I had a email from Lufthansa this morning.....wanting to let me know that they are active and flying places.
Desperate for customers? To some degree, yes.
Examples? Frankfurt to Amsterdam, 110 Euro round/trip. Frankfurt to Chicago? 453 Euro round/trip. Frankfurt to Bangkok, 533 Euro round/trip.
The problem here? General fear by the public.....being crowded up in some plane with 400 other folks, and worried about eight to ten hours of virus activity. Added to the stress.....they aren't flying with a full schedule, and in some cases, there might only be two flights a week to some of these exotic locations.
The curious thing is that the prices (because of fuel costs) are now at a great advantage to most travelers.
Friday, May 15, 2020
Flag Law
A number of news sites in Germany are reporting this here....this morning (Friday).
Apparently, last night at the Bundestag (the Parliament).....they passed a unique law.
If you come up and burn any non-German flag, you can be arrested and the max sentence is three years in prison. Protected....includes the EU flag, EU emblems, etc.
Trouble ahead? Well....flag-burning wasn't that big of a deal in Germany in the 1970s/1980s. Most of the flags burned in that era were American flags.
A hyped-up sense over this law? What is generally said is that some 2017 incident occurred in Berlin where Israeli flags were burned. They don't want this to repeat.
The odds that the German police will storm in, and attempt to arrest folks at the next flag-burning? It's hard to say. But this will be likely challenged in court.
You can imagine showing up in prison, and some hardened criminals ask you about your accomplishments....to which your response would be that you burned a flag. This will get a laugh or two out of your new 'friends'.
Apparently, last night at the Bundestag (the Parliament).....they passed a unique law.
If you come up and burn any non-German flag, you can be arrested and the max sentence is three years in prison. Protected....includes the EU flag, EU emblems, etc.
Trouble ahead? Well....flag-burning wasn't that big of a deal in Germany in the 1970s/1980s. Most of the flags burned in that era were American flags.
A hyped-up sense over this law? What is generally said is that some 2017 incident occurred in Berlin where Israeli flags were burned. They don't want this to repeat.
The odds that the German police will storm in, and attempt to arrest folks at the next flag-burning? It's hard to say. But this will be likely challenged in court.
You can imagine showing up in prison, and some hardened criminals ask you about your accomplishments....to which your response would be that you burned a flag. This will get a laugh or two out of your new 'friends'.
Thursday, May 14, 2020
Revenue Story
There's a brief story over at ARD (public TV, Channel One) this morning, and it talks over the missing German tax revenue.
At this point (we aren't even at the end of 2020 yet).....the German tax office is missing roughly 81 billion Euro. Added cost of healthcare, special programs, etc? That's the game on the spending side. In terms of the 81 billion Euro....that's tax-revenue money that wasn't gained via purchases, air travel, etc.
A big chunk of money? Most people would admit that. What has to worry you a bit more is that this is not complete story for 2020.
Now, some folks would say that once the stores open up....some spending would occur, and tax revenue would recover to some degree. Without air flights? That's another story.
If this trend continued through the end of the year? You'd have to go and wonder about this, and if they'd have to go and cut budgets. My guess is that states would be given some warning that a five to ten percent budget cut was coming, and they'd look at delaying construction projects (bridges, roads, etc). Defense spending might be cut here and there.
The approaching 2021 year? It might be a rough year for some folks.
At this point (we aren't even at the end of 2020 yet).....the German tax office is missing roughly 81 billion Euro. Added cost of healthcare, special programs, etc? That's the game on the spending side. In terms of the 81 billion Euro....that's tax-revenue money that wasn't gained via purchases, air travel, etc.
A big chunk of money? Most people would admit that. What has to worry you a bit more is that this is not complete story for 2020.
Now, some folks would say that once the stores open up....some spending would occur, and tax revenue would recover to some degree. Without air flights? That's another story.
If this trend continued through the end of the year? You'd have to go and wonder about this, and if they'd have to go and cut budgets. My guess is that states would be given some warning that a five to ten percent budget cut was coming, and they'd look at delaying construction projects (bridges, roads, etc). Defense spending might be cut here and there.
