A German here. I was diagnosed with very aggressive triple negative breast cancer mid October of 2022. My chemotherapy started shortly after the diagnosis and I am on sick leave since then (my chemotherapy will go on at least until March). The first 6 weeks, the employer paid my full salary, after that the (mandatory) health insurance takes over, paying something around 2/3 of the salary. In addition to that, I am working with a company which - even for german standards - is outstanding. My company takes out a special insurance for every employee which pays the "missing" 1/3 of the salary in cases of long-term sickness. My health insurance naturally pays the gros amount of my medication and treatments. There are minor exceptions, and I need to pay a small "personal share", in German "Eigenanteil", but that is usually something of 5 to 10 Euros per medication, no matter if the medication costs 10 Euros or 1000 Euros. Since I receive 100% of my salary, these small costs are not a problem at all. And in the meantime, I am receiving a treatment which, I am sure, is up to par with the standards of other first world countries. What all that means is that I can fully concentrate on getting my treatments and recovering instead of worrying about work (that I wouldn't be able to do at the moment) or bills (which I can pay without problems). I am very happy and even more thankful to be able to enjoy all these benefits together with effective and efficient health treatment at almost no cost to me. I cannot immagine what it must be like to be seriously sick or injured without all of these benefits and I really feel for everyone who struggles in this way. Oh, and yes, the treatment already shows positive effects, my knots are getting smaller. 😃
Firstly - I was SO relieved to read the end of your comment and that you are showing great response to the treatment. I can't begin to imagine the stress and difficulty of such a prognosis and are very, very thankful that you are able to focus on your treatment without worry about finances. In the US, I know many families who have had to turn to community fundraisers and go-fund me online campaigns to raise money when a loved one gets ill... whether it be to cover the medical bills or to cover the lost income due to the inability to work. This is sadly a very common occurrence.
@@TypeAshton Thank you, Ashton! I heard about these comunity fundraisers, but I think I'd be scared senseless to be sick and to a good extent helpless (in the sense of: lacking strength and energy to work, having money issues and being dependent on the help of strangers in addition to that). I can only immagine how horrible that must be.
I wish you the very best outcome of the treatment! In the land of the free, you would be begging on go fund me or selling everything you own to fund you and the treatment you are receiving, before you spend the last 10$ on a piece of rope to go feel in your neck the weight of your ass.
Yeah, some Americans just don't want to hear/see/understand these major differences. They've been told for so long that it's so great here, that they can't fathom that this isn't actually the case in many situations and life experiences. Many years ago, my husband requested to take off 3 weeks for a family vacation to Germany. He worked for a giant German company here in the U.S. but his immediate boss, was an American. My husband had been working for the company for numerous years, and had the appropriate vacation time accumulated for a 3 week trip to Germany and still had more time saved up. His boss flat out told him, that if he were to take off the 3 weeks which he was totally entitled to, he would look for another employee. My husband's performance has always been stellar and he was shocked to hear this from his immediate boss. Eventually, he grudgingly agreed, probably because he was made aware of the fact, that yes, my husband was entitled to the 3 weeks. I was shocked, to say the least. Such a threat to your employment security because your immediate boss thinks 14 days at a stretch, is enough for an overseas family vacation. He only requested this length of time off, once in all the years he worked there! Prior to that, my husband would only take 1 week vacation time in increments. I have also witnessed women here in the U.S., having to return to work 2 weeks after giving birth with complications, because they could not afford to stay home w/o pay for 4 weeks, let alone 12 weeks. Their bodies still in pain and healing, and sitting there and crying and also missing their babies and bonding with them. It was jarring and heart breaking to see. I am not surprised that childbirth is declining. It's simply cruel.
Very powerful video, guys! Perhaps your best yet. Even though your strong opinions are evident, you present, as always, good evidence to support it. The stats about cost of benefits paid by companies in the US v other OECD countries was especially compelling. I wish fiscal conservatives in the US would believe that.
Ah that's so interesting that you mentioned to have made americans "angry" about these kind of comparisons you've done. I would have never thought of that or that they would think something different than "ah interesting" or so. Again learned something new again. 😃👍
Hallo Ihr Lieben, vorab ein Kompliment ( sorry wenn auch nur auf Deutsch - aber ich bin mir sicher es kommt bei Euch an) Ich habe selten eine solch gut aufbereitete, fundierte und realitätsnahe Gegenüberstellung zwischen den beiden Ländern finden können. Zudem noch wunderbar aufbereitet und nachvollziehbar. Danke hierfür. Ein weiteres Positivum in der gesetzlichen Absicherung: ist das Kinderkrankengeld ( Ausfall der Arbeitskraft - bei Betreuung des kranken Kindes) . Das hilft enorm. Gerade auch bei Euch - wo keine Grandma / Grandpa vor Ort sind. „Gesetzlich krankenversicherte Eltern können in den Jahren 2022 und 2023 je gesetzlich krankenversichertem Kind für 30 Arbeitstage (Alleinerziehende für 60 Arbeitstage) Kinderkrankengeld beantragen. Bei mehreren Kindern besteht der Anspruch je Elternteil für nicht mehr als 65 Arbeitstage, für Alleinerziehende für nicht mehr als 130 Arbeitstage.“ Liebe Grüße aus dem Sauerland - Home of 1000 🌲⛰️🌲
Is Germany a nanny state? Maybe it is, but that does seem to mean that it's a good thing, less costs, more productivity. In the Netherlands we call the Netherlands "Verzorgingsstaat", literally translated it means 'taking care of'-state. The German word for it is "Wohlfahrtsstaat" or in English "welfare state" So I do think "nanny state" could be a name for it, because we are definitely being pampered by the state (especially compared to the US). The pampering just has a positive effect on the productivity in contrast to what the Americans who call us "nanny states" believe.
The so called "nanny state" feature has one big positive effect, much less crime. Citizen is given the opportunity/time to overcome income crisis when losing their jobs, getting sick long term or having a baby. They don´t struggle getting bancrupt, losing house car and everything else because of the income crisis. Consider citizen with their back to the wall are more likely to become criminals to overcome the income crisis and as a matter of fact, people that successfully create income due ciminal actions tend to stick to be criminals. Just compare the "land of the free" with the rest of the industrial countries that provide the in my opinion basic human rights/benefits. Oh and every US citizen should read/watch Franklin Delano Roosevelt´s "New deal" and "Second bill of rights". He knew what would have been the right way for the USA.
On the other hand, shouldn't the State be working to improve and support it's Citizens" lot ? Isn't that what we expect when we go to the polls. When I listen to more right wing US politicians it becomes rather transparent that they are only there to improve the lot for the very rich, and/or companies, not for ALL citizens as a whole. Economists have debunked the 'trickle down' theory and have confirmed that people are often not very good at deferring (i.e saving for retirement, holidays, sickness, etc) so for the economy to flourish (and people to have a decent life) it is probably beneficial for most that such things are controlled by a central organisation. F.I in Belgium part of our pay is withheld by the state, and payed out at vacation time and at X-mas. This allows people with low pay to afford those times of year without creating debt, or to invest in something, that they might not otherwise have had the discipline to save up for, if left to their own devices.
@@catherinedeschryver1036 I don't think I understand your comment, you seem to agree with me but use "on the other hand" as if you don't. What I was saying is: we are nanny states, but that's a good thing, not a bad thing as some people want you to believe.
@@codex4048 Nah, the nanny appelation is still unfitting. That suggests a level of care and pampering way in excess of what's actually happening. You're still expected to make your own life, social support is just intended to provide you the ability to do so even in dire situations.
@@Llortnerof but any type of care is in excess when compared to the current US situation, and its already more than some people in the US want. So I wouldn't call it a nanny state, but I can see why people with a different perspective do call it that. The name itself doesn't really matter, and I don't think there is a use to discuss whether it is or not. Unlike socialism, capitalism, and communism, nannyism isn't a defined thing, and applied relatively to people's own environment.
