 19, 2012
  3. 377OHMS

    377OHMS

    LOL.

    Jeuco failed in the US so he needs to run American down to rationalize his loser status.

    Canada? I guess wifey-poo split out on him. Probably took up with a Haitian who has a new car and a better credit rating. :D
     
    #13     Jan 19, 2012
  4. I have been succesful but not as much as I would like to.

    I am questioning if i can find success outside the US. :D
     
    #14     Jan 20, 2012
  5. Good Homework.

    Well I was paying almost 500 in those 12K credit cards. Guess what, my student loan debt to pay for my MBA is close to 600 a month on a 100,000 debt.

    I took my bail out money and I am very happy.

    You dont know anything about Germany. You probably don’t even know how to get your passport. Go to Germany, France, Denmark and Switzerland and try to teach them your American way
    . :p :p
     
    #15     Jan 20, 2012
  6. If ethnically homogeneous countries do better, maybe it is time to consider splitting the USA along ethnic/cultural lines into 4 different countries. White, African,Asian and Latin.
     
    #16     Jan 20, 2012
  7. piezoe

    piezoe

    US has had a weak currency relative to the Euro also!
     
    #17     Jan 20, 2012
  8. piezoe

    piezoe

    correction. I should have said The U.S. has also had a weaker currency relative to the Euro.

    It seems that Germany is a better managed country than the U.S. Perhaps that relates to having started over in the mid-twentieth century whereas the U.S. Constitution is an 18th Century document. Though amended many times, it is a seriously defective document for underpinning government of a 21st Century country. In particular the courts' interpretation of the First Amendment has led to all sorts of problems.

    Two differences having huge impact on both the German and U.S. economies stand out to me. The first is the dramatic difference in military spending. The U.S. has been, of recent, spending nearly $4000/capita on "defense" once vet benefits and interest on borrowed money is included. If you leave off the later two items, the direct expenditure is about half that, at about $2000/ capita. Germany, on the other hand, is spending only around $300/capita. That's about an order of magnitude less than what the U.S. spends!

    The second dramatic difference is in medical spending. German spending on health care per capita is less than half that in the U.S.; yet access to care and outcomes are both better in Germany. To highlight how significant this difference is one only needs to note that medical expenses are the most prevalent cause of personal bankruptcies in the U.S.

    Curiously, both countries have a privatized system of medical care; both countries rely on private insurers. Both countries have highly regulated medical care.

    It would seem that philosophy behind the regulation, however, is chiefly responsible for the dramatic difference in cost and outcome. In Germany the insurers are tightly regulated to keep costs down and the goal of the regulation is to achieve maximum social benefit and regulate competition in. It is clear that in Germany the regulated are not driving the regulation.

    In the U.S., however, it is the regulated who are driving the regulation. The result is that competition is regulated out. The FDA plays a major role as well, and largely serves the pharmaceutical industry. The combination of these forces in the U.S. has resulted in a medical care Cartel and virtual absence of competition. As one would anticipate, the profits have been large --I believe, for example, the Vanguard Health Care Fund has the highest returns over the last 30 years of any of the Vanguard mutual funds. Profits and salaries at the top of the U.S. health care industry have been so outsized relative to the remainder of the economy that corporations hitherto not involved in health care are seeing opportunity there. Companies such as Walmart are now eying the healthcare Cartel as a possible source of new profits. Walmart's participation, of course, will be fought tooth and nail by the current Cartel members. The rallying cry, as always will be degradation of quality and public safety issues. In the long run though, costs may finally be brought down to a more reasonable level if firms such as Walmart can provide the sorely needed competition that will eventually break the back of the Cartel.

    Not only do I see military and medical costs as two of the defining differences between the German and American economies, but I see them as essential targets if the U.S. is to survive economically and break out of the debt death spiral it has entered.
     
    #18     Jan 20, 2012
  9. clacy

    clacy

    Obviously no one is advocating that. It is what it is. I was just pointing out one of the big factors. Now with that said, it would be a much fairer comparison to compare the entire EU to the US, relative to population and scale of economies, that is more valid.

    Cherry picking one of the top EU members to compare to the US is like picking a region of the US, such as New England.
     
    #19     Jan 20, 2012
  10. zdreg

    zdreg

    that is absurd. therefore if you are mixed u should live with your house on the border.

    the real answer is to bring back capitalism to the US. get rid of crony capitalism. privatize nearly everything. have a simple tax code which can have taxes filed on the back of post cards. shrink the government by 75%.

    if not the US will have a stagnant economy for years to come.
     
    #20     Jan 20, 2012