The approaching 2021 year? It might be a rough year for some folks.
Driving Story
It's been roughly three weeks since a new driving 'rule' went into effect in Germany, and it's got a fair number of people pepped-up.
The rule? You lose your license if you are caught driving 21 kph over the limit in urban areas, or 26 kph over the limit in non-urban areas.
Focus brought up this discussion and its worth a minute to pause over the mess.
I should add....in terms of the fines for speeding, most all of them almost doubled. An example here: in a urbanized area.....up to 10 kph over the limit is now 30 Euro (roughly $40).
If you drive around urbanized areas now of Germany, you see a lot of blitz-cameras. I had to drive through a 40 km distance to reach a destination two days ago. I sat and counted the blitz-cameras....twelve total cameras.
In the past, these rules would generally change and the public would just accept it without much whining. In this case, I suspect a fair number of folks are already set to lose their license in just the first month of the new rule.
The rule? You lose your license if you are caught driving 21 kph over the limit in urban areas, or 26 kph over the limit in non-urban areas.
Focus brought up this discussion and its worth a minute to pause over the mess.
I should add....in terms of the fines for speeding, most all of them almost doubled. An example here: in a urbanized area.....up to 10 kph over the limit is now 30 Euro (roughly $40).
If you drive around urbanized areas now of Germany, you see a lot of blitz-cameras. I had to drive through a 40 km distance to reach a destination two days ago. I sat and counted the blitz-cameras....twelve total cameras.
In the past, these rules would generally change and the public would just accept it without much whining. In this case, I suspect a fair number of folks are already set to lose their license in just the first month of the new rule.
Legal Challenge Story
Some of you may remember my essay pieces over the murder of a local Mainz teenage girl (summer 2018), by an Iraqi guy who'd migrated into Germany. The case is often referred to as the 'Susanne F' case.
The police eventually did apprehend the guy (he'd left the country for his homeland in Iraq), and brought him back. The court episode concluded in July of 2019....with a 'life sentence'. One should note, it's awful rare that the court system in Germany goes to this extent. In the typical murder case, the guilty party would usually get a sentence of 20 years.
Well....that was challenged. Yesterday, the German court system came back and said 'nope, we didn't make a mistake, life meets the consequences situation'.
I should note....the murder case wasn't the only court action. This particular guy also got a rape charge thrown at him for a second and totally different episode....this being an 11-year-old local girl. Convicted on that episode as well.
For anyone doubting the German legal system....it can function as the general public expects results.
The police eventually did apprehend the guy (he'd left the country for his homeland in Iraq), and brought him back. The court episode concluded in July of 2019....with a 'life sentence'. One should note, it's awful rare that the court system in Germany goes to this extent. In the typical murder case, the guilty party would usually get a sentence of 20 years.
Well....that was challenged. Yesterday, the German court system came back and said 'nope, we didn't make a mistake, life meets the consequences situation'.
I should note....the murder case wasn't the only court action. This particular guy also got a rape charge thrown at him for a second and totally different episode....this being an 11-year-old local girl. Convicted on that episode as well.
For anyone doubting the German legal system....it can function as the general public expects results.
Talking Taxes
The current odds of tax increases to pay for increased spending of the government in Germany for the virus? Zero.
Well....that's what ARD is reporting from the Q-and-A session with Chancellor Merkel yesterday. She was careful how she answered it.....noting that the future is always in a changing pattern.
Will spending trigger a tax episode? Somewhere into the early part of 2021....my humble belief is that a tax to recover forty billion Euro (over a minimum of two years) will have to be created. Whether it's a temp-tax or a permanent-tax....is the real question to ponder.
Adding onto this.....you still don't know the true cost for Corona in 2020. If it picks up again in September? Well, that chatter exists as well. The pain suffered by hotels and restaurants? Eventually.....some type of 'help' will have to be created, and that might amount to ten billion Euro by itself.
Well....that's what ARD is reporting from the Q-and-A session with Chancellor Merkel yesterday. She was careful how she answered it.....noting that the future is always in a changing pattern.