To be honest, the German laws and rules to protect employment have gaps allowing shortcuts for employers to get off an employee. The need for a lawyer is than mandotory for the employee and the employee has to pay for the lawsuite first, has the effort even to get a severance. Nonetheless, the partnership between employers and employees/labour unions are a sucess factor of German economy.
Many comments have stated that in Germany there is abuse of worker benefits like sick leave. There will always be people with an abusive mindset ("expert shirkers") and there will always be doctors who will issue fake sick certificates but the numbers are low. There are some countermeasures like home visits by the employer. What complicates any countermeasures is the high level of privacy rights in Germany.
I happen to own a small business in Germany and I'd have to be lying to tell you that giving an employee extended time off for Elternzeit or Mutterschutz is an easy thing to do when that person represents 25% of your workforce. But particularly hearing you talk about Germany's achievements makes me proud as I can see what I'm doing it for. It feels good to be part of the community that makes it possible to provide as Germany does.
Part of the reason that American communities are fragmented, and therefore have much less single group loyalty, is that it is a multi-ethnic state. Ironically the only thing that holds us together is individualism.
@@pandaman1331 Well, why should they, it's not like he's doing that out of selflessness. But in my experience especially people that work in small businesses mostly do care about their employer and know that their workforce is essential to the company. Which is why people often already feel bad for calling in sick and such.
Whoever calls countries that care for their citizens a nanny state clearly never has left their own country themselves. It almost makes me chuckle how ignorant people can be…. 😅 And I really prefer to live in a country where I work to live instead of living to work.
They send the nanny state message out to people who have little to no idea about how things can work, and do work in other countries. It's a tactic widely used to get get votes by scare mongering
It's right wing corporate media that shout about the "nanny state". I think large corporations are also responsible for the talk about small businesses vs. the reality, because they use the mantra of "small business" to pass legislation that actually benefits them. Corporate media with partisan propaganda exist in the mainstream, mainly, because of the demise of the Fairness Doctrine in the Reagan years. These people aren't getting balanced viewpoints in the news, although, when polled, they want more of what right wing corporate media calls socialism. The grandparents of those same people who parrot the "nanny state" nonsense likely voted for FDR, and the New Deal, which is the closest the U.S. has come to treating its citizens like human beings.
I'm always thinking how would those people talk if they would loose all of their money and have to live from paycheck to paycheck like many do. I believe they would change their opinion.
You have to take into regard that many of the people ( in this case Fox employees) very often have a special agenda. They fight any form of social security, health insurance, paid vacation, etc. because they benefit from the current situation as employers, share holders or just owners of big fortunes. For them it is all about to preserve the current situation to keep on benefitting from it. But of course they don´t say openly - I want to profit, I want to exploid your misery. They talk of freedom, of nanny state, of the land of the free, of the american dream. But what it´s really all about is the preservation of unequallity and advantage of the rich people.
@@seanthiar Unfortunately that is no helping, especially those who live paycheck to paycheck are sold in a narrative there was no other, better way, that isnt communism and tyranny. And so they say thank you sir and take it as it is.
robert bosch once sad: "i dont pay good wages because im rich, i am rich because of the good wages i pay". he is also one of the first who introduce the 8 hour workday to his company. and to this day everyone knows about the good quality of the products from the bosch company. german companies also benefits from the apprentice program. you create workers with the same skills for a certain field, so they can focus and specialize in one trade. that increase the productivity. there is no learning by doing. first you learn and than you do.
Because you "quoted" him. He did not say excactly this. He said "I have lots of money" instead of "rich". "Ich zahle nicht gute Löhne, weil ich viel Geld habe, sondern ich habe viel Geld, weil ich gute Löhne zahle" I know it means the same but when you quote someone, you should use the exact words the person did.
Bosch products are no longer particularly good nowadays. Since they mostly no longer produce in Germany but have their products produced in cheap far Eastern countries, the current leaders are Swiss and Japanese manufacturers that haven't made this move yet. Of course this doesn't contradict your main point. It reinforces it.
@@helloweener2007 i know that rich dont necessarily means beeing well in money but english is not my first language and there may be a mistake in translation but you got the point and that is what counts for me.
@@johaquila there is a huge difference between Bosch consumer products (chepa production) and industry and security products (still made in germany and thats for a reason)
@@johaquila yeah, bosch might not be the best but they do solid work. i dont mean the "green" electric tools that you can buy in every hardware store. the "blue" prfessional line are the main electric tools in the company that i work. also alot of the electric tools that würth sells contains bosch elements. basicly bosch is like volkswagen. not high end but solid and good enough for the most time.
I'm a small employer, having only 4 salaried employees. Paying 6 weeks in full when an employee is sick, would be a real problem. But Germany has a solution: For 2% of the gross salaries I get insurance for 50% of what I pay during sick leave, for under 3% I get insurance for 80% of what I pay during sick leave. Being financially secured, I can tell my employees to really get cured. Btw: My employees have 35 days off for vacation, a little more than than the 25-30 days I take myself.
The problem is, can you charge "enough" for the services, and do the customers have the money to pay. And do you have enough customers. It's an interesting thing with many vacation days, and that's all kind of creative small businesses that can have many potential customers, and if you live in a remote village but have an interesting idea you can survive that means all country can survive and all Germans need not live in a couple of big cities. If only money would count in life all Poles would move to Germany, but most of them stay at home in Poland! But if you have enough (!) money the life is much easier, but it doesn't solve all problems. As a foreigner/guest in Germany I think I have never driven faster than 130 kpm on the Autobahn. Autobahn is no race track by the way!!! Then I, of course, try to avoid it. Germany is in many places a garden landscape! Auf Wiedersehen!
“I can tell my employees to really get cured.” Compared to American employers: “don’t really get cured. Come back to work and infect the whole workforce with Covid and shut down production.” Protecting workers means protecting your business.
It should be common knowledge that its preferable to send someone home if he is sick. Getting fully cured over a couple of days and returning to work fresh and motivated is better than having someone at work that works with half the efficiency, prone to infect other workers as well. In my experience it is cheaper to let people recover instead of letting them work until they are completly burned out.
@@leiflillandt1488 i share your sentiment about the autobahn, but sadly a huge procentage of germans love the autobahn and its racelike charackter. Personally i allways hated driving on it in germany, its just pure stress.
Well, one can be against the “social net” like in Germany or other European countries, as long as one does not need it and one is belonging to the wealthy part of the American society! In the moment you become unemployed, a single mother with child or severe ill, it will be turning one’s perspective. I think that our system here in Germany is far away from perfect, it’s surely expensive (in form of taxes) for the citizens, but I don’t want to miss it at all. Because it makes me sleeping very calm.
I second that. There is not a second in my life where I thought it would be better if our health care system was like the one in the US. I have heard of several cases where a cancer in the US meant bankruptcy (or death because the treatment was not affordable). When my father got cancer, it cost us around 200€ - and that already includes the gas for driving him to the hospital.
@@steemlenn8797 but we have to thank the US for Shows like breaking bad. Without their system they could have never made such a Series. If you did it in any other Developed country, the entire show would have a total runtime of 15 minutes max.
I've been in a full time job for the last 10 years, but I sure am glad there was a social net to catch me when I Iost my job a couple of years before that. It took me two years to get back on my feet, but I'm pretty sure the taxes I've paid since then more than makes up for what it cost for the government to keep me off the streets. It's like insurance, or seatbelts even. You hope you don't need it, and sometimes even question the point of them. Until you suddenly need it. Unless you were born into extreme wealth, there's always a chance *you* might end up in a situation where you need that sort of help as well. Even if your life and job is pretty comfortable, medical bills can wreck your finances pretty fast, especially if the treatment also prevents you from working.
