General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsGood Wages, Unions and Government Regulation Are The Solutions, Not Causes, of our Economic Woes
Can we compete with China's wages? Does government interference and regulation hold us back? Are our unions keeping us from being competitive? Do we need to lower our standard of living in a race to the bottom? You might be surprised to learn that Germany pays higher wages, has strong unions, has much more government involvement and is doing better as a result. Conclusion: our wages, unions and government are not the problem, they are the solution.
Hourly manufacturing compensation (wages plus benefits) was $48 in Germany in 2008 - the most recent year surveyed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics - while it was $32 in the United States. Yet Germany is an export giant, while we are the colossus of imports.
In Germany, workers also get six weeks vacation - by law, federally mandated, a right. They get health care, university, child care and pensions and as a result they have higher productivity. In Germany, the government requires worker representatives to hold seats on the boards of directors of companies, depending on the number of workers. Government-funded research and vocational training, and policies to retain skilled workers bring another competitive advantage.
The result of all this government interference is that Germany's export-oriented manufacturing economy recovered from the recession and is doing OK, and their workers are paid well and have great benefits.
http://www.alternet.org/economy/149305/good_wages,_unions_and_government_regulation_are_the_solutions,_not_causes,_of_our_economic_woes/
PDJane
(10,103 posts)And yes, social democracies tend to do better.
FarLeftFist
(6,161 posts)The Magistrate
(95,241 posts)Puzzledtraveller
(5,937 posts)pampango
(24,692 posts)with Canada.
SlimJimmy
(3,180 posts)Europes largest economy shrank roughly 0.25 percent in the fourth quarter from the third, the Federal Statistics Office in Wiesbaden said today in an unofficial estimate. Economists such as Christian Schulz at Berenberg Bank expect gross domestic product to contract again in the current quarter. A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of declining GDP.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-11/germany-on-brink-of-recession-as-sovereign-debt-crisis-weighs-on-exports.html
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pampango
(24,692 posts)a lot so they are tied to the health of other countries' economies.
Germany's unemployment rate at record low in December
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16390429
German unemployment fell to its lowest rate in December since 1991, according to the German Federal Labour Agency.
The adjusted jobless rate fell to 6.8% from 6.9% in November, the Federal Labour Office said. This marked a new record low since figures for unified Germany were first published.
Leading economists expect Germany's economic growth to slow in 2012, however, in line with other major eurozone economies, which may put a squeeze on wages and jobs.
But, as the BBC's Berlin correspondent Stephen Evans points out, unemployment at a record low for the last two decades is something most countries would envy, and a sign of the way Germany has rebuilt itself since the Wall came down.