Will spending trigger a tax episode? Somewhere into the early part of 2021....my humble belief is that a tax to recover forty billion Euro (over a minimum of two years) will have to be created. Whether it's a temp-tax or a permanent-tax....is the real question to ponder.
Adding onto this.....you still don't know the true cost for Corona in 2020. If it picks up again in September? Well, that chatter exists as well. The pain suffered by hotels and restaurants? Eventually.....some type of 'help' will have to be created, and that might amount to ten billion Euro by itself.
Tuesday, May 12, 2020
Shortfall Story
One of the little unknown things which journalists have avoided discussing for a long time in Germany....is the financial woes of healthcare insurance companies, within this Coronavirus period.
So today, an article came up from the opinion of the companies via ARD (public TV in Germany). Yes, they are in a shortage of cash. So rather than 'rob' the private citizen....they want a grant from the federal government.
First, lets be honest and admit up front.....that the German federal government usually coughs up around 14-billion Euro a year.....to cover the shortfalls (even before Covid-19 came along. More or less 18-billion dollars, which is a fair sum of money.
How much is the shortfall at this point? Unknown. We aren't even at the half-way point yet, and the sum is a 'floating' amount. If the sum was normally a 14-billion Euro shortfall.....you'd have to assume that 14 plus half of that....so it might be up into the 21 billion Euro range.
The chief problem? Well....less tax revenue for 2020, and that means the revenue bucket will be awful light to start with. If you wanted a reason to get back to work, and getting manufacturing back to full-capacity.....this would be one big reason.
So today, an article came up from the opinion of the companies via ARD (public TV in Germany). Yes, they are in a shortage of cash. So rather than 'rob' the private citizen....they want a grant from the federal government.
First, lets be honest and admit up front.....that the German federal government usually coughs up around 14-billion Euro a year.....to cover the shortfalls (even before Covid-19 came along. More or less 18-billion dollars, which is a fair sum of money.
How much is the shortfall at this point? Unknown. We aren't even at the half-way point yet, and the sum is a 'floating' amount. If the sum was normally a 14-billion Euro shortfall.....you'd have to assume that 14 plus half of that....so it might be up into the 21 billion Euro range.
The chief problem? Well....less tax revenue for 2020, and that means the revenue bucket will be awful light to start with. If you wanted a reason to get back to work, and getting manufacturing back to full-capacity.....this would be one big reason.
A Footnote on the Virus
There is a little quote I noticed in the past week, from a German pathologist (Professor Klaus Püschel).
The professor is a forensic expert.
His quote: “In the end, COVID-19 (the Coronavirus) is a viral disease like the flu, which in most cases is harmless and is only fatal in exceptional cases".
His reasoning? Hamburg (meaning the city authorities) did a complete autopsy on around 180 dead folks who were certified to have died from the virus.
Here's the thing, which the professor points out....ALL of these individuals (180-odd)....had some type of extreme pre-existing conditions, with the fact that they were not 'kids'.
You see this a great deal from Italian reports.....people with heart conditions requiring beta blockers, or dealing with liver ailments, or having blood sugar problems (diabetes).
The high numbers in New York City? Somewhere around 3,000 of those folks who were dead from the virus....were in retirement homes....meaning they were in their 70s, 80s, or 90s. This remarkable fact has been discussed at length.
The professor is a forensic expert.
His quote: “In the end, COVID-19 (the Coronavirus) is a viral disease like the flu, which in most cases is harmless and is only fatal in exceptional cases".
His reasoning? Hamburg (meaning the city authorities) did a complete autopsy on around 180 dead folks who were certified to have died from the virus.
Here's the thing, which the professor points out....ALL of these individuals (180-odd)....had some type of extreme pre-existing conditions, with the fact that they were not 'kids'.
You see this a great deal from Italian reports.....people with heart conditions requiring beta blockers, or dealing with liver ailments, or having blood sugar problems (diabetes).
The high numbers in New York City? Somewhere around 3,000 of those folks who were dead from the virus....were in retirement homes....meaning they were in their 70s, 80s, or 90s. This remarkable fact has been discussed at length.
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