Germany is. When it comes to paying taxes and other public charges, it is. The average German worker, or milk cow if you prefer, shells out much more than any of his counterparts in other countries do, the highest rate of any industrialized country. And this is the case whether you’re a single or a couple or a family here, according to a study by the OECD.

The average single earner here is allowed to keep 48 percent of what he or she earns after all the taxes and dues are in, for instance. But take heart. If you have a lousy job that hardly pays you anything to begin with, you can take home a whole 52.7 percent of what you make.

Well, at least now that this study is out I’m sure that the German government will do something about this gross imbalance and shocking lack of Gerechtigkeit (justice) and, uh, money. For the folks who actually earn it, I mean. But, then again, I’m also sure that the Washington Nationals are going to win the World Series later this year, too.

“Die Armen tragen die größte Last.”