Had teams all over the world. The folks with the highest attendance were Korean. The ones with the least vacation and sick days were the Americans. The highest productivity was in Europe. Less chatting, less Solitaire, less burnout, less degradation of performance over time.
A particularly sad model is very common in Latin America: Paying people a premium for not taking sick and not mandatory off days. This only results in people not taking proper care of their health. Whilst you can do this for a couple of years, it is extremely costly in the long run.
@@jhwheuer Well. Latin America can be a great place to live. If you happen to have a decent job or business, quality of life can be better than in many other places. Especially in the early 2000s, many countries, like Brazil, Chile, Argentina and Colombia saw enormous rates of economic growth, but currently the situation looks pretty dire, and that's the thing: The lack of economic and political stability often makes long-term planning very hard.
@@mina_en_suiza I haven't taken a sick day in 4 years (German) sign me up for this program! (Other colleagues are renown for taking 6 weeks sick leave every year)
Habe in meinem Berufsleben über 20 Jahre in USA beherrschten Firmen in leitenden Positionen in Deutschland gearbeitet. In informellen Zusammenkünften nach Konzernbesprechungen war ich in den Augen meiner Kollegen der Märchenerzähler wenn ich über meine Arbeitsbedingungen und die meiner Mitarbeiter berichtete.
Dieser Glauben, das es sowas nicht geben kann, die auch in den Chefetagen vieler amerikanischer Konzerne herrscht ist der Grund, warum diverse amerikanische Unternehmen - prominentes Beispiel Walmart - eine Bruchlandung in Deutschland hingelegt haben, als sie versuchten in Deutschland Fuss zu fassen und ihre Firmenphilosophie nicht anpassten. Im Gegensatz dazu haben deutsche Firmen ihre Philosophie in die USA exportiert und expandieren dort. Z.B. Trader Joe's (ALDI Nord) ist im Lebensmittelhandel eine der Firmen in den USA mit besseren Arbeitsbedingungen als die Konkurrenz.
I have been working for a german company with a lot of sites in the US. I have been responsible for a global distributed team with some members in the US, some in Germany and some in Asia. I can fully understand your point and have very similar experience. American co-workers often did not fully believe what we told them about our work conditions.
Stimmt ja auch. Deutschland ist ja ein Schlaraffenland 🤪 Germany is the country of honey and milk. Aber was viele vergessen ist, dass dieses Schlaraffenland hart erkämpft wurde. Mit Bürgerkriegen und misslungenen Revolutionen. Was ich von meinen nicht "preußischen" Mitbürgern höre ist oft, dass Bismarck ein "Wohltäter" war. Die unzivilisierten Deutschen denken wirklich, dass der die ersten sozialen Gesetze freiwillig eingeführt hat, und nicht auf Druck einer gewissen roten Partei. So etwas lernt man wohl nur im norden Deutschlands in der Schule.
Talking about personal experience. I live in not the wealthiest country in the EU (Lithuania). We have a lot of problems with social network, but universal healthcare, unemployment benefits in my experience worked Okey. Had some issues with my health at the same time when everything shut down for the Covid (1st time). It took some time for doctors to find what's wrong with me, but after aournd 6 months I came back to work. During those 6 months - I did not have to pay insane amounts of money for doctor visits, different tests, multiple times in a hospital, operation, after operation treatment and etc. And I was paid sick leave payment by the state. Of course, it was not easy to live with less money, but as a couple without kids our expenses were covered by my sick leave payment and my partners salary: loan for the flat, utilities, food and etc. After I came back to work, I worked for a little bit over a year and realized that it's time for me to quit my job: lot's of reasons for it but basically I was burned out, annoyed and not in the best place mentally. After you lose / quit your job you are paid by state while you search for a new job. For the first months I wasn't mentally prepared to do that. But after some time I was rested and ready to work. I'm happy where I am, and happy that I was able to quit my toxic job and not to lose income fully. Sadly my partner broke his foot recently. Xrays, doctors visits, 3 weeks in a hospital, operation and now long healing process (it should be around 5 months). When I think about how same situation would basically bankrupt us in the USA, we are happy, getting the help we need and will be OK 🤗😊
Hi! Thank you for your videos! I am a Brit, living in Germany. I have been with the same small firm (about 50 people) for around thirty years. In that time I have broken bones twice, due to accidents at work. Each time I was off work for around six weeks and had no financial loss whatsoever. Due to the accidents happening at work, I also received my Christmas and Summer bonuses to their full amount. I also needed to have a benign tumour removed from my leg, 4 weeks off work, yet again with no financial loss. I cannot imagine working or living anywhere else at the moment.
@@capricorn1970i Sorry, no idea. I was a British soldier here in Germany and have never worked in the U.K as a civilian. I found Germany far too much fun and decided to stay.
Last year I managed to get a union job in Germany and it really is amazing. 35h work weeks (considered full time of course), really good pay, 30 paid vacation days (which most companies do anyway, 20 is mandatory but I have never seen a company only offer 20. 30 is the norm), a really nice and relaxed atmosphere, could hardly be any happier. If I had an offer from the US for twice the money, I would probably still reject that offer, I like my work/life balance and the paid vacation days.
I always wondered about that, too. 20 days are mandatory but I also don't know any company that gives less than 30. I think you really couldn't compete with other companies if you give that little.
I was interested in working in the US for a while and applied for some positions, one company emphasised that they offered a whopping 18 days paid time off per year. I live in Germany now, but am originally from South Africa, even in South Africa the statutory vacation days are higher at 21 working days per year!
well, mandatory (according to § 3 Bundesurlaubsgesetz) are 24 "working days" (Werktage) where these are defined as "neither sundays nor public holidays". Yes, the law is a bit old (it's from 1963), so saturdays were seen as regular working days. The "20 days" most often cited are for five-day-weeks, but it would be more fair to say that "four full work-weeks" are the mandatory minimum.
Wow, again, one of the best videos on this subject I have ever seen as a German. You are a teacher by vocation. This subject is not taught in this way in German schools and may be one reason why Germany is still so attractive to People from within and outside of the EU who are willing to work hard and integrate into German communities. Tying fundamental worker rights to human rights is also a compelling argument. However, trying to win over the diehard neo-capitalists appears to be an almost lost cause to me because, from what we have seen clearly in the last decades, science and data do not matter, only opinions and narratives that feed their fantasy bubble. So whenever you feel you are running into a brick wall with this mission, extend your mission to remind us Germans of what we have achieved since WWII in the competition of societal systems for attractiveness. We need this sort of content as no one is really capable of fully appreciating what one has right now until it is gone. This content is second best to that learning experience and much less drastic in consequence. Thank you and I am personally very happy to have you as a growing family in Germany and thankful for your contributions to our community.
Some time ago a colleague from a US NGO asked me how our salary structure and our benefits is composed. They wanted to review their system at that time. As I had a bit of time, I compiled all legal benefits plus what we have additionally in our NGO. After sending this to my colleague in DC, she simply replied: "You are living in paradise.".
Ashton that was great. I recently retired from Siemens after 32 years working for them in the USA. I have always known what the differences were and also know about some of the other benefits of working in Germany. What I have always found interesting is how little most Americans, including my former colleagues, know about work/life in another first world country and what one can expect as a worker in a place like Germany. If I try to explain some of the benefits afforded to every worker, they think I'm dreaming or on drugs. If only more information, as seen on your video, got out on mainstream media on a regular basis, then perhaps Americans would figure it out and demand change.
(American in Europe here) I have been trying to relate this information to my family for years. They insist that the USA is the BEST country in the world and everyone wants to go there. It's indoctrinated into them.
