That's his whole election platform, to differentiate himself from the "suits" and pretend to be the "working man", the type that mostly voted for him.
Alexis Tsipras' "open letter" to German citizens
- Thread starter Tsing Tao
- Start date
That's his whole election platform, to differentiate himself from the "suits" and pretend to be the "working man", the type that mostly voted for him.
Because you seemingly can't admit that you were wrong. It's as if I said that all Greeks are liars and cheats (but I won't mention the source), it's just a fact!
Apparently for you two the only tourists that matter are the ones heading for the beach. From my observations, they actually spend less than other types. Germany has the Oktoberfest which attracts lots of people from around the world, Love Parade and numerous music festivals in Berlin also bring in many visitors, never mind the numerous cities with historic buildings and the most amazing castles.
"In 2012, over 30.4 million international tourists arrived in Germany, bringing over US$38 billion in international tourism receipts to the country. Domestic and international travel and tourism combined directly contribute over EUR43.2 billion to German GDP. Including indirect and induced impacts, the industry contributes 4.5% of German GDP and supports 2 million jobs (4.8% of total employment)."
The Greek shipowners don't pay any taxes, almost no contribution to the budget.
I think it is clear to everybody who has basic knowledge about economy that all Greeks try to avoid paying any taxes at all and try to work as less as possible to receive the maximum money they can get. So the Greek economy has a lot of expenses and almost no income. That is the problem. But the situation is not hopeless. If they can make everybody pay what they should pay, the Greek government has billions more than now.
Wait, did I miss something, was Greece also bombed flat by a multitude of countries in the past decade?
No they weren't, they were just dishonest and lazy. There's a mighty big difference.
Hitler rose to power only because of the ridiculous war reparations forced onto them by the allies, even Keynes said it will inevitably lead to war. So there is no point starting the story with Hitler, it started way before he came to power.
Nah, the main point where it looks rosy is I doubt everybody has exactly the same opportunities in Germany. Beiing german makes it easier, and it seems the race/language issues are increasing, saw a few weeks ago that one of Merkel party members proposed to force immigrant families to speak german among each other in public and at home...
Different socioeconomic backgrounds also offer different futures, although this is not only in Germany and it's possible it's less in Germany than elsewhere.
As of you mentionning the US, actually according to studies not only Germany but all/most of western Europe offer better opportunities to climb the social ladder than the US.
I paste below a wikipedia link about social issues in Germany, definetely not the worst around the western world but they exist. Before you point it out, I did notice the authors don't point the finger to german society as the root of those.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_issues_in_Germany#cite_note-44
edit : I'm also wondering about life standard, what about the people working mini jobs ? Those bring very small income, is it only extra Pocket money on top of social welfare or do they really need to survive ?
Different socioeconomic backgrounds also offer different futures, although this is not only in Germany and it's possible it's less in Germany than elsewhere.
As of you mentionning the US, actually according to studies not only Germany but all/most of western Europe offer better opportunities to climb the social ladder than the US.
I paste below a wikipedia link about social issues in Germany, definetely not the worst around the western world but they exist. Before you point it out, I did notice the authors don't point the finger to german society as the root of those.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_issues_in_Germany#cite_note-44
edit : I'm also wondering about life standard, what about the people working mini jobs ? Those bring very small income, is it only extra Pocket money on top of social welfare or do they really need to survive ?
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you can hardly call this unfair or biased. I mean you equally can't sit in an interview at one of the ibanks in Manhattan and only speak Cantonese, lets assume for one second that you are not conversant in English, and insist on being given the same fair shot than other applicants. In most countries one is expected to speak the local language to be given a fair shot. Most all 2nd generation immigrants in German speak German on a comparable level with their German peers.
Regarding socioeconomic backgrounds I would disagree with you, why would you think those from modest means have any lesser chances than kids of doctors, lawyers or wealthy entrepreneurs. I focused on the level of fairness and relative opportunities in the surrounding environment. If a particular family puts a lot of emphasis on education then their children are most likely more knowledgeable than children who grew up in homes where the acquisition of knowledge did not play a large role.
I do not see a single reason why, for example, a Turkish second generation immigrant kid with parents of modest economic means should have less chances imposed by society than a German son of a lawyer.
Just saw that in your link, I like that most: "According to some such as Kristina Schröder there is a growing anti-German sentiment among disadvantaged youths. The politician said that children were attacked for being German and claimed that she had repeatedly been called "German bitch" in a political debate about Islamism.[17]"
Imagine that happening somewhere in Texas: "Hey you American bitch, how dare you be American".
To be honest, I find most of the issues mentioned in that wiki article quite far fetched. Like the above happens in individual cases but it is certainly not a general issue.
Regarding your last question, I am not fully updated on the exact way those part time jobs work. Germans do not seem to be happy when things are too simple so they introduced a wealth of different types of part time job categories with different tax treatments. Some are targeting home makers to just earn couple extra bucks, others target welfare recipients in order to encourage a transition back to a full-time employment.
Important: I did not say that everyone in German is equal or earns the same. I just tried to make the point that Germany maybe offers the most equal opportunities for anyone wanting to work and study hard and climb to the top.
Regarding socioeconomic backgrounds I would disagree with you, why would you think those from modest means have any lesser chances than kids of doctors, lawyers or wealthy entrepreneurs. I focused on the level of fairness and relative opportunities in the surrounding environment. If a particular family puts a lot of emphasis on education then their children are most likely more knowledgeable than children who grew up in homes where the acquisition of knowledge did not play a large role.
I do not see a single reason why, for example, a Turkish second generation immigrant kid with parents of modest economic means should have less chances imposed by society than a German son of a lawyer.
Just saw that in your link, I like that most: "According to some such as Kristina Schröder there is a growing anti-German sentiment among disadvantaged youths. The politician said that children were attacked for being German and claimed that she had repeatedly been called "German bitch" in a political debate about Islamism.[17]"
Imagine that happening somewhere in Texas: "Hey you American bitch, how dare you be American".
To be honest, I find most of the issues mentioned in that wiki article quite far fetched. Like the above happens in individual cases but it is certainly not a general issue.
Regarding your last question, I am not fully updated on the exact way those part time jobs work. Germans do not seem to be happy when things are too simple so they introduced a wealth of different types of part time job categories with different tax treatments. Some are targeting home makers to just earn couple extra bucks, others target welfare recipients in order to encourage a transition back to a full-time employment.
Important: I did not say that everyone in German is equal or earns the same. I just tried to make the point that Germany maybe offers the most equal opportunities for anyone wanting to work and study hard and climb to the top.
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