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Honestly, I saw it as a bunch of brainwash. Everything seemed quite "normal" to me, yet news media and people keep talking and talking about how bad it is, and over time they stop spending money and it all affects everything.... Ricardo
Totally agree. Same here in Germany. Last few years were probably the best in history of this country regarding economy and lowest rate of unemployment ever, yet people always complain and always talking about current crisis and upcoming new crisis and and what not, while nearly everyone is driving a Mercedes or BMW and billions of Euros horded in bankbooks.
Self-fullfilling prophecy?
If a world crisis or world war would come, pretty much everybody is screwed anyway, and can't do much about it. So maybe people should enjoy life, relax and spend some money for quality music.
Your Germany must be on another planet. You may try reading some serious paper sometime. Those have been full about how statistics have been forged with for instance people in job-creating-measures being removed from unemployment stats, just as prematurely pensioned elderlies and worst of all the scratched exploding host of empoverished people who each engage in several poorly compensated jobs without yet meeting their basic demands.
And your BMW driving German of the middle-class besides is part of a nation whichs individual dies with several tens of thousand € of debts, whereas the vast of German youngsters unlike before do have no estate to heir anymore. In fact the current Generation being the first one without. Not to mention the situation concerning cars, which is that city dwellers are increasingly doing without cars at all. There have probably be no such share of none-drivers since WWII, who sticks to bicycles and public transportation.
And unlike before the current generation does have no perspective for steady job situation anymore. The times of lifetime-jobs or gone as well. The perspective in fact is such hopeless that the people after the last depression kept on loaning and just purchasing for seeing no future options anyway. That is merely concerning jobs and income, with yet not considered the part of population who cares to inform themselves in general and who see coming shortage on all kind of resource, with extinction, devastation, turmoils, wars and civil wars possibly followed by dictatures. Soilent Green anyone?
Best economic situation ever anywhere, but specially in Germany!?
I used to think of you as an informed person, Arash, but that image is hard to maintain with such comments. Instead I am now of the impression as if you had been drinking conservative cool-aid and gathering your perspective from the Bild-Zeitung and Bunte. Could that be?
I'm living here since 25 years, have a brain and two eyes and know exactly what "crisis" means. In reality NOBODY here is in any kind of "crisis". NOBODY. Even the poorest guy living on the street can go to JOBCENTER and get 400 Euros cash each month plus free Flat up to 45 sqm, free Electricity, free heating, free Water, free health insurance, etc. and if interested get FREE education paid by JOBCENTER, such as Umschulung worth 20.000 Euros upwards .... IF HE JUST WANTED TO. (And mind you, thats the worst case scenario), the so called Existenzminimum.
Nearly no other country offers such social security, except some scandinavian countries such as Norway. Compared to many many many other countries including US, the level of economic wealth here is still TIP TOP.
What you describe are some consequences of Globalization and are not limited to Germany. Lifetime guarantied Jobs anywhere else? Get real.
Well, and since you always bring discussions to a personal level, no matter which discussion:
Seams you are some kind of a over pesimistic person who is only interested to see negative things and Crisis in EACH COUNTRY YOU LIVE.
such as Umschulung worth 20.000 Euros upwards .... IF HE JUST WANTED TO.
you can FOUND a GmbH (your own ****ing company) with that amount of money... and you need much less than that if you're founding it with partners. Most education programs are not 20k but a couple of thousand Euros and even that is COMPLETELY out of range to finance for somebody who is struggling to get a job, anyways.
quote:
ORIGINAL: Arash
I'm living here since 25 years, have a brain and two eyes and know exactly what "crisis" means. In reality NOBODY here is in any kind of "crisis". NOBODY. Even the poorest guy living on the street can go to JOBCENTER and get 400 Euros cash each month plus free Flat up to 45 sqm, free Electricity, free heating, free Water, free health insurance, etc. and if interested get FREE education paid by JOBCENTER, such as Umschulung worth 20.000 Euros upwards .... IF HE JUST WANTED TO. (And mind you, thats the worst case scenario), the so called Existenzminimum.