We as a family live our lives without the fear of loosing our state of wealth just because of unforseen events or conditions. This is even more important after my significant other was diagnosed with a chronic condition preventing her to go back to her job after giving birth to our second child. Tbh, we would have more income if she'd be able to work or work full-time. But at this point we're able to live/afford our lives, raise our kids, and give them the best head start as possible to their own lives. This would never have been possible in the "Land of the Free". We would been ruined by now looking at all the medical costs and lost income. Let alone the chance of having lost her years ago. We're so lucky to live here in Germany.
You can always go there for a short vacation but other than that be thankful that you still live here in Europe where it's so much better. And the American is nothing more than a nightmare WAKE UP.
The same - I love the American landscape and variety, but working and living there wasn't nice. It's ok for holidays or if you are rich and don't have problems to pay high healthcare etc. but as a normal working person you doesn't want to live there, because it's not healthy.
@@Ron_Coletta My former employer (claim: world leader in safety technology) offered me a position with US conditions, and that’s why I didn’t accept it.
In Romania we get 1-2 years of paid maternity leave (fathers can also choose to get time off), 21 days of vacation (after 9 years I have 28), unemployment money (but it's just a few bucks), free health care (paid by taxes, not the best but it's something), unions (because of them we have: meal tickets, private healt insurance, moeny for gym, money for working overtime or bank holidays and many more things), private pension (on top of the universal one). We also have the higest homeownership in EU (95%). My country has many issues small or big with the mentioned examples but at least we have examples to give
@@auseryt I never said that Romania thought of these benefits on its own, I just answered to Ashton's question. I'm very grateful that Romania is in the EU.
@@Diana_M indeed you didn't said. But in the context of what i heard from so many other Romanians in Romania i assumed it because of how you said it. I apologies for that. Scuzâ.
@@auseryt you are wrong, form the begginig , the minimum holiday days per year was 21,maternity leave for one year in 1990, extended to two later, bonuri de masa...from 98. what is new? free deduction for gym, holiday bonuri, payd paternity leave for father. and, yes, the eu gives us a lot, but........we warent a free slavery heaven like usa
I live in Australia. We have similar benefits to the German situation. What annoyed me some years ago when a trade agreement between Australia and the US was being negotiated, the US negotiators objected to aspects of the agreement because they perceived Australians received too many benefits placing the US at a disadvantage. Needless to say that did not fly very well here! I have been to Germany a few times, great country, nice people. Thoroughly enjoyed each trip!
Being a German living and working in Australia I have to say social security in Australia, even though not as sophisticated as in Germany, still is very good. Additional healthcare costs in comparison to Germany are usually well absorbed by the higher salaries.
I had a god laugh, living in Norway:the last statistics I saw about productivity was, that we are one of the most productive workforce. Having maternity leave, high taxes and a safety net like Germany, and 5weeks of Urlaub plus sick days and champions of taking free like to eastern or christmas or measure during summer from June to august, it feels like heaven to me.and we have a38.5 workweek and....
Thank you, I really enjoy your videos! Here is my personal experience: I am German and lived with my wife in Sacramento, CA, for a year where our daughter was born. Birth was easy and we left the next day but the hospital still charged USD 15,000. Our German health insurance (monthly premium of about EUR 400) covered birth and we ended up paying nothing. Our friends in Sacramento had a baby the same day and since they spent 3 days in the hospital the costs were USD 50,000 of which our friends had to pay the first USD 5,000 and 10% of the remaining USD 45,000. Their health insurance premium was about USD 1,000 per month. After we returned to Germany we had another baby and the hospital charged for birth ca. USD 1,500 while providing better service. On top, after giving birth to our daughter in the US the pediatrition and the gynaecologist (however not the one that knew my wife it was just someone from the doctor's office) showed up in the hospital eventhough we did not ask them to. Since birth went very quickly they arrived when everything was done. The congratulated us and left. However we did receive a bill from the in the amount of USD 2,300 for services that were never performed. I called and explained, later on I sent letters that no services were provided. It only lead to me receiving reminders.
Excellent. When I was a lot younger I dreamt of living in the USA. But, the more I learned about the general ethics of the USA the more the dream dissolved. I preferred the trust of my employers that I do my work in the specified time, preferably without overtime. For a large part of my worklife I didn't need to register my time at work. I could work from home if needed -- some tasks were easier to accomplish without the inevitable distractions a the workplace. I got to work and left when I wanted (within certain boundaries, of course). That model does not work for many jobs, I know that I was privileged. I would have never given up this privilege to work in the USA. This includes all the other benefits of the worklife in Europe vs. USA.
@@lukaszwojtowicz1981 X-act'ly. Better work 2 live, than live to work. Germany ain't perfect either, but in comparison to other countries, we don't even see the paradise we live in ("we don't even see the forest, although we stand directly infront of the trees" - as we use to say).
German companies with subsidiaries in the US do not give their American staff the same benefits the workers in Germany get. This tells me that LAWS are the only way to assure fair treatment of employees. And no politician in the USA is about to really try to change the system to help the people and the working classes.
Great video. I agree with you: If my employer is loyal to me, I'm loyal to them. As employee of a big company since 19 years, I work focused and take care about my projects in all aspects. Thus, they run very successful and with high profit and low failure costs for my company. On the other side, if I take time off - half a day, a day, no-one complains. Imho: respect and responsibility only work in both ways. Treating employees poorly will result in poor work.
Haha, 'lazy' german workers! Well, I had a burn out in my job before this job. I was at home, try to recover from it and got a stroke. And I'm happy, I live in Germany. I went to hospital and rehabilitation, had not much to pay for and I was paid, too. And now I'm back, working, sometimes very hard and I have to be careful. But I know - whatever happens I will not becoming homeless or have to starve thanks to our "nanny state". :D
Hi from Austria 🇦🇹 I know doesn't sound like much, but in many countries (like Austria and Germany) you get qmonthly childcare "Kindergeld", depending on the age of the child for each kid. Mostly between 120 and 250 €. Until they are 18, or even longer if they go to university. I know that doesn't cover all the extra costs of children, but it helps for the basics.
Dear US-Viewers i hope you recognize the content value of this channel?! Ashton and Jonathan are putting so much effort and accuracy to offer you an unpaid or rather a priceless value of information based on official facts and data, that i really hope that this reaches more of the sceptics in America, than those that can easily follow and understand this complex information and put it all together for their own perpouses to drag the best out of this informations. Liebe Ashton und lieber Jonathan, eure qualitativ gut recherchierten Inhalte sind auf weiter Flur einzigartig auf YT - und damit eine wertvolle Nische die ihr bedient; aus Auswandererperspektive solche Vergleiche für potentiell Interessierte, die auch nach Deutschland zu kommen erwägen, zusammenzutragen und zu kredenzen. *ThumbsUp & HandClap* 👍👏 ! watch your Content since 2022, almost a year. Pleace keep it up! Your content is funtastic and a blast full of quality values. *Really, ThumbsUp & HandClap again*‼
@@TypeAshtonso many people in the U.S are unfortunately brainwashed as bad if not worse then people in North Korea they believe worker protection aren't normal
I was born and raised in the US and growing it was basically indoctrinated into us how the US is the best in the world. After gaining internet access and learning about how the rest of the industrialized world lives, I've been looking into how to leave the "greatest country in the world". I see all these pros of working in Germany and I think, "why can't we have that here?" "why is America such a 3rd world, s***hole?" So my goal after finishing my degree is to find a job in my field in Germany and move there asap.
Create your Resume and CV with picture and proffesional. Germans love proffesional CVs. In Europe and also in Germany there are lot of American Companies - Amazon, GE, etc. Send your VC directoy to them for some job. You will need time until you learn German A- level and write that you wish/ plan to move there. Have in mind that you will need a starting capital to rent the appartment. 90% will ask for three paychecks and everything but there are cheap hotels that will give you temperarly proff that you are living here so that your Employer can register you. Thats it. Good Luck ( btw. this are safe countries)
Your impressions are accurate. But if you were to come to Germany to work, the first thing you might realize is that there's a real work ethic here. Americans tell themselves they're the most productive workers in the world blah blah blah, but when they come to Germany, they're shocked at how much the people here do in a day, and how efficient and competent the workers and staff are. You can't just come here and expect to be on easy street.
