why you acting like its not true now??? it still economic powerhouse (at least best on continent)

WalterBright 6 days ago | parent | next [-]

In the 80s, I traveled in Germany and visited with friends. I was running my own company, and they asked me how hard it was to set up a business. I replied that it required filling out a one page form and sending $30 to the state.

They were shocked at how easy it was.

I'm not terribly familiar with the business environment in Germany, but I hear things like it's really hard to fire someone.

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FirmwareBurner 6 days ago | parent | prev [-]

All major German companies have been bleeding money and announcing layoffs like crazy in last years.

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bawana 5 days ago | parent | next [-]

Not just Germany…it’s a worldwide contraction. The real economy is shrinking. The financial economy is the only one growing.1% of the world owns 43% of the assets. All the growth numbers you hear have nothing to do w real people. Here in the USA salaries adjusted for inflation have not risen.

	▲	FirmwareBurner 5 days ago \| parent [-]
		True. The economic/GDP growth politicians love to keep bringing up has little to do with people's actual prosperity as most of that economic growth gets captured in the pockets of the top 1-10% with little trickle down. That's why working class people are angry and feel broke despite the constant "line goes up" narrative.

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oaiey 5 days ago | parent | prev [-]

German companies are reorganizing themselves to compete in a new world order. Thanks to Trump and Putin. The German industry is build for a peaceful and globalized western world order which was established by the US after WWII and was demolished in the last years. So change is necessary.

This will cost for a while and then work again.

	▲	FirmwareBurner 5 days ago \| parent [-]
		>Thanks to Trump and Putin. Nope, it's thanks to loosing competitiveness in some key sectors. Trump and Putin are the convenient scapegoats but it's not Trump and Putin's fault the Xiaomi SU7 is faster and cheaper than a Porsche. It's not Trump and Putin's fault that Germany doesn't have a strong software/service industry. Germany's lack of innovation in new tech is finally catching up with them. Also Trump and Putin didn't force Germany to tie it's economy to Russian gas and invest in copper Internet instead of fiber, that was Schröder, a German. Trump was actually warning Germany about this being a risk and they laughed in his face. Who's laughing now? Germany's economy is built on outdated businesses models around selling expensively manufactured niche products by expensive unionized workers protected by paperwork and bureaucracy that don't work in 2020s anymore when US owns the software industry and China, Korea and Taiwan the hardware industry who aren't bogged down by unions. They've been outcompeted and now are looking for outsider to blame for their own short sighted mistakes where they chased a quick buck at all cost at the expense of the future.