Comments by "bart thomassen thomassen" (@thomassenbart) on "" video.

  1. The welfare/nanny state v. personal liberty and responsibility. That is what your comparisons basically are. Your examples are upper middle class, which is not a good model for comparisons. A percentage is a percentage and is by definition fair regardless of income. Too many assumptions going on here, such as the university mandate, which is absolutely not the case or norm in both countries. Obviously, no one has to or needs to pay their children's university tuition. And if you do, then this goes against the initial assumption of taking on loan debt. Saving money for your kids ed. is disposable income. You have made a fundamental error here. Going to university is not a necessity but a choice, also most Germans do not and cannot go to Uni. The German ed. system ranks early on and eliminates the vast bulk of Germans from the possibility of going to Uni. To do so you first must qualify for Gymnasium, which upon graduation is the equivalent of an Associate's degree in the USA. Only 28% of Germans have a 4-year degree compared to 38% in the USA. So, for folk who do go to university one does not need to pay for everything. Scholarships, grants etc... may eliminate some of those costs. Also, choosing a major with market value is also important, in terms of paying back loans. The crushing affect this has on American lives? Come on! What happened to objectivity? More assumptions and obvious bias...I object. Inability to fire at will and other costs of employment have massive costs to the German economy. These laws essentially mandate that a great deal of German manufacturing must happen outside of Germany, especially in the auto industry. It is simply too expensive and not competitive internationally to keep many factories in Germany. This also a substantial reason why German GDP growth is so weak. Unemployment income as in Germany, incentivizes unemployment and disincentivizes work. In Scandanavia, which has a similar system 1/3 of the work force on any given day is absent from work. The American stat of $400 emergency cash is due to cultural factors i.e. Americans simply do not save and prefer to spend their monies like the proverbial grasshopper rather than save as the industrious ant does. So, comparing mandatory contributions for unemployment, is neither here nor there in this situation...it's about culture. 68% of US companies offer 401Ks though only 51% of American workers contribute to these accounts. The median matching contributions from the employers is up to 6%. Universal Pre-K is a bad idea. Putting children further into others care is a horrible idea. The average German woman has only 1.6 children during her life.
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