@@motioninmind6015 I understand that. Americans aren't that productive, they just think they are. I want to surround myself with people who are efficient and competent. Learn their habits and apply them to my own life and work.
Dear Dr Ashton dear Jonathon and HI little Jack ( not so little anymore) Talking about unemployment: The company i started to work age 17 was closed 3 years later......so i went unemployed. At that time i collected 67% of my last paycheck which still was enough to pay my bills and feed my dog. It was hard. Now i am working for 38 years in a big company and i am glad to pay taxes to support those who have to face unemployment. I am german ( or better bavarian)
@@alexdentist I guess he said he's Bavarian...and said he's glad to pay his taxes to support the less fortunate, how would you conclude he's in California
Excellent research and presentation as always. 👍🏼 This video does a great job comparing the place of my upbringing with my adopted homeland. Your research, statistics and visualization underline a point that I have been stressing to my family and friends for decades - less scientifically. Thanks! Full disclosure: I’m coming up on 24 years in Germany and this year will celebrate becoming a German citizen a decade ago. I listened with great interest about your enthusiasm about the liberalization of German naturalization. One aspect you sounded encouraged about was the prospect of dual citizenship becoming available to you. While I understand the appeal of this, there is one huge drawback to dual citizenship which is virtually unique to American ex-pats: the continuing requirement for you to report your income to the IRS and potential tax liability, as well as the regulations that your bank needs to comply with in order to do business with US persons. The complexities for banks dealing with US ex-patriots has become increasingly complex over time (even more so since I ceased to be a US person). Long before I set out to become a naturalized citizen, I got a notification from my bank informing me that new US regulations forced them to change their policies for US persons, and I would no longer be able to place orders for most kinds of securities (including stocks and most mutual funds). I was fortunate in that I was allowed to continue with previously existing standing orders, but I could no longer modify them, except to stop the order completely and liquidate the position. I was told that other banks were giving their customers two weeks‘ notice to move or liquidate their securities holdings. I was fortunate to have a workaround with the help of my German citizen wife. We opened an account in her name. That’s not an option available to you. While this wasn’t my primary motivation to become a German citizen, I was hugely relieved that I was no longer subject to American tax regulations after becoming a citizen. I was becoming increasingly concerned about how to do financial planning in Germany with my options being limited, and at the time it looked like the situation would become more precarious over time. The reality turned out to be even more dramatic than I could have imagined. BTW, check out a RUclips video from Evan Edinger about taxes on this subject for an excellent introduction. I would be really interested in your perspective about financial planning for long term US ex-Patriots in Germany. Keep up the great work. I look forward to your videos every week.
@@mnsegler1 I’m not qualified to give tax advice, but do want to mention that there’s a pretty high threshold to cross before a real tax liability to the IRS materializes. First, there’s the foreign earned income exclusion (currently $112,000 for 2022, indexed for inflation). When I started out on my career, I thought that I would never need to worry about crossing that threshold. It turns out that the threshold isn’t unachievable after all, which can come even sooner than expected with a favorable Euro exchange rate. Even after exhausting the foreign earned income exclusion, it is possible to deduct things like taxes paid abroad and living expenses. Between the foreign earned income exclusion and all the deductions, you have to be making a substantial income before having a tax liability to the USA. Keep in mind, I haven’t been up to date on this for ten years, but from what I can see on the IRS website today, the basic structure is at least roughly what I was dealing with back then.
German truck driver. I did had a problem with punctually and doing my work fast enough for some time, but I thought that would go away. I talked to my employer about it, and he offered to pay someone to assist me with getting back on track. But I had two accidents because I was "daydreaming", just operating on auto-pilot, however you want to put it. This is when I went to see a doctor to get checked. The doc told me two things: First, if I wouldn't have come, within 2 or 3 years I would most likely have died and second, that I am no longer allowed to drive. This was in late december 22, which made it a bit difficult to get appointments fast, but as soon as the holidays where over, everything started to go smoothly. I see three doctors, one general practician and two specialists. I had examinations which cost thousands of euros - each. 100% covered. I have medications for free. And I received 6 weeks of normal payment from my employer. Since then I get 60% from my insurance. While 60% of my salary isn't much, it is enough to pay the bills and to "keep alive and a roof over my head."The insurance called me to verify wether or not I try to be lazy and hang around at home. After they heard my story all they said was: Don't worry, we got you covered, if you need any additional help, please call us. So… as the doctors here could not help me, I now have an appointment with one of the leading experts in the world, when it comes to my condition. Wait time: 3 weeks. Costs for me: zero. Just having lost my cousin, whom I never met because he was part of the "American branch" of my family and knowing that his children had to sell the family farm to pay for the medical bills, I am really grateful of the German system of doing things. I am sure, I wouldn't be able to afford my treatment in the US and not being able to work because of my condition is the definition of a vicious circle.
German resident here. Great video! One small point though: here in Germany, if you are disabled and have a special ID stating that your disability status (as determined by the Health Department) is 50% or more, you have much greater job security and even more vacation days, both federally mandated. There are also a plethora of other benefits, such as free or reduced cost public transport and more. @ElinT13 posted a detailed comment on health care below, so I won't expound on that. Go read theirs, and send them your very best thoughts and prayers of support while you're there! 😊 I am currently applying for this 50% disability status. It's quite an involved process, but well worth it if you qualify. Update: I just received confirmation of my 50% disabled status, and my official Disability ID. I'm so relieved that the red tape is finally done with, as far as that goes. 😊
Hi, I’ve watched these last three videos and they have confirmed what I have suspected. I am from the UK but moved to Germany after finishing university and am coming up to retirement soon. It is useful to consider how many hours you need to work to pay for something. It puts a different perspective on the example made of a young person working in the US compared to Germany. Perhaps the German has more take-home pay per hour than his American counterpart does. I came across this concept at a motor museum. A very expensive automobile from the 1930s had the notice that the worker who put the vehicle together would have to work 40 years to buy the vehicle.
100 years ago a famous economic (insofar as you could use the term for someone at that time) predicted that people would only work 15-20 hours in the year 2000 because of the advancements in productivity. As we all know he was wrong. Or was he? With a German average income (per hour) you can easily live better with 20h/week then at his time with 40/48. When he wrote that, workers didn't have cars, their houses were a lot smaller and TVs were a fantasy. And in Germany you would still be fully health insured.
I had commented on another channel with a similar topic: Americans are invited to come to Europe to see what works better here than yours. I immediately received a hate reply from an American who wrote me that I was a liar and just jealous of life in the US. And of course everything is much better in the USA than anywhere else. After some back and forth discussion, I gave up and deleted my comment. If someone don't want to learn anything, he remains stupid.
I am from Heidelberg in Germany. Until 2005, we had two large American Villages with army personal around here. Many children born here went to german schools and after 2005 stayed in germany despide the Villages got closed and army personal got relocated. This is something a parent of a frend toled me about leaving germany. In short, he was terrified to get back after years living in germany with all its wealth and benefits to secure health and education for him and his son. He himself was a second generation child from parents came over in the 70' so he nerver was keen to get in the army by himself, but worked in american stores build on army property. But as far as I got that, the social standarts in those shops were to german standarts. So he got everything a german got and suddenly he was confrontet with a note, "well now we go back, have fun". Save to say, he stayed, he apply for full german citizenship and got it, because he was born in a german hospital. and so did his son. my frinds grandmother, 70 by that time, said once, It is the americans downfall to think only they know whats best without trying to addapt to something that is not beneficial in that exact moment" means, no american would think universal healthcare is good if the havn't a 100k $ hospital bill in hand at this exact moment if they get asked. They cant get there head around a system that will benefit them in any given time because it just cost money now and don't help them at that moment they have to pay for. sad but well, we know better
America has stopped millions of dollars that flowed to Germany 🇩🇪, for about 50 years. Germany 🇩🇪 asked Americans to leave. Most of the BILLIONS of U.S. dollars, have now stopped flowing to Germany 🇩🇪, and the impact is beginning to appear, and their economic reports are showing weaknesses. God Bless.
