In Europe, social safety net softens the slump

[WriteDown]

Source: MSNBC

EPPELHEIM, Germany — With its tidy villages, orderly cities and atmospheric scenery, there are few outward signs that the German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, home to historic Heidelberg and the famed Black Forest, is a victim of the current economic crisis.

But with the auto industry here hit especially hard — this is the home of Mercedes-Benz — things are tougher than they have been in decades. Unemployment is up 70 percent in the past year (albeit to a relatively low 5 percent total) and many employees have been forced to cut down their hours.

Misery below the surface, perhaps? Not at the bustling Fuerstenberger home just outside Heidelberg, where little has changed for the family's four children despite neither parent currently working.

“If we were in Detroit, we could worry every minute,” said Sarah Fuerstenberger, 37. “But here, we’re safe because of the system."

While economic forecasts are just as dire on this continent as in the United States, Germany’s citizens — and, indeed, most across western Europe — can count on a broad government safety net that includes generous unemployment checks, universal healthcare and inexpensive university education to tide them over....

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30363790//

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Makes you wonder. Having spent a lot of time in Europe, I know that there are trade-offs. Very strict immigration laws, 3-4 generations living in one house (passed down), very difficult to own your own business, difficult to buy property, but it makes you wonder.

[CountAllVotes]

1. my relatives over there are ok

they've owned the same land and have added to it in the past 50 years and they have no problems with finances.

That is because they own it.

If you don't own it, you might be having problems is my thought.

:kick:

[WriteDown]

2. That's about right...

Europeans tend to own their land over many generations .

[CountAllVotes]

4. yes you are right I believe

they are actually far better off now than they've ever been having snapped up all of the adjacent property around them as people have left the country to move elsewhere (i.e. here in the USA).

I think they have over 500 acres now. Must be nice huh?

:dem:

[WriteDown]

6. Yep...

One of the problems in the US is that property tends to be only in 1 generation or even less. The "starter" home is a good example of this.

[denverbill]

8. Wait a minute. I thought you said one of the problems with Germany was property was tough to buy.

But then you say it's a problem in the US that property is only held for a generation.

The reason you can buy property in the US is because we haven't had private property laws on the books for thousands of years, and because we have estate taxes that force billionaires to divest some of their assets when they croak. If we didn't, you'd be renting your house from the landed gentry here too.

Personally, I prefer the American model where people can own their own homes, even if they can't keep them forever. I don't see how having a landowning class and a renting class is a good thing. I know it's a great thing for Republicans, and their supporters like the Waltons and the Gallos who want to eliminate the estate tax and keep everything their ancestors earned forever, but to me it's the ultimate in class-warfare.

[hedgehog]

3. Having a social safety net might actually shorten the recession

Part of our problem here is that everyone is cutting back all at once. Either people have no money or they are saving what they have in case they do lose their job or see a pay cut.

[Democrats_win]

5. We have the no-growth German model here, but without the safety net.

Over the years, economists have bragged about how our economy is free-wheeling and allows a lot more growth than in Germany. But look at where we are today?

Do we have so much growth? The banksters are actually an impediment to growth today. Years of consumer debt has caught up with us. Sometimes it feels like instead of the German safety net, we had the usury card. The safety net doesn't have to be repaid by those who are drowning. Everyone stitches it together in good times. In America, we don't get to share in the good times, it's poverty wages or nothing.

America has a serious economic justice problem. It's much more than the safety net. But that's a start.

[Joe Chi Minh]

11. Bah! Old Europe! Now, the UK.... But, seriously, our crooked, dunderhead, wing-nut politicos

across the party spectrum used to mock France and Germany as The Sick Man of Europe, rust-bucket economies, etc, etc. Quite beyond parody. And, as always, our sinister, immemorially maleficent press were only too happy to peddle the lies.

[fascisthunter]

7. my brother and his wife will both be laid off in Germany

but their severance is awesome...

[KillCapitalism]

12. Sorry to hear.

Their standard of living will most likely not change much at all due to the excellent safety nets Germany has.

Now in this backwards country if two wage earners both lose their jobs they could find themselves living in a tent city and visiting the local soup kitchen for meals.

[xchrom]

9. recommend

i've spent a lot of time in europe and frequently meet my fellow passengers on airplanes -- i haven't experienced a problem there not being small businesses.

in almost every respect -- except their social protections -- they are economies like ours.

[DollyM]

10. I understand Sweden has similar supports . . .

I understand Sweden has smilar supports such as generous enemployment that doesn't "run out" like it does here, as long as you are looking for work. My husband is British and has retained his British citizenship, if things don't get better here, it might be time to jump. Overall, I am just really disappointed in America. I appreciate my freedom to do things such as home school our son but I don't like living in fear every day that we won't be able to find jobs anytime soon or just day to day that we struggle to pay the bills and keep food on the table.