Germany has more low paid jobs than ever (the low payment sector is exploding atm), which is the main reason it has gotten through the crisis that well. Also jobs where the employer doesn't pay enough to make a living off of it, so people have to apply for social insurance to at least survive. Called "Hart 4". People who are forced to take that usually have the utmost troubles finding a job at all afterwards. The best thing though is that all those incredible, excessive 21st century luxuries you mention (electricity, heating, water, ... i hope you get the irony, i really do), are financed by the working class, not by all (look up Arbeitslosenversicherung). So those who profit the most from it by getting a qualified, low paid worker, who has to additionally take help from the state to survive, pay almost nothing. Needless to say having MORE people who work for little money also means MORE pressure on those who get higher salaries and are not employers of course.
ORIGINAL: Arash If a world crisis or world war would come, pretty much everybody is screwed anyway, and can't do much about it.
That is the dumbest thing i have heard in a long time. Wars don't happen on accident. They aren't nature catastrophies. They are human made. And even nature catastrophies can be human made. LOL. The more people realize that (which is the opposite of your view) the higher the chances the world will become less retarded. For any substantial improvement on such matters, it is important to have less braindead people.
I'm living here since 25 years, have a brain and two eyes and know exactly what "crisis" means. In reality NOBODY here is in any kind of "crisis". NOBODY. Even the poorest guy living on the street can go to JOBCENTER and get 400 Euros cash each month plus free Flat up to 45 sqm, free Electricity, free heating, free Water, free health insurance, etc. and if interested get FREE education paid by JOBCENTER, such as Umschulung worth 20.000 Euros upwards .... IF HE JUST WANTED TO. (And mind you, thats the worst case scenario), the so called Existenzminimum.
WORST CASE SCENARIO?????
Even if 10% of what you claim turns out to be is true, what a difference to the netherlands (1 step away from Germany). I don't know the precent data but 20 years ago a homeless person would receive 75 guilders (35 euro) each quarterly..... that's 10 euro a month. And when i graduated as a flamenco guitar teacher at Rotterdam conservatory (after years of government payed study) the same government refused me social welfare because i refused to stop playing at a flamenco school. The school didn't held taxes which according to the social services made me a self-employed person with no right at welfare. They claimed a musician had no right on welfare anyway because there were no official jobs (especially not for flamenco players) so how can you be out of job when jobs don't exist ???? My defense i only worked there a couple of hours a week in the evening, was available and willing to accept any job available and on top possessed multiple diploma (including a high ranked laboratory diploma) made no difference. The only way i could get welfare was to stop playing at dance schools because as long as i earned 1 euro without them holding tax for me i was supposed to be self employing and as such did not fit the system.
A lot of baloney obviously but the result was they refused to give me anything and it took me 9 months of patience before my official protest (running through government channels) received recognition. After i won they had to re-pay me those 9 moths after all (100,- a moth because i earned quite a lot myself). Still 9 months without social welfare can easily go wrong and result in loosing your rented house. In that case they only had to pay me 10,- a month which at the time was the amount of money the dutch homeless received.
That happened 20 years ago but still a lot goes wrong at precent day. If you live in the netherlands but work in Belgium or Germany your'e doomed when you loose your job. A dutch father who lost his job after a lifetime of working received no security from the dutch government because his work was located on belgium ground....10 meter of the dutch border. They had no trouble to take his money for over 30 years (he had always payed tax in the netherlands) but when he needed the welfare (he payed for all his life) they refused because his work was located 10 meters off Dutch ground. People who leave the netherlands to work and live in another country for a couple of years often don't know they even loose their dutch nationality.