@@arneellermets uhm... No, the US paid 12,4 Millian Dollar in 1950 (1948 - 1952) were only 1,5 got to west germany, 10,9 Million were for them selfs and the construction of bases, after that, the US only supported there setlements in Rheinland-Pfalz and Baden-Würtemberg.
@@arneellermets well that is kind of true... first every equipment that was half usebel was taken by the americans and all the houses arent of german building code so 90% must be destroid and 10% masivly upgraded. so no, america didnt contribute to germany like many belive it did.
For a decade, I was working for the German branch of a major US firm, which really drove home some of the points you are making in your video: - They were, of course, aware of the legally mandated 20 day paid vacation time - however, actually taking 20 days off per year every year could quickly develop into a career-stopper. - Everything centered around billable hours per year. As we heard through the grapevine, a good number of our US colleagues had truly awe-inspiring hours (upwards of 3000/y). When comparing the US colleagues‘ invoices against ours, however, we found that they took 2-3 times longer for the same routine-tasks. At that point, I decided that US work ethic involves lots of smoke and mirrors.
Workers who always work long hours eventually become less productive. It happened to me and it was destroying my health too. So I put a stop to it over 20 years ago. Immediately I became more productive, happier and healthier. Without our good health we will suffer the consequences.
To the first point: so the company preferred to get sued? Because the mandatory vacation days are not only mandatory in the sense of "need to be offered". They're also mandatory to be taken.
Amazingly, US companies here in Austria follow all the same requirements as other companies here, and contrary to the argument that they can't afford to provide their employees with the same benefits in the states, they still operate here with a profit---companies like McDs and Ford. Trust me, they would not be here if they were losing money. American corporate greed knows no bounds, including invading other nations to acquire their resources.
It's ingrained in us that we must work massive amounts of hours or we might be viewed as lazy even if we are getting all the work done that was first put on our plate. People will try to be the first and last one online, especially if the boss is online because clocking out after working a straight 8 hours would be seen negatively. This also leads to more work being placed on people rather than hiring more staff for the higher workload... so more hours again and a huge amount of burnout. I was a freelance teacher in Germany for several years and while I never actually made enough to pay much in taxes (I think the most I ever made was about 10k euros), I made enough to have a happy life and even travel quite a bit. I just couldn't pay my student loans off with that income, so ended up moving back to the US to get a more solid career. I rather regret doing that. There's a bit more to that story though. :)
Became a dad close to a year ago. Too two months of parental leave. Will take more if there is a second child. The time with my kid is something no employer can give back.
Some women get sick during pregnancy, heavily sick where they cannot work anymore and if they would, it would endanger the child's life. Some women get hyperemesis gravidarum and puke like there's no tomorrow and struggle with neasuea. Doctors usually give something called a 'individuelles Beschäftigungsverbot', meaning they're not allowed to work but receive full pay (Mutterschaftsgeld, not mutterschutzgeld). This is during pregnancy and can happen from the 2nd or 3rd month onwards until the actual mutterschutz starts.
Unsurprisingly, there is nothing that even comes close to this in the USA. I've shared this before, but my mother literally worked up until she had me. Her amniotic fluid was "leaking" the day before, so STILL went into work and scheduled an appointment with her OBGYN during her lunch break (I was 1 month early). The Doctor literally looked at her and said "uhhh, you're going to have a baby.... today". Needless to say, I was born 2 hours later.
@@TypeAshton In some professions you actually get a Beschäftigungsverbot from the second your employer knows of your pregnancy no matter how good or bad the pregnancy is going. I work in EMS for example and because the risk to the baby would be high being exposed to all kinds of illnesses and sometimes violent patients plus the rather high physical demands if you get pregnant you're not allowed to work anymore until the pregnancy ends.
@@Serenity_yt My wife had to stop her lab work because of all the reprotoxic and mutagenic substance that should could have come in contact with. So it was just office and administrative work for here. Did not help with her mood during pregnancy. She was really bored … while at the same time having actually more work to do on some days has naturally her colleagues were happy to delegate more office work onto her to spend more time on research and lab work. Still a far better solution instead of working full time in the lab while pregnant for sure.
I think there is another dimension that hasn't been mentioned, but was addressed in an earlier video: travelling and vacation. Especially from an educational perspective. Going abroad. Learn new languages, cultures, systems while you are young and not only after you retired. Especially from a political/educational standpoint. To talk to other people, to be away from the grind, television and daily news. Or even if staying at home, to get some sleep, learn new skills and simply have time off.
The basic difference is easily recognizable in the wording: In the US, they call it "benefits"... while in Europe, we call it "mandatory rights"! And one big difference about sick days was not completely shown in the video: Unlike in the US, where you get a planned and fixed amount of sick days per year, in Germany "sick days" are literally just all days when you are sick. You cannot plan this in advance! - In Germany, when you're sick, you just take (paid) sick days - as many as needed until you are not sick any more. There is no limit!
Well there is kind of a limit for paid sick days- it's 72 weeks if you have a longlasting illness. But if you're very unlucky and get sick again with another illness, you get another 72 weeks ...
Just a note! How can it be that a people of only 84 million people of which maybe 1/4 are elderly and 1/5 are younger people under 26 and 1/8 are sick and half day workers 3rd best nation in the world for exports and productivity in quality can be when it's so lazy? Why can a nation of 340 million US citizens not protect half of its population , rescue , guarantee jobs and health and even maintain the status of a rich nation even though there are already third world situations in parts of the country ???? How can that be ? Capitalism is the greatest evil of the Americans, who still practice slavery with their fellow citizens to this day! The rich there get richer at the expense of those who no longer belong to the middle class, but even the middle class becomes impoverished in the process. Poor America pretends that everything is still in order. Nope, it's not, but they are being lied to and cheated and excluded. Poor America.
I am fine if US americans think their have a better system, but they should at least use valid arguements. "It's better in the USA, because we have the choice to do better." is just to blame the poor people for not doing the right choice, instead of thinking about the whole system as the problem. Also the family in Germany had already less money than the US one at a point the US family not even choose to dont invest in healthcare or education. But I guess these people will argue that there choice of getting a baby is the real problem. As if getting a baby does not benefit the whole society in long termn. For the "we are so free" people: Try to drink in public. I guess the "beep" in you tv-shows are the sound of the freedom bells and not cencorship. Regarding workers right: I think it is the same as with states: "Not the people should fear the goverment, the goverment should fear the people." Still think that the employers are doing the work. No employers, no product, no money. You also should not underestimate the knowledge of long term employers about the development of the company. Ok this can also block inovation, as long as you have one who can handle the old way, but it also improves transitions.
I gotta say, whenever I'm watching videos on US working and social culture and all the topics that surround that I'm not sure if I should be impressed or horrified. Impressed or horrified by the fact that US politics and businesses managed to "brainwash" the average worker into fighting against his own interests. "Healthcare? Unemployment Benefits? Social Security? One for all and all for one? What are you? A Communist?!"... the "Red Scare" really did and is doing a number on the American public. Or as my friends an I like to call it: The US has "Kapitalismus im Endstadium" - "Capitalism in the terminal stage".
