You're a mysterious man, Something Wicked.
First you say this:
Then you say this:
Let's examine those.
Taxation
Reaction to the financial crisis
Holy shit, government intervention helped out.
Healthcare
Higher Education
Pretty clear that Germany is to the left of us on basically every issue... but their policies are reasonable? But it's also a horrible time to be a lefty?
First you say this:
OWS has been a laughable mess as predicted.
US Democrats may soon lose the White House and Senate.
Union pensions are finally being identified as having a major role in many of the US' fiscal problems.
European social collectivism is being crushed for its misguided views on human nature.
AGW support is crumbling throughout the world.
Free market capitalism is bringing billions of people up from poverty and into modern lifestyles.
Ah, it sure is a bad time to be a lefty in this world. You guys may want to reevaluate how you look at the world and life, because your current views are just going to further embarrass you in the near future. Then again, continue to maintain your envy filled ideologies, which always blindly sides with a perceived "underdog." I enjoy looking down upon the... less enlightened.
Then you say this:
Also, much of Europe's real growth has been mainly centered in Germany, due to it's premiere education standards, relatively reasonable fiscal practices, and elite manufacturing base. Much of southern Europe does not have such things, and currency traders are calling "bullshit" on their debt.
Let's examine those.
Taxation
No income tax is charged on the basic allowance, which is 8,004 for unmarried persons and 16,008 for jointly assessed married couples. Beyond this threshold, the marginal tax rate increases linearly from 14% to 24% for a taxable income of 13,469 (26,938 for married couples). In the subsequent interval up to a taxable income of 52,881 (105,762 for married couples), the marginal tax rate increases linearly from 24% to 42%. The last change of rates occurs at a taxable income of 250,730 (501,460 for married couples) when the marginal tax rate jumps from 42% to 45%. The course of the marginal tax rate and the resulting average tax rate are depicted in the graph to the right.
Reaction to the financial crisis
BERLIN Germany, Europe's economic engine, is back in gear after a painful recession, as foreign customers snap up cars and industrial machinery and the country reaps the benefits of stimulus spending that helped keep the motor running at home during the downturn.
In particular, economists point to government support for keeping workers on the job with shorter hours instead of laying them off a measure that kept more money in people's pockets and prevented a growth-killing spike in unemployment.
Still, there's general agreement that the way to recovery was paved in part by government spending,
That included two stimulus packages worth some euro80 billion ($104 billion), featuring infrastructure spending on roads, schools and other projects that is still keeping builders busy and a now-expired car-scrapping bonus.
Holy shit, government intervention helped out.
Healthcare
Germany has the world's oldest universal health care system, with origins dating back to Otto von Bismarck's Health Insurance Act of 1883.[66] As mandatory health insurance, it originally applied only to low-income workers and certain government employees, but has gradually expanded to cover the great majority of the population.[67] The system is decentralized with private practice physicians providing ambulatory care, and independent, mostly non-profit hospitals providing the majority of inpatient care. Approximately 92% of the population is covered by a 'Statutory Health Insurance' plan, which provides a standardized level of coverage through any one of approximately 1100 public or private sickness funds. Standard insurance is funded by a combination of employee contributions, employer contributions and government subsidies on a scale determined by income level. Higher income workers sometimes choose to pay a tax and opt out of the standard plan, in favor of 'private' insurance. The latter's premiums are not linked to income level but instead to health status.[68]
Historically, the level of provider reimbursement for specific services is determined through negotiations between regional physician's associations and sickness funds. Since 1976 the government has convened an annual commission, composed of representatives of business, labor, physicians, hospitals, and insurance and pharmaceutical industries.[69] The commission takes into account government policies and makes recommendations to regional associations with respect to overall expenditure targets. In 1986 expenditure caps were implemented and were tied to the age of the local population as well as the overall wage increases. Although reimbursement of providers is on a fee-for-service basis the amount to be reimbursed for each service is determined retrospectively to ensure that spending targets are not exceeded. Capitated care, such as that provided by U.S. health maintenance organizations, has been considered as a cost containment mechanism but would require consent of regional medical associations, and has not materialized.[70] Copayments were introduced in the 1980s in an attempt to prevent overutilization and control costs. The average length of hospital stay in Germany has decreased in recent years from 14 days to 9 days, still considerably longer than average stays in the U.S. (5 to 6 days).[71][72] The difference is partly driven by the fact that hospital reimbursement is chiefly a function of the number of hospital days as opposed to procedures or the patient's diagnosis. Drug costs have increased substantially, rising nearly 60% from 1991 through 2005. Despite attempts to contain costs, overall health care expenditures rose to 10.7% of GDP in 2005, comparable to other western European nations, but substantially less than that spent in the U.S. (nearly 16% of GDP).[73]
Higher Education
Most colleges are state-funded. In 2010, five of the 16 states of Germany charged tuition fees at state-funded colleges, while in 11 states tuition was provided free of charge. There are no university-sponsored scholarships in Germany, but a number of private and public institutions award scholarships, usually to cover living costs and books. Moreover, there is a law (BAFöG or Bundesausbildungsförderungsgesetz) which ensures that needy people can get up to 650 per month for 45 years if they or their parents cannot afford all the costs involved with studying. Part (typically half) of this money is an interest-free loan which has to be repaid. Many universities planning to introduce tuition fees have announced their intention to use part of the refunded money to create scholarship programmes, although the exact details are mostly vague.
Pretty clear that Germany is to the left of us on basically every issue... but their policies are reasonable? But it's also a horrible time to be a lefty?