In Dutch health system thousands of well trained and experienced employe were fired and rehired as free lancer to do the same job for less money. Non of them wanted to become self employed but the system forced them to do so. The dutch government obviously was not amused as well but still advised the ex employees to except the new conditions and to become self employed. This means they have no right on social welfare if they ever become out of job and have to insure themselves against sickness and unemployment.
The only reason the government agreed with this system was because they were not keen to welcome thousands of new unemployed people. Obviously advising/allowing these people to become free lancer did safe the government millions of euros of saved welfare. But what they didn't think of was that free lancers pay considerably less tax, don't pay health insurance (not the kind that helps the government) and that they also don't pay any unemployments taxes (again not the kind that benefits the government). The first results are showing right now and the government found out the hard way that this new tendency to fire "normally employed people paying tax" and rehire them as "free lancers paying less tax" results in considerably less tax incomes. So government decided to withdraw the initial permitments to work as a freelancer for part (still thousands) of people involved which means those people are not longer allowed to do their work anymore and on top loose the tax discount they were promised and have to pay full tax after all. Government suddenly claims the permitment (needed to be allowed to work as a free lancer) is given without checking if individual people fit ALL the conditions and that the yearly tax declaration is the moment to decide if they do.
So the very same people that were fired and forced to do the same work for less money as a free lancer first received the government blessings (saving the government thousands/millions on welfare) and now half of them received a letter from the government that they are not longer allowed to work as a free lancer and on top have to pay full tax over the past year in stead of the reduced tax they were counting on (again saving the government thousands of euros). Not sure if those who loose their free lance status will receive welfare now or get the same treatment i received.... no sorry, cant give you any money because being a (ex) free lancer you don't fit the conditions.
Another recent development is that local welfare hires extern bureaus to help the unemployed finding jobs. Unfortunately those extern bureaus tend to see their job description a little bit different..... since they get paid for each person they can get off the unemployment list that tends to be their main goal. They don't care about the people or finding them a suited job, all they care for is get them of that list (and preferably back on the list after they are paid). Some of them are extremely rude to people, use methods normally used by dubious collecting agencies, they force people to apply for jobs 5-6 times a day and to be at home/available 24/7. They force people to accept every job offered to them even if they have good (and legal) grounds to refuse (like chronic diseases enabling them to do certain things). Fortunately the politic party i voted for (SP) now demands a national debate to stop this kind of unwanted activities. On top what use is it to pay a bureau to get people of the list if the same people fail to keep the not fitting jobs and are back on the list before you now it.
There are numerous examples like this. Constructors who want to build for local governments are forced to hire a certain amount of local unemployed people. To do so they have to fire some of the builders on their paying list who as a result become unemployed themselves. Taxi companies also are forced to select a certain % of their employe out of the local list of longterm unemployeds (basically the ones with no change on a job whatsoever). They to have to fire experienced employees to fit those demands. The funny thing is that although the amount of unemployed remains the same it is communicated as a big success.... all that matters is the fact X people have successfully found a job thanks to government projects... that the same amount of people as a result became unemployed seems to be no issue.
This is not the only kind of paper success. Recently a group of people who were not compatible with the job market (but had working partners) were successfully removed from the unemployment list, not because they had found a job but because they gave up surging for a job... removing them from the list made the list seems shorter and wasn't that what everybody wanted? As we all know you have lies, damned lies and statistics.
Speaking about statistics, they seem to show that unlike the Netherlands Germany indeed still has a lot of jobs to offer. So right now dutch government is stimulating us to find/accept a job on the other side of the border. They obviously don't mention the fact you loose your right on welfare if you ever got fired and loose your nationality when you decide to live there as well.
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The smaller the object of your focus the bigger the result.
Thank you guys for pointing out some items to him. Another item I would like to add to Arash´s Brave New World is that in the early millenia ( I think it was ) the media with an outcry revealed that fist time after the "economic miracle" empoverished children had to be noted in Germany, which at that time had amassed to a number of 50 000 heads.