Thank you for another well researched video. As a Dane I've got approximately the same working conditions as a German; in some aspects a little better, in some a litlle worse. You brought me to think about what happened some years ago when the Danish medical company Novo decided to start up an American branch of their company. Of course they were accused by the Danish trade uniions for doing this because of the lower wages in USA. Novo answered that they only did it because it would make it much easier to get their medical product acknowleged by US authoririties. So to prove this (and also because that the danish model would be more efficient) their American employees got Danish wages and also the other benifits from Danish work life. However this created an outrage among American companies in that area, partly because they thought Novo was bidding up the wages, but mainly because a lot of the skilled workers preferred to get a job at Novo.
Interesting that the wages in the US are usually lower for that kind of work. I always heard (and as Ashton explained in the last two videos) that wages are higher in the US than in Europe. I thought that in the EU it would only be better for low skilled workers because here we usually have a minimum that usually guarantees that you can at least live off your wage. But a medical company probably needs a lot of skilled workers, right?
Saying Germany is a "Nanny State" for taking care of their workforce is like saying "normal people cuddle their children, by not being abusive". It is the baseline that is the difference. Do you accept, that "the workforce" are human beings with the right to be treated fairly? Then Germany is a normal state. Do you think, that it is ok to exploit "the workforce" to its fullest and pay them as little as possible? Than the US is a normal state and Germany is a Nanny state.
Drinking beer in a pub in West Berlin (yes decades ago), discussing life differences between USA and Europe, a German said "you Americans live to work, we Europeans work to live." He was and still is right; sadly too many of the American conservative electorate gullibly support polliticians who prefer that we in America continue to live to work.
One very important info is missing... when you are in probation (let's say, day 3 of the 6 months of probation) and you are saying "I'm pregnant"... the probation ends and you are protected from being fired.
Great video! I'm working for the Bundesagentur für Arbei (Federal work office) and I know how much of the unemployment insurance budget is used for improving their working skills. This system really works! If someone couldn't do his job any longer, we qualify them for other high-skilled jobs including a monthly paid unemployment 'salary'.
@@insu_na I agree. A lot of people get a chance to adapt to a changing labor market, or to correct a mistake in their original choice of education. This is extremely valuable for society. But there is also a tendency for bureaucrats to abuse this scheme to doctor unemployment statistics by putting people into bullshit courses which they must attend (or get sanctioned).
@@_KA_RO_ those discrepancies of treatment depending on who takes care of your case I was able to witness when about 30 people were made redundant at one company, who were treated so differently case by case (from absolutely zero service, teated like useless trash, to being offered a Rolls Royce of trainings) that one could only wonder whether the Arbeitsamt had anything to do with a modern state institution or was more like medieval principality where everyone is treated according to the good will of the princely case manager. Absolutely mind-blowing.
I took this opportunity a few years ago when I was unemployed for almost 1 year. I received unemployment payment while I took an "express" class to earn a vocational qualification degree ("IHK-Abschluss"). Immediately after the exam I got a new job that payed several hundred €/month more than my previous job. So for me it definitely worked out! 👍
No it isn't bad to work like a German. I work part-time and there are coworkers of mine working 60-80 work weeks for the company. They also take no vacation time, they work when they are sick (to me this is ewww because we work with other people's food), and they take no paternity leave if they need it (our company gives 6-9 months paternity leave). Yeah sure they make a lot (and I mean a lot. Making 2,000 a week after taxes, insurance, retirement, and life insurance is good for my profession) more money than I do, but they are slowly killing themselves. A healthy coworker had a heart attack at 35 because the amount of stress he was putting on himself. Another coworker who worked 50 hour work weeks needed a pacemaker. My coworkers are always sick with flu or cold. I work 20 hours, take my 4 weeks vacation, and I took maternity leave when pregnant. I'm healthy and Im happy. My coworkers see me as being lazy because I could work more. I'm like who's the healthy and happy one?
I was an au pair in the US a few years ago and I was truly shocked by how much my host parents worked (they both regularly worked on Saturdays and occasionally even on Sundays) and only took 2,5 weeks of vacation in the whole year while still being available on the phone on their days off. In my family, my parents work full time but in most weeks, they worked half-days on Fridays and really valued their vacation time by turning of work phones and laptops and not even texting with co-workers about topics related to their work.
Well, as a worker u need to recharge your batteries. But American CEO's don't care. If you can't do your job because u r burned out or u r overworked, you're fired. They throw workers away like litter or a piece of paper. No apperication for workers unfortunately.
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@@UltimaTiV-one "Human Resources"… "menschlicher Rohstoff" in German. The german equivalent is of course "Personal" (the HR Department becomes the Personalabteilung).
The mere fact that life expectancy in Europe is considerably higher than in the USA, and that life in Europe is much more relaxed, should give the average American something to think about. We all only have one life and it's damn short.
13:26 I actually take every year, usually during summer a 3 week vacation. I really need that to absolutely forget about work. 1 Week to come down and settle in. and then you really can enjoy the rest of the vacation. My employer is not too generous with vacation days, so I get 26 days per year now after working 5 years there, but I really can not stress enough how important real vacation is.
Go live in the USA now and they'll appreciate it socialism😂. Yeah try stressing over the idea that $300,000 is equivalent to $100,000 and still struggling in California for example. Once they get it its still not enough. Capitalism is not worth your health.
Great video, as ever! You really do make an effort to present good data. I actually find it funny to see these responses from Americans to your earlier videos. The 'socialist' narrative that is being fed to them through their employers, sponsored media outlets and politicians make them, as we say in the Netherlands, ""thieves of their own wallet". Not only employees, employers as well looking at the additional benefit cost.
US-Employee gets out of his car, when is boss arrives in a brand new Ferrari. "Wow! Nice Ride!" "Thank you! You know what? If you work really hard, put in some extra effort, do overtime and work on the weekends, then maybe a year from now I can afford another one of those."
Phenomenal piece of work, thanks Ashton! For me, the USA is the perfect example of corporations taking over a society. I hope the once most progessive country finds the strength to balance work vs. social benefits in the future.
The citizens of the USA seem preoccupied with stupidity like Trump rather than focusing on their own plight (healthcare, education and pay). Will they grow up?
I am a huge fan of space exploration where the US is ahead of pretty much everyone else and love the idea of Elon Musk to colonize Mars. But at the same time I am absolutely horrified by the vision of a US corporate driven Mars colony.
14:29 luxembourg wtf Also i think there is some room to make an argument for whatever side here depending on your views. But who in their right mind decided that actually being sick is not grounds for entitling you or rather forcing you into staying at home, resting up and not getting your co-workers sick. (of course paid since people really need the money they work for for their living, it's not like you suddenly don't have to pay rent when you are sick anymore). And the same goes for parental leave. Even if you're conservative at least give mothers a bit of time. Honestly at that point where sick people and highly pregnant women don't have anything at all, it's not just empathyless but just plain barbaric / brutal.
Great video. In Australia in recent years some right wing radio hosts have been trying to change government thinking about employee rights, pay, etc as they were saying “in the USA they do…..” Never did they say “in Germany they do…..”. Our unemployment benefits have been eroded the past 20 years. Our weekend overtime pay rates have been reduced. They said “it’ll create jobs” and “if you cannot fire you won’t hire”. Well, our pay hasn’t improved as promised and unemployment rates haven’t improved either. If businesses want a thriving economy with thriving profits, they need people (employees mostly) to have the confidence to spend, save and take time off to spend more money on vacations. It goes in a circle. You have a well paid workforce not afraid to spend, you have thriving businesses. If you have a workforce too scared to spend (due to low pay mostly), too scared because their unemployment benefits are at poverty levels, then businesses won’t thrive. This is especially true for small businesses. I believe in a fair society. Honest pay for your work which breeds honesty within society. It also reduces crime and improves everyone’s health. It’s time we all collectively make sure people are treated as people and not as slaves. Low pay, bad healthcare and little unemployment benefits breeds distrust, anger, lower life expectancies and crime. These media fools going on about “nanny state” lies are only pandering to the ultra conservative wealthy. I bet if you see their pay and they would be getting huuuuge dollars! Hypocrisy is a disease amongst them. Again, great video. 👍
In Sweden we have 36 days off at a vacation, the last 7 days you kan save up to 4 years when you have to use them. But most people often save those 7 days to be free over christmas and new year. But then again, companies dont have to pay anything if you get laid off, Thats where our unions comes to the rescue, they set up a fond where you kan get a whole year with 80% of the pay you had, gives lot of time to find another job.
