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| Europe |
| Welfare Uber Alles |
| 2005-01-16 |
| Rolf John was living the American Dream--German style. For several years, the unemployed ex-banker received about $2,400 a month in German welfare checks to pay for his Miami Beach apartment, living expenses and a housekeeper who also doubled as his driver. This is, of course, much more money than Mr. John, better known in Germany as "Florida Rolf," would have ever received in the fatherland--but you see, it's not his fault that the cost of living in sunny Florida is so much higher than in OsnabrÃŒck, his rainy hometown in northern Germany. And Mr. John could not be expected to return to Germany because such an imposition might have worsened his depression, his psychiatrist feared. Upon reading Florida Rolf's story in the mass circulation Bild-Zeitung in 2003, millions of Germans, this writer included, found themselves joining Mr. John in depression, wondering whether it's not an imposition for most Germans to live in their country. If you are forced to fork out half of your salary to the government so that it can pay for, among other excesses, Florida Rolf's year-round tan in a gated community in Miami, complete with swimming pool and sauna, you are entitled to occasional cynicism. Granted, this is an extreme case, but it is also a symptom of a deeper malaise: Such abuse can only happen in a welfare system that has spun completely out of control. One third of Germany's GDP goes to social spending--and the trend points upward. As even Germany's punishing payroll taxes are no longer enough to pay for the country's burgeoning unemployment, welfare, health care and pension costs, the government is forced to pile on more and more debt, which has already reached 66% of GDP and keeps rising. Some 25% of the federal budget goes just to interest payments. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #2 Well, but for a 1.5% voter swing last Nov 2nd, we'd be headed into our own economic socialist death spiral. Instead, we've got a guy who will try to reform our SocSec system so that it won't reach that crisis point... and I think he will need our help, since the Dhimmicrats have declared that there is nothing wrong with their tranzi agenda and will fight Bush every step of the way. It's gonna get ugly. And in 2006, with some guts and work and money, we can take even more seats from the morons. Then, in 2008, well, we'll nail down a majority bloc in the Senate and put the dwindling House Dhimmicrats on the appropriately endangered idiot list. There is much to be done. |
| Posted by: .com 2005-01-16 9:27:16 PM |
| #1 I blame the Marshall Plan. We made it too easy for them to recover from WWII. |
| Posted by: Dishman 2005-01-16 1:41:55 PM |