This number now, in conservative´s understanding of "blossom" in a sense of employers´cockaigne, has become 2,4 million children threatend by poverty. That to me looks like almost 50 times as much. A strange way of sensing progress I would say.
How blind does one have to be to view Germany of today with all the setback for its people, and take that as "the best in history of this country regarding economy"?
And how much overview can there be after all when one fancys "lowest rate of unemployment ever", who has not been around yet in 1980 when unemployment rate was at 3,8% while now with all the forging on statistics the rate between 2005 and 2013 still has been officially noted between 11 and 6,7% ( which you can actually count as double that with ease, if such will matter anyway).
such as Umschulung worth 20.000 Euros upwards .... IF HE JUST WANTED TO.
you can FOUND a GmbH (your own ****ing company) with that amount of money... and you need much less than that if you're founding it with partners. Most education programs are not 20k but a couple of thousand Euros and even that is COMPLETELY out of range to finance for somebody who is struggling to get a job, anyways.
I said UMSCHULUNG. Umschulung is completely financed by the goverment! What do you mean with "out of range to finance". You dont have to pay a single Euro for an Umschulung! They pay everything. I have a friend going to an IT-Umschulung worth 33.000 Euros all paid by the goverment and at the same time they pay him everything else which i mentioned above. He doesnt have to work at the same time and only have to go to Umschulung for 2 years to get the certificate. After that with the qualification he has much better chances to get a well paid job in the IT industry.
I will read the rest and Erics post tomorrow and reply.
I have a friend going to an IT-Umschulung worth 33.000 Euros all paid by the goverment and at the same time they pay him everything else which i mentioned above. He doesnt have to work at the same time and only have to go to Umschulung for 2 years to get the certificate. After that with the qualification he has much better chances to get a well paid job in the IT industry.
I have a friend who worked his but of for years in the IT world, saved his companies ass many times, did jobs only 2 employe of his huge firm were able to do, received huge bonuses in return (for jobs well done) as well as expensive "for the lucky few" schooling payed by his boss. He took vacations to master the newest program languages and as a result his salary raised and raised up to a point were he became to expensive. So the company (like most of them) surged for cheaper alternatives and started to employ IT people in china and india in stead. All he has to do now is tell them how to do things (and solve the stressful mess they sometimes produce) until they don't need him any longer. They are already pushing him to consult a job coach hoping he find/except a job elsewhere.... that would save them thousands of euro's to fire him. It is very well possible your friend and others coming from IT-umschuling are only there to (temporary) replace highly qualified IT experts who in turn become unemployed. Obviously those new employees are fired as well as soon as the indian department is bullet prove because in all fairness they are much cheaper in staffing coasts.
I'm probably loosing my job as well...thousands of postman will dude to mass redundancies replacing old and expensive employe by machines and new and unexperienced but way cheaper personal. My boss hires a job coach as well trying to find new jobs for us. Most of the projects they came up with were a farce. Those who entered a (umschulings) project (payed by my company) generally ended up accepting a job were they were fired 1 year later dude to mass redundancies in that field of work.
Another unpleasant effect of job coaches guiding people from jobs to jobs is that they can offer a back of money. So the new company can educate/employ me with financial support of my old boss. Obviously stressful periods arrive when the probationary period is over shortly after it is to late to return to your old job. Since it is attractive for both the old boss (less people to fire), the job coach (having a job) and the new boss (selecting people sponsored by others and as such relatively cheap) i seriously fear this will become a major way of shifting unwanted personal from one job to the other, saving the burden of firing people but keeping unemployed unemployed forever.
