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  #1  
Old 10-04-2005, 10:09 AM
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Royal Tiger Royal Tiger is offline
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What did you do on yesterdays special day?

Yesterday was the 15th anniversary of the reunification of Germany from West and East. The fall of communisim in Germany and shortly after the USSR was a global event and opened the doors to free trade with the largest nation on earth. As a proud American of mostly German decent, I made sure my co-workers knew of yesterdays event. I even wear a German flag at work. I have resolved to see Germany in person before I die. Maybe I'll save some extra cash and rent a 911 to drive while I'm there and make it perfect. Now I have to decide where to put the kids...
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  #2  
Old 10-04-2005, 12:12 PM
Bipa
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Well.... let's see... mostly yesterday I listened to people on TV, Radio and in person complaining about the disaster of reunification and how they wish either it had been done completely differently, or not done at all! And no, I'm not kidding.

German reunification so far is a horror story with no happy ending in sight. Neither the East nor the West are happy with the process. At first most folks would only criticize the way it was done, but more and more I hear people from both sides saying it was better before. You and I might not agree with the reality of that statement, but that is becoming a more openly heard perception.

Often a good indication of general perception is to listen to jokes being told by the man on the street. Black humour or sarcastic humour is an excellent indication of widespread opinion. I've heard this one a heck of a lot over the last year in various versions:

Why are the Chinese doing so much better than the Germans?
They still have their wall.

Hey, don't shoot the messenger.... I'm just telling it as it is.

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  #3  
Old 10-04-2005, 12:37 PM
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Noir Noir is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bipa
Well.... let's see... mostly yesterday I listened to people on TV, Radio and in person complaining about the disaster of reunification and how they wish either it had been done completely differently, or not done at all! And no, I'm not kidding.

German reunification so far is a horror story with no happy ending in sight. Neither the East nor the West are happy with the process. At first most folks would only criticize the way it was done, but more and more I hear people from both sides saying it was better before. You and I might not agree with the reality of that statement, but that is becoming a more openly heard perception.

Often a good indication of general perception is to listen to jokes being told by the man on the street. Black humour or sarcastic humour is an excellent indication of widespread opinion. I've heard this one a heck of a lot over the last year in various versions:

Why are the Chinese doing so much better than the Germans?
They still have their wall.

Hey, don't shoot the messenger.... I'm just telling it as it is.

^^My german friends say the same.
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Old 10-04-2005, 02:02 PM
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I wished Happy Anniversary for my boss who is German.. he didn't say anything, other than thank you...
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Old 10-04-2005, 04:00 PM
Bipa
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This article is a bit of a tough read for people who haven't been following events in Germany. I recommend it anyway for folks interested in an overview of how reunification is going.

September 5, 2005
GERMANY'S EASTERN BURDEN

The Price of a Failed Reunification

By Stefan Berg, Steffen Winter and Andreas Wassermann

On the campaign trail, Germany's politicians are mostly silent about one of the country's most pressing problems. Former East Germany is a major liability costing the economy €100 billion annually. An eastern German report card 16 years after reunification.
http://service.spiegel.de/cache/inte...373639,00.html
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Old 10-04-2005, 08:54 PM
Ron Mummert Ron Mummert is offline
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German reunification so far is a horror story with no happy ending in sight. Neither the East nor the West are happy with the process.


Yup.... from the stories I've heard from my very taxed German relatives, the analogy would be akin to the disciples of Jesse Jackson going to "work" in a plant run by Rush Limbaugh. Auch der Leiber!!

Ron (Deutchland unter alles).
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Old 10-05-2005, 12:06 PM
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Yeah... on top of all the other extremely high taxes, we pay an additional 5% "reunification tax". It was supposed to expire 3 years ago, but got extended indefinitely. Of course, only West Germans pay that extra tax.

Another example that hits my family personally. All retired people in the East are getting the maximum amount possible government pension, regardless that they never paid a penny into the plan. My husband's parents get nothing close to what equivalent East-Germans are currently receiving from the government. Doesn't exactly make for good feelings, especially since my in-laws are scrupulously honest folks who paid every penny of their taxes and retirement contributions over their lifetimes.

It will take at least 2 generations before things are relatively stable here. Meanwhile, both the Communists and the Neo-Nazis are gaining ground in the East, contributing to even more problems. Of course, that's to be expected with high unemployment and 16-year olds graduating from schools with very few apprenticeship positions available, leaving them to live off social gov't hand-outs and with way too much spare time on their hands.

It isn't just the economy, it is also the school system that needs a total overhaul. And they have got to cut down on red tape. I get the feeling that in the beginning, the government dealt with unemployment simply by creating more government jobs. They forgot the basic principle that government jobs don't bring in revenue but are a cost which must be covered by higher tax revenues. You wouldn't believe how many people here honestly think that there's enough trickle-down effect through increasing the civil service to cover the extra payroll expense. But it doesn't work that way. Government can only take money away from people's pockets. Private industry is what puts money in people's pockets.

Gosh, in North America I'm considered a liberal. Here in Germany many people think I'm a radical far-right extremist! When you hear on the news some idiot reporter calling Angela Merkel a conservative, don't believe it! Although she's a little more right than Schroeder, she's still well left of the US Democrats.

Germany is in big trouble, and it isn't going away until there's a radical change in public opinion and government policy.
Either that, or a revolution.

P.S. Another point I have to add. East Germany NEVER paid any reparations to Israel. After reunification, Israel demanded money but of course East-Germany had no funds to cover the "owing backpayments". So that was another unexpected bill that had to be covered by West-Germans. We're talking lots of money here. Somehow this fact is rarely mentioned outside of Germany, but West Germans are extremely aware of the additional debt and are getting very resentful of the double payment.

Last edited by Bipa; 10-05-2005 at 12:14 PM.
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  #8  
Old 10-05-2005, 03:47 PM
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Noir Noir is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bipa
Private industry is what puts money in people's pockets.
Don't worry though. All the highschool and college girls are buying Volkswagens and Tigershark's about to buy a Porsche. No matter how small the contribution, it's better than nothing.

The wall came down and the people are now free. They have to deal with their own problems.
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Old 10-05-2005, 07:01 PM
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Royal Tiger Royal Tiger is offline
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Bipa, you and I are eye to eye on this. I wrote a college paper on the reunification before it happened. One of the points I remember fondly, was that the West was very wary of the drain the East would put on the then vibrant economy. Yet another fault of Eisenhower in letting the Russians get East Germany and stopping at the Elbe River. Patton had it right, press on to Berlin and Prague, demand Russian withdrawl, and if not, on to Moscow.
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