Generally, on these German public-run TV news and political chat forums....the public doesn't get a chance to stand there and ask stupid questions. It's left to the news journalists, political players, and intellectural crowd. It's one of the obvious shortfalls of German society. You get a dose of information that people feel you are capable of handling or you need to just accept.
Regarding the current crisis episode on immigration, asylum and refugees....I have this top eleven list of stupid questions that might be worth asking.
1. Just how far and wide has the message of an 'open-door' existing in Germany been viewed? Is it true that people as far away as the Sudan, Uganda, Myanmar, and Bangladesh have gotten the message and assembling a plan to make their way to the Med, and onto Greece? Does this allow for another million-odd refugees to fit into the future plans beyond 2015?
2. While predicting this 850,000 number for 2015 right now, and people now realistically talking one million entering.....what about for all of 2016 coming up? Is it possible because of the enthusiasm going on now....that the 2016 number will be 1.5 million? And would 2017 show the same enthusiasm....for a million-plus potential arrivals?
3. If we did a poll right now and put fear factor up and incoming immigrant groups up....splitting them into state groups (Bulgaria, Romania, Ethiopia, Syria, Afghanistan, etc).....which groups are the German public more afraid of? Might the Syrians be the lesser of evils on this list by some odd view of the public? Would the German government even want to admit that there is a different standing on refugee groups?
4. If the current unemployment rate is around five to six percent....where exactly will these mythical jobs that the state-run news journalists talk about....come from? People continually talk about the older generation retiring in the coming years....will you be forceably retiring them in 2016 so the new folks will have jobs? Across the country....are there really 300,000 jobs just sitting there?
5. When you finally do come to a EU agreement on dispersing tens of thousands of the one-million to other EU states....what exactly do you think the refugee standing there and anticipating Germany as his pick will say or do....when he is suddenly told to pack and prepare for Ireland or Poland? If he doesn't want to go.....will you use gentle force or just friendly German persuasion?
6.. For the two-hundred-odd-thousand migrants that you might accept but have no background, job training or anything beyond basic schooling....are you prepared for a three-year program to bring them skills and certifications....and then an eventual job?
7. If the French somehow figure a way to work the war against ISIS and actually bring about their demise.....what exactly do you think the majority of Syrians here will do? Will they stay or return home?
8. Could it be that the long-anticipated end to the Solidarity tax might be postponed (2019) and the tax continue on....as the chief way of supporting this refugee program?
9. Does the border or the principle of having a border.....really matter anymore? Should the border just be an idea....more than a physical thing?
10. If the nation is united, why does the state-run TV crowd still do polling efforts to show a division in the country between westies and easties? If you pursued the polling data in an effective way....would the Bavarians also have an different view than the folks in the northern part of the country? What is the public reaction to Channel One and Two (ARD and ZDF)? Has any public enthusiasm been lost in recent weeks with the way that the immigration stories have been told? Would the guy on the street have a different view than most journalists?
11. Will accusations of sedition during the state election period in the spring of 2016 help to control political discussions and ensure a quiet election period?
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