There is already a specialized employment agency harvesting, sorry i mean offering fired postmen new employment. All they have to do is to pay the agency the bonus they receive for leaving the company (1700 a month over a 1 year period). In return for that money the agency offers them a job in selected companies. In return for your labor you receive 2000,- a month, 1700 of which is payed out of your own pocket. Only when you work more then 32 hours a week part of the extra hours are payed to you as a bonus. So in case of a 32 hour a week job in exchange for your labor you receive 300,- on top of the 1700,- you bring in yourselve... that's 2 euros an hour. But al least you still HAVE a job and hopefully they will continue hiring you after the first year!!!!!! Is it very naive of me to think the agency offer those companies your services for 1000,- a month, paying your extra 300,- out of that money wile keeping 700 themselve. And is it very naive to think that when your new boss have to pay over 2000,- a month (after you stop contributing 1700 a month yourself out of your own pocked) that he will trade you for another 1000,- a month alternative, offered by the agency? As a result you end up unemployed with little change on a job..... unless the government ends up offering similar deals to companies which is already happening in all kinds and shapes...... it once again reduces the amount of long term unemployed people witch looks so good on paper. One of the most painful developments is to force people to do meaningless work, claiming it will both bring them working experience and amongst people, both considered "key factors" in getting a real job. So they let a university professor collect paper on the street and they even build a factory where 1 group of unemployed were forced to pack stuff and another group of unemployed was forced to unpack it again all in the name of giving them a "meaningful way to spend the day" and keeping them fit for duty.
Funny enough when i had my intake for welfare 20 years ago they strongly disliked my working activities. The first question they asked me was if i had done any job interview in the 2 months that has past since i left school..... no i haven't..... why not.... because i have been working full time as a postman during the past months, i do that every summer when they needs extra hands". They claimed that temporary job would keep me from finding a real job and ordered me to stop working as a postman immediately and to start looking for a real job. Unfortunately i listened and as a result lost a job ..... all the guys who kept on working that summer were offered a full time job as a postman 2 months later, except me because the system has forced me not to waste time on temporary jobs. Only after 2 years of meaningless job interviews i found myself a full time job... as a postman at the very same office that would have contracted me 2 years before if government hadn't decided "a temporary job at the postal services was keeping me from finding a real job".
At precent day i would not be forced to stop working for 3 flamenco schools and the postal services (claiming it would keep me away from a real job), i would be forced to do totally meaningless things like packing/unpacking things that never leave the factory "in order to enlarge my changes and keep me fit for duty". One famous dutch football coach would say "am i so smart or are they so stupid?"
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The smaller the object of your focus the bigger the result.
The best thing though is that all those incredible, excessive 21st century luxuries you mention (electricity, heating, water, ... i hope you get the irony, i really do),
The reason why you think that these things are totally self-evident and therefore find it ironic, is because obviously you never really suffered a real economic "crisis" in your life and therefore can only compare current situation in your country with the "golden years" in the same country and thats why you feel there is a "crisis". But you could also compare Germany, Holland, etc. with the billions of people all around the world in other countries and thats where you realize that these free things paid by the goverment while you can sit at home and have all these things in todays globalized World (which you can't turn back and which is kind of a natural development) ... ARE IN FACT LUXURY.
The sooner you realize that in long term the level of economic wealth in the world is going to be balanced somewhere in the Middle (exceptions are always there with few very rich people) and that those Chinese, Indian, african, etc. people will gain more while you will have less, the sooner you will addopt your expectations and your thoughts and be thankful that your country can still offer all these things free If you are in trouble and can't work or are sick or whatever.
Eric I will read both of your long posts in few hours, I'm sorry I couldn't reply to them till now, but will do tonight.
The reason why you think that these things are totally self-evident and therefore find it ironic, is because obviously you never really suffered a real economic "crisis" in your life and therefore can only compare current situation in your country with the "golden years" in the same country and thats why you feel there is a "crisis". But you could also compare Germany, Holland, etc. with the billions of people all around the world in other countries and thats where you realize that these free things paid by the goverment while you can sit at home and have all these things in todays globalized World (which you can't turn back and which is kind of a natural development) ... ARE IN FACT LUXURY.
