Tag Archives: Economy

Here’s your opportunity!

May 30, 2024 By in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

To find a job in a country that has…

some of the lowest salaries in Europe,
the highest taxes in Europe (if not in the world),
the highest social “contributions” (taxes) in Europe,
some of the lowest retirement pensions in Europe (unless you’re a civil servant),
the highest energy prices in Europe,
the highest water and sewage costs in Europe,
some of the highest real estate taxes and related bureaucratic costs in Europe,
some of the highest rents and real estate prices in Europe and
a catastrophic lack of available apartments.
I’ll stop there. For now.

So don’t miss out on this opportunity, millennials!

Desperate for millennial talent, Germany launches ‘Opportunity Card’ giving migrants a year to look for a job – Between an aging population and an economy in seemingly perennial stagnation, Germany faces some major challenges. Could a visa aimed at attracting more young, hungry workers be the answer?

Germany is set to launch an “Opportunity Card” just in time for the summer, aimed at young foreign workers hoping either to eventually secure a long-term job or simply work in the country for a while.

The Empire of Evil overtakes the Empire of Evil

May 10, 2024 By in Hard Facts, Heconomy Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

As Germany’s top trading partner.

US overtakes China as Germany’s top trading partner – The United States overtook China as Germany’s most important trading partner in the first quarter of this year, according to Reuters’ calculations based on official data from the German statistics office.

Germany’s trade with the United States – exports and imports combined – totalled 63 billion euros ($68 billion) from January to March, while the figure for China was just under 60 billion euros, the data showed.

German of the day: Unwahrscheinlich

April 11, 2024 By in Hard Facts, Hideology, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

That means unlikely. As in “a recovery of German industry to the level before the war in Ukraine is unlikely.”

Go Green, go… lean.

Germany set to permanently pay for reliance on Russian gas—as power chief says ‘significant structural demand destruction’ means it will never fully recover from energy crisis.

German industry got rich, thanks partly to its close energy trading relationship with political and economic rival Russia. The past few years have shown just how misguided that relationship was, as Russia invaded Ukraine and cut off Germany’s cheap, vital gas supply.

Now, one of Germany’s leading renewable-power bosses has suggested it’s a mistake the country could rue forever, as the fallout from the energy crisis is set to permanently damage its industry.

Nobody else’s pension system works

March 16, 2024 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helections, Hideology, Home Cooking Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

Why should Germany’s?

They are all brilliant systems and they all work the same way: You pay into it your entire working life while your government pumps in ever more money to prop it up and thus burden future generations with massive growing debt (interest rates rock). This Ponzi scheme only works if parents have way more children (at least three on average). It stopped working a long, long time ago, in other words.

Germany struggles to fix its pension system – German society is aging fast and the working-age population is shrinking. There are new plans to make the pension system fit for the future, but critics have said they won’t work.

When in doubt…

February 22, 2024 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Higher Education, Hysteria Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Just say no. When not in doubt, sowieso (anyhow).

“Expansion” is a scary word. It sounds too much like growth, increase, prosperity, success. We vote no! Because you can never know, unless it’s no.

Tesla in Germany: Locals vote against factory expansion plan – Residents of Grünheide near Berlin have voted against expansion plans for the large Tesla facility there. But the vote is not binding and local authorities can still decide. Turnout was high, though, indicating interest.

If it looks like a recession, swims like a recession, and quacks like a recession, then it’s probably…

February 20, 2024 By in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , Leave a comment

A fourth straight quarter of zero or negative growth.

Germany likely in recession, Bundesbank says – Germany is likely in recession now as external demand is weak, consumers remain cautious and domestic investment is held back by high borrowing costs, the Bundesbank said in a regular monthly report on Monday about Europe’s biggest economy.

Germany has struggled since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine pushed up energy costs, and its vast, industry-heavy economy is now in its fourth straight quarter of zero or negative growth, weighing on all of the euro zone.

Other than that, though…

February 12, 2024 By in Hard Facts, Heconomy, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

Germany’s economy is doing just fine.

Germany’s economy is on shaky ground and glimmers of hope are few and far between – Good news has been sparse for the German economy. And the latest economic data has not done much to change this.

A few key 2023 data points, namely factory orders, exports and industrial production, were out last week and indicated a weak end to the year that saw questions about Germany being the “sick man of Europe” resurface.

We couldn’t have gone into recession without you

January 29, 2024 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Heconomy, Home Cooking Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

Without you not being here – about 20 sick days a year.

A study says that in 2023, 5.5 percent of German employees were absent every day due to illness. Sickness-related absences caused 26 billion euros of damage in 2023. Without them, Germany would not be in recession.

“At least for 2023, Germany will be the ‘sick man’ in the truest sense of the word, whose economic performance will be significantly more affected by the wave of illness than in other countries.”