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Is Germany once again the sick man of Europe?

economist.com

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Re: Is Germany once again the sick man of Europe?

#141

Post by PurpleRamen »

jeroenvlek wrote: post #128
PurpleRamen wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Germany has more than enough alternatives for nuclear power. The situation would have been even better if not for some brain farts sabotaging the movement to alternatives for various reasons. The big problem is that has Germany has big dependencies on coal, gas and gasoline, for industry, heating, and cars. Nuclear power can't replace this at all. Which is why Germany is shifting around usages and started investing b…

Yes, but they could have kept nuclear until the reactors were end of life to have more time for the transition. Instead, they frantically closed them and now coal consumption increased. Case in point: Lützerath.

They did, most German reactors are ancient and were past the recommended life-time. And coal consumption did not increase because of the closing down of nuclear reactors.

Re: Is Germany once again the sick man of Europe?

#142

Post by bgdam »

wink wrote: post #121
bgdam wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I don't want to downplay any of this and I mostly agree with your points, but as a German the only "related" things I have to do is renew my ID and passport every 10 years and I've never had to wait such a long time (I think we're due to a change in our driving licenses, but that's one time, and I've not touched mine since I got it over 20 years ago). Exactly. This is precisely my point. Germans don't realize that…

Well, you originally put this as your talking point, more of a general rant how everything sucks, and then we should assume that your pain points with immigration are the main point. I just found https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/28347/umfrage... - which looks like a big jump (e.g. comparing to France https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/461789/umfrag... ) In a perfect world I'd assume this wou…

> In a perfect world I'd assume this would be fixed slowly as this seems to be a recent trend, but I'm not hopeful.

Yes, I thought the Ampel coalition's push for digitization was a great start to this. And then I read last week that they slashed the budget and pushed it back again. So I'm losing hope too.

Re: Is Germany once again the sick man of Europe?

#143

Post by bgdam »

junon wrote: post #131
the_common_man wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How did you even get appointments? It's impossible to get appointments at Auslandbehörde

Check every day at 6am, multiple times per day

How I wish my city would have an open appointment booking system. Instead I get to send an email, and then wait for a response for the next 4-6 months. Thankfully once you get that initial response the rest of the process moves smoothly now that there is an actual person you can talk to directly.

Re: Is Germany once again the sick man of Europe?

#144

Post by laserdancepony »

bgdam wrote: post #26

As an immigrant (and a very well paid one paying obnoxiously high taxes), I've recommended every single person asking if they should move from India to Germany to not to. The only upgrade is in cleaner air to breathe and safety from crime. If you're in the higher earning bracket in India, then you get these there itself. So then moving to Germany from India is like stepping back into 1996. Every single thing is so ob…

If you were so highly qualified as you say, you‘d know about the sunken cost fallacy. So get out of Germany and move somewhere else you are happy.

Re: Is Germany once again the sick man of Europe?

#146

Post by mschuster91 »

littlecranky67 wrote: post #89
mschuster91 wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> business license takes 120 days to acquire. That's bullshit. A Gewerbeanmeldung for a one-person startup or a GbR (same, just with more than one person) takes one DIN A4 sheet of paper per person, and about half an hour of waiting at the city authority. An LLC (UG, GmbH, AG) takes more effort to form, yes (including raising 12.500€ of capital for the GmbH/AG), but you can easily transition from an existing Einzelun…

> That's bullshit. A Gewerbeanmeldung for a one-person startup or a GbR (same, just with more than one person) takes one DIN A4 sheet of paper per person Now that is bs. Because you also need to register with the tax authorities (Finanzamt) to get your tax id after that. Oh, and if you want to do your VAT declarations ("Umsatzsteuervoranmeldung") yourself, don't forget to request a digital certificate for ELSTER, whi…

The thing is, the "time to start" is practically zero. You file the Gewerbeanmeldung and can start working immediately after, and do the rest (apply for a tax ID, ELSTER, IHK contributions) later on in the next weeks. Been through that twice. With the LLCs you can also operate as "UG/GmbH in Gründung" for a limited time if you need to start fast, but never went that route.

> you are in for a surprise when the tax account asks all of the shareholders/owners of the GbR/GmbH for their proof of church membership (for dividends tax)

Ah yes, I agree with you that this crap can go and die in a fire for all I care...

Re: Is Germany once again the sick man of Europe?

#147

Post by romanovcode »

littlecranky67 wrote: post #82
romanovcode wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If I paid the same amount in insurance in India, I'd have a helicopter flown out every time I stubbed my toe. You are free to go private if you earn more than 60k a year and you get all the helicopters and 3-d printed tooth fillings. The only problem is that you can get back to public only if you get fired. > Germans who foolishly believe that Germany is a great country to live It's not Germans who foolishly believ…

> You are free to go private if you earn more than 60k a year Good luck if you are married and have children, or good beware, prior health conditions. Then private will cost you waaay more than public

With prior health conditions they won't even accept you 9 times out of 10. But honestly it's not a great deal to begin with.

To clarify why it's tricky:

I was going to private long time ago and they asked me if I have some conditions. I said I have mild scoliosis and whatever and they said "No, not like that - like HIV/AIDS or Cancer" and I said No.

Some time later they said I cheated them because I did not say I have "Nasal Septum Deviation" which is whatever for me, and it is not even close to having cancer or HIV. Basically they increased my premium by ~300 EUR because of that. So be careful, make sure you say EVERYTHING that might be wrong with you beforehand to not have surprises like I had.

Of course the upside is that:

- Nobody cares if you cannot speak German

- You get appointments next day regardless of what condition you have

- You go to hospital there is special counter for you sometimes where you skip line completely

- You get best healthcare in all Europe (I think)

Re: Is Germany once again the sick man of Europe?

#148

Post by 2-718-281-828 »

Gud wrote: post #137
2-718-281-828 wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

india is itself infamous for escalating bureaucracy.

Yes, but many countries aren’t like this. In many countries, administration is efficient. Why compare yourself to one notorious for poor administration

this is a thread building up a context ... that's why.

anyway - what are those countries? everybody would like to know!

Re: Is Germany once again the sick man of Europe?

#149

Post by 2-718-281-828 »

the_common_man wrote: post #138
2-718-281-828 wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

stay here for a year. then go visit your home country india and then read again what you write here. won't have aged well. almost everybody coming to germany complains about all sorts of stuff. after about a year they can't leave anymore.

Not sure why you think I am from India. We are not comparing countries here. We are talking of absoluyes. If German quality is about being better than India, then ok, best of luck

you are referencing the thehindu.com in your profile.

no idea what "german quality" or "better" is supposed to mean.

Re: Is Germany once again the sick man of Europe?

#150

Post by Gud »

2-718-281-828 wrote: post #148
Gud wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, but many countries aren’t like this. In many countries, administration is efficient. Why compare yourself to one notorious for poor administration

this is a thread building up a context ... that's why. anyway - what are those countries? everybody would like to know!

Switzerland, Scandinavia, AFAIK Estonia.

The UAE has excellent administration.

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