The sooner you realize that in long term the level of economic wealth in the world is going to be balanced somewhere in the Middle (exceptions are always there with few very rich people) and that those Chinese, Indian, african, etc. people will gain more while you will have less, the sooner you will addopt your expectations and your thoughts and be thankful that your country can still offer all these things free If you are in trouble and can't work or are sick or whatever.
Quite true! Things will have to balance out or otherwise they'll do it violently ...
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Music is a big continent with different lascapes and corners. Some of them I do visit frequently, some from time to time and some I know from hearsay only ...
A good musical instrument is one that inspires one to express as free as possible
Quite true! Things will have to balance out or otherwise they'll do it violently ...
Right. But Arash only jumped to this truism in order to escape his cluelessness on German economy / economy and social conditions as a whole. You can overlook it in above posts.
ORIGINAL: Arash The sooner you realize that in long term the level of economic wealth in the world is going to be balanced somewhere in the Middle (exceptions are always there with few very rich people) and that those Chinese, Indian, african, etc. people will gain more while you will have less, the sooner you will addopt your expectations and your thoughts and be thankful that your country can still offer all these things free If you are in trouble and can't work or are sick or whatever.
Quite true! Things will have to balance out or otherwise they'll do it violently ...
Aside from that it would be the decent thing to do wouldn't it. We enjoy our luxury by exploiting/plundering these countries with zero eye for fair deals, people, nature, the earth and the planets future. Speaking about the planets future, with or without fair sharing we'll soon run out of natural resources anyway. I'll guess after we destroyed the rainforest and plundered the complete earth we'll be back to square 1, like we deserve.
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The smaller the object of your focus the bigger the result.
Erik, sure it would be more then a decent thing to do ... to create some more justice in the distribution of goods and resources of all kinds.
I just took the maximum egotistic point of view of people who don't feel like to share, and even than it would be more than wise, it would be quite advisable to diminish the pressures of imbalances lest they want to be overridden by those who don't have anything to loose (the inbreaks in Spanish enclaves in Africa show how that works).
Not to see even this egotistical reason to balance out the economy is highest grade of stupidity, isn't it?
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Music is a big continent with different lascapes and corners. Some of them I do visit frequently, some from time to time and some I know from hearsay only ...
A good musical instrument is one that inspires one to express as free as possible
Certainly one of the biggest stories in the last 50-60 years is the 3rd world beginning to balance out with the rich countries.
Yet another and just as salient struggle is between the 1%ers and the masses. As long as they are getting richer and everyone else is getting poorer, it can only be a major irritation and point of contention. The system's inherent unfairness is easily ignored when optimism and rising fortunes prevail. When the trend points downward, and the rich exploit economic decline to hoard an even greater share of luxury, it cannot help but incite those with less power.
Certainly one of the biggest stories in the last 50-60 years is the 3rd world beginning to balance out with the rich countries.
Miguel is spot-on. People who bemoan the "decline of the West" have it wrong. The real story is the "rise of the Rest."
While it is undeniable that the West exploited the Third World for its own benefit over the past couple of centuries, there is more to the story than the West's "exploitation" that explains the Third World's lack of development, particularly during the past 60 years since the end of imperialism. Much of the Third World's own policies led to its lack of development. China is the perfect example. Under Mao Zedong's disastrous and cruel policies, based on his own interpretation of Marxism-Leninism, China suffered famine and economic disaster, not to mention the death of an estimated 30 million Chinese due directly and indirectly to his policies. Since Mao's demise, and the reversal of his disastrous policies by Deng Xiaoping beginnning in 1978, China has boomed economically. Deng's policy of opening up China to the international system and encouragement of private enterprise has resulted in literally millions of Chinese being lifted out of poverty
The same can be said for India, which until 20 years ago was a closed economy, much more dependent on Soviet-style "five-year plans" than on private enterprise. The past couple of decades of India's more open economy have resulted in India's forward movement economically.
