Over the past year, I've sat and watched probably over a hundred clips of young men and women from US university situations....talk exclusively on the greatness of socialism, the core of Bernie-politics, anti-capitalism, and some new revolution to fix the ailments of America.
Most of what I note or essay upon on Schnitzel Republic will be themes from Germany or Europe....which an American needs to grasp or relate to....but in a different understanding. So, I'll take up the topic of socialism via the German-style and make this bit-size chunks.
1. Whether believable or not....the German socialism angle (it'll even shock a German)....is basically built upon a platform that's about eighty-percent capitalism.....twenty-percent socialism. I know you'd like to think it's one-hundred-percent socialism....but no, that's just not it.
2. The German socialism path is that there are various free 'gifts' which the country or culture are going to provide to folks. Every single one of these free 'gifts' comes at a cost factor. If you wanted safe water in every town.....you need the infrastructure to drill for the water....siphon it to some water-tower or reservoir....ensure it's pure nature....and deliver it. All of those components cost money.
3. To pay for the free 'gifts', you tax companies that produce things. For example....BMW makes fine cars and sells them to franchise units. For all the profits that BMW generates....they pay taxation into a national bucket. The cars sold to the franchise? They will sell them and make a profit, and a chunk of that is taxed. The guy who bought the BMW? He's going to pay a sales tax (you can figure 19-percent). The employee who worked 160 hours this month for BMW and crafted such a fine car? He'll pay an income tax for the rate of pay. The electricity that BMW used at the plant? That'll have some kind of tax built into it. You can figure that roughly one-third of the total cost of a BMW....minimum....is shifted through various filters and taxes go to fund the free 'gifts'. If BMW didn't manufacture such fine cars? That tax revenue base wouldn't exist, and the free 'gifts' would be a lot smaller.
4. The railway and bus system, that offers decent service for a reasonable price? That's a free'gift' situation as well. That required more companies....like Opel, Mercedes, Porsche, and McDonalds to help fund.
5. The university system with almost free tuition? Well, that has two elements to it. Yes, the free 'gift' deal is one part of the situation.....the other is a meaningful limit. You can go and talk to the Mainz University folks and apply....which they will evaluate your background, capability and past demonstration....either accepting you or denying you. They have a revenue bucket of money which can be spent to run the university. To suggest that 10,000 extra people could show up tomorrow? No.....it's not designed to work that way.
6. Jobs for everyone. Well, if the 1,464 companies in one metropolitan German city have a total of 188,082 jobs....with no new requirements for work.....the city can't go out and just invent jobs out of thin air. The city could go and purchase 300 acres of property and buy an industrial park with sixteen properties, and release them for almost nothing or rent them out cheaply. So the idea of 3,000 new people showing up next year in town....with a 8-percent unemployment rate already....would be illogical and fail to help a guy find a job.
7. Healthcare. There's a set monthly percentage from the worker, and the boss. That goes into a pot, and healthcare insurance companies offer differing packages to entice the worker to select them for the deal. All of this works only because of absolute control over salary structure for doctors, nurses, and profit-limits for hospitals. If your doctor of twenty years is unhappy with the salary structure....he can go private, or leave the country (which German doctors tend to do). If your hope is for a enriched healthcare landscape, with premium doctors and hospitals....well, this is not the place for you.
8. Great pensions. German socialism delivers simple basic pensions. The more you make over forty-odd years....the more you receive at age 67 (yeah, they do keep talking about bringing some of this to 70 years old). Oh, they do generally start most kids at work by age 15....in the apprentice program, and that figures into this pension requirement deal as well. The guys who have great retirement lifestyles? They are the typically the ones with college degrees....making higher pay....or the guys who made extra and put into some investment account, which capitalism allows to occur and flourish.
9. Vacations. All these great vacation periods that Germans brag about from their socialism deal? Well....they get by their mid-30s on.....around five to six weeks a year. It's mostly because their company makes something, which has value, sells well....and the profits figure into the vacation plan for the company. If they couldn't make such items.....they'd likely only have two weeks of vacation. The trips to Turkey and Greece? Well....capitalism helps travel companies form these trips, sell them, arrange for the hotels to be cheaper, serving you buffet dinners for a great price, and ensure safe airlines pick you up on schedule and deliver yo there.
10. All of these fabulous parks and concert halls? Well, capitalism allows a city to have money in their budget....which they fund a marvelous concert hall to built for 288-million. Then when in phase one of the concert hall construction....they discover screw-ups and need another 45-million? Capitalism delivers tax revenue and the city makes very wise decision to spend the extra money on the screw-up....rather than fix the city pool this year, or replace the library as scheduled. Then when in phase two of the concert hall construction.....you find more problems and need another 180-million....you repeat with more capitalism and socialism. Then you find another issue or two, and need another 350-million to wrap up the original concert hall, thanks to capitalism and socialism....you deliver the concert hall (note, yeah, that is kinda how the Hamburg Opera Hall came to be).
I could chat on radio and TV via the socialism situation in Germany as well, but I think you get the picture. You only have all these free 'gifts'....because you built a lot of fine stuff that people wanted, and you taxed the heck out of folks to make the whole gift system work.
No comments:
Post a Comment