Many African countries adopted the "African Way to Socialism" after gaining independence in the 1960s. The "African Way to Socialism" led them to economic disaster, as could be expected. Those countries that opened up their economies have experienced much greater development than those who haven't. Ditto for Latin America. Chile is the example that sets the standard. A free-market economy that has led the way economically in Latin America. Peru is an interesting example. When Alan Garcia first became president in 1988, he nationalized Peruvian banks and refused to continue paying Peru's international debt. What happened was easily predictable. Peruvians sent all their money to Miami banks, and foreign investment dried up, choking off jobs that otherwise would have been produced. During Garica's second presidency, he had learned his lesson and adopted free-market policies. Peru is now one of Latin America's dynamos. Mexico is experiencing the same growth since opening up its economy.
It is great to see the less-developed countries advancing, but much of their economic advancement has been due to their adoption of rational economic policies.
Cheers,
Bill
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And the end of the fight is a tombstone white, With the name of the late deceased, And the epitaph drear, "A fool lies here, Who tried to hustle the East."
Right. But Arash only jumped to this truism in order to escape his cluelessness on German economy / economy and social conditions as a whole. You can overlook it in above posts.
Ruphus
I didn't escape anything. The reason why i don't reply to you and why I wrote Eric in Pm is because I don't want to discuss with you or infront of you some personal issues. You are almost like one of those Mullahs you always complain about. Black and White. Leftist or Conservative. Friend or Foe. I can't stand people like you.
But here you go (a final comment to you, I'm not going to continue this) since you insist:
quote:
yet in 1980 when unemployment rate was at 3,8% while now with all the forging on statistics the rate between 2005 and 2013 still has been officially noted between 11 and 6,7% ( which you can actually count as double that with ease, if such will matter anyway).
count as double ha? ... ok , ,,,,5 years after your 3.8% in 1980 it was already 9.3% in 1985, which is nearly 2.5 times higher in only 5 years and in 1998 already 11%. The only clueless guy in this thread is you, who has to look up wikipedia and read newspapers to find a stupid number to prove your point that Germany's economy sucks, instead of using your eyes and brain. Clueless people like you also don't know that unemployment rate has many other reasons and aspects and not only economy, such as structural changes, technological changes, demographics, etc. etc. specially in Germany.... Thats why we even have times where the economy rocked but high unemployment rates.
Here is a PRO tip for you since you insist on very low unemployment rate:
If you want 0% unemployment rate, start a war, get destroyed, and start all over again. I guaranty you after the initial shock and some years of suffering, many golden years will come where everybody has work since there is so much work to do to build up the country again. You even have to import workers from abroad since you don't have enough manpower. Did it once and it worked. Ask the turkish people who are now living here.
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Mark2
I might stop having sex and outsmart the planet and its diabolic plan with the virus. But I'm a bit worried and unsure about the plastic issue. I guess I will continue using less plastic, just in case George is wrong and the planet can't handle this sh.it after we are wiped out lol
The reason why you think that these things are totally self-evident and therefore find it ironic, is because obviously you never really suffered a real economic "crisis" in your life and therefore can only compare current situation in your country with the "golden years" in the same country and thats why you feel there is a "crisis". But you could also compare Germany, Holland, etc. with the billions of people all around the world in other countries and thats where you realize that these free things paid by the goverment while you can sit at home and have all these things in todays globalized World (which you can't turn back and which is kind of a natural development) ... ARE IN FACT LUXURY.
****. A sports car, a yacht, etc are luxuries. It is existing luxury, not something i make up. Not having heating etc. or no food is not normal it is called poverty among somehow rational humans.
Whatever you might chose to `shoot back´, Arash, it can´t distract from the fact that you have no undestanding of conditions and causalities.
Just superficial balancing of truisms and all energy for disguising ignorance, whilst none sacrificed for actually investigating anything.
That characteristic of mentality was already described in an expertise ordered by the British parliament in mid of last century.
Also typical being that you live somewhere abroad, but never actually landed.
You will not love the people, accept and embrace the customs and appreciate hospitality and privilege. Thats is why the outlook from the diaspora will likely stay alien to you no matter for how long.
The reason why you think that these things are totally self-evident and therefore find it ironic, is because obviously you never really suffered a real economic "crisis" in your life and therefore can only compare current situation in your country with the "golden years" in the same country and thats why you feel there is a "crisis". But you could also compare Germany, Holland, etc. with the billions of people all around the world in other countries and thats where you realize that these free things paid by the goverment while you can sit at home and have all these things in todays globalized World (which you can't turn back and which is kind of a natural development) ... ARE IN FACT LUXURY.
****. A sports car, a yacht, etc are luxuries. It is existing luxury, not something i make up. Not having heating etc. or no food is not normal it is called poverty among somehow rational humans.
What Arash rightfully points out is that on a global scale poverty unfortunately is the reference standard of the human race and that crisis and poverty are relative standards based on which position you take on the scale of luxury.
When i watch a documentary of the 2th world war showing a person walking for miles hoping to find some food or some wood to burn i interpret that as a poor soul, but my father (who was there at the time) interprets the same person (in that time and place) as one of the lucky few.... someone who still has the energy to surge for those kind of treasures.
What defines poverty/luxury totally depends on your local standard of living. For millions luxury is having water/food, for others it is having a place to shelter, for others it is having a house/ heating/electricity. Next comes a television, a car, a swimming pool, a yacht, a private jet etc. up to a point "crisis" means you only have 300.000 dollar to spend on shoes that day.
Ever watched the documentary the queen of Versailles?
It's funny how, despite the incredible luxury i live in, small things can still give immense pleasure every now and then. Years after i moved in here i finally installed a 1 dollar light bulb in one of the back rooms. After years of darkness switching on the light felt like an incredible luxury, almost like being God...... "and there was light". I recently was quite lazy replacing a scratched bike saddle. On a rainy day it socked up water like a sponge. Replacing that saddle (after weeks of wet butts) again felt like an immense luxury. At the same time i can buy a 1000,- art object and hardly give it a second look once it's part of my collection. I guess the best meal i ever eat was something with spinach and paprika, collected out of the "garbage" left on the street after the weekly market (at the time i gave shelter to a drug addict and quite often had to survive days without money, which obviously is not the same as living in poverty). Actually, the best time in my life were my conservatory years when i had no money to spend (my only savings were the container deposits) but could live my life as one continuing vacation (mainly playing chess all day). At precent day spare time is a luxury as well... from my point of view. But i'm obviously incredible fortunate i can make a good living working only 8 hours a day with extremely agreeable work. In other parts of the world people are exhausting/endangering themselves in mines and other poisonous environments 20 hours a day (to enable our mobile phones and other luxury) still not making enough to support their family.
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The smaller the object of your focus the bigger the result.
I can't respond to the music scene but see my recent post here in the off topic section about my first museum exhibit. It's brutal out there man, but there's a lot of joy in pursuing what you love. Good things do happen, I believe that. Just gotta be patient and not worry about the money so much. Not easy advice, but I think it's true.
Regarding the word "talent" - I'm a bit of a believer that this word is a total BS word created as an excuse for those who don't want to work hard enough. Not sure I believe this completely, but it seems to me that anyone who ever made anything of themselves did it because they worked hard. I think Neil Young has a crappy voice, but he worked hard to make it a good one. Not sure if that makes sense, but that's kind of my point.
I hardly mentioned i buy 1000,- art objects and the adds start flowing :-)
But seriously, i tip my hat to everyone who burns (couldn't resist) his boats and fallow his dreams like you do. As far as talent is concerned, it is rare but it does exist and it most certainly does not rule out hard work.
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The smaller the object of your focus the bigger the result.
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