I'm American but grew up in Germany. In fact, I was just in Germany for part of my two week vacation last year and was in your neck of the woods (I brought my hubby to Freiburg for an excursion). Seeing these comparisons in data sets really reinforced some of the key differences I've always sensed.
My wife and I were in a serious accident on April 15, 2022. My wife got the worst of it and is still bedridden a year and 4 months later. Though she is getting better and we hope she will be walking soon, the American health care system has really let us down. I have had to take early retirement in order to take care of my wife (and take care of my own injuries) and have gone since September 15, 2022 without any pay (this is after I used up all my leave). My early retirement is still pending. I have had to fight regularly with my insurer to get the benefits my wife is owed. Here is the shoe drop. My wife is a 20 year USN retired Chief Petty officer. Everyone keeps telling us we have the "Gold health care plan." If this is "Gold" god help those with less.
For someone who works in HR in Germany, I must say that you have researched very well and you have done a wonderful job with the video (at least from the German side I can judge it). Great work! 🙂 But even if there is a very good protection here in Germany against dismissals by law, there are crafty lawyers who manage to undermine exactly this. If a company wants to get rid of an employee, they search until a reason is found or they simply invent a reason. Of course, it is possible to file a complaint at the labor court, but often such proceedings end in some out-of-court settlement and then the company pays a little more money and often the employee is left with the costs of the proceedings (at least half). Example my father: He was employed in a company for 33 years, the boss changed and mobbing started. Then my dad got sick because years of heavy lifting destroyed his shoulders. The recovery took longer, he was dismissed for "health reasons" because he would be "not sustainable for the company". However, there were enough jobs in the company that would not have required heavy lifting and he would have just had to be transferred there. I was studying Economics with a focus on HR at the time and urged him to get a lawyer. He did not take a lawyer who specialized in labor law despite my advice. The proceedings ended after one and a half years (!) with an out-of-court settlement, the amount my father agreed to as compensation was absolutely ridiculous in comparison to his long service in the company. But the companies know that this is exactly how they get rid of disagreeable employees, exactly with this scam. The view from the U.S. always surprises me, the term "nanny state" I hear for the first time. Here, too, all that glitters isn't gold. But the position of employee rights is really much stronger than in the States, I'm quite happy about that.
I think one of the reasons things in Germany/Europe are they way they are, is the fact wie like bitching about every incident that does not fit into the nice world we want to have or see. And there are lots of demonstrations trying to improve such things. And in many cases changes are made and situations improved. Working together to solve problems rather then only accusing some people of wrong doing
Let me put it this way: With Germany being the third biggest exporter in the world (with 7.62% of all export world-wide) with about 83.2 million population, the "lazy" people seem to be in the USA, who have a much higher population of 331.9 million and are the second biggest exporter in the world with 10.26% of all exports world wide, which means that they export just about 1.35 times the amount of what Germany exports - with about FOUR times the population... 'nuff said.
Good job on all three videos! Just a couple of points. As has been mentioned,sick leave is six weeks with full pay. That is, per separate illness!! „Full pay“ is the pay which you would have received, so if your shift is doing overtime and continues to do so when you get sick, guess what? You get that pay, too! Also, the German unemployment insurance expects you to fight for your job if you are fired, which is why, in most cases, you have to sue. Most cases are agreed to out of court, which is where the severance pay comes in. If you agree to terminate your job, not getting fired or quitting, you might go six months with no benefits. Many more job benefits are agreed to in collective bargaining agreements with the unions or in company agreements between the employer and the Works Council (I am the chairman of such a council). Many workers receive vacation pay, for example, on top of their normal pay for each vacation day. Now I have to go back and read some of those comments from the other videos. I could use a few chuckles. 😉
These first three videos have been amazing, well researched combined with a great presentation and editing! Especially appreciate the fact you keep hammering on "a person's rights" and how they should not be a bargaining chip.. Also love how this series is dispelling a lot of "arguments" often brought up when discussing "social programs". "Second thought " made a video on labor practices a couple of years ago (called "America compared or why do other nations treat their workers so much better") in which he summed up the American "business" mentality as "short term profits over anything else" either by exploiting customers (bad service/products) or exploiting workers (wage theft, no rights etc). Anyway keep up the great work!!
Thanks again for this nice video. From The Netherlands again ;-). I love all your well built video's. I only have remarks and questions to one very small item. At 4:05 you compare two USA neighborhoods and some of the comparing figures were "99% African Americans" and "70% White". What do the skin colors of Homo Sapiens do in a economic comparision of two neighborhoods? Where do those figures come from? Government registration? I have the impression it's impossible to get figures like these in Europe, based on governmental registrations. Maybe something to research. What have the USA and allies forced the present Germany constitution to legislate after WW2 about this? As far as I know this kind of figures are no part of governmental registrations in Europe. The same goes for religion, political affiliation etc. Why do the USA still use this kind of registrations that were used by NAZI Germany to deport and murder all kind of groups of people? When you don't register this kind of things, politicians only are able to talk about people... poor people, rich people, educated people, uneducated people etc.
This data mostly comes from the US Census Bureau (typically their American Community Survey), but sometimes also comes from an add mixture of data collected from the Department of Education or the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. For quite some time, it was totally legal to segregate on the basis of race in the US, so the government still feels the need to track the long-term effects of those policies, even after they were abolished (such as via the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing regulations). The recording of income is also an important metric for primary and secondary education, as well as public infrastructure, in the United States. Unlike here in Germany, K-12 education (as well as police, fire, libraries, and other public services) is funded primarily through LOCAL property taxes. Meaning that if you live in a wealthy area (where property values are higher and people can afford more expensive homes) - there is greater property tax generated that can then be funnelled into better services. As many Americans say... "why should my taxes go to a school that my kids don't even attend?" It is why poor neighborhoods suffer from under-funded schools and social services, which then i turn, discourage wealthier families from wanting to move there. So its a self-feeding beast, so to speak.
I am not sure about the US situation but I can tell you when I (German) moved to the UK I found that your ethnicity is a point on every questionnaire that you fill in, whether you fill out an application or sign up for treatment at a clinic. Initially I found this very disconcerting because it would be a completely unthinkable question in Germany. However, it makes sense to ask this question, otherwise you would never get any solid data on how different ethnical groups are doing. For example, statistically, black women are four times more likely to die during childbirth in the UK, so there are issues to be resolved. POCs have housing issues and troubles finding jobs. If you never ask the ethnicity question then you stay ignorant of very important social issues.
As a German I was shocked when I moved to the UK (long before Brexit) for a university position and was asked to fill in a form asking about my 'race', with no explicit option for refusing to give information. (I also found the list of 'races' in the form absurd. It think it was worse than the list of ethnic groups used by the UK census, which includes gypsies. I don't know if it included Jewish, but it wouldn't have looked out of place in the list.) So this kind of official statistics exists in some European countries.
@@TypeAshton To me funding schools and social services in ways that encourage and/or perpetuate inequality is absurd. You are wasting your best equalizer, your best tool to turn pebbles into diamonds. Breaking the cycle of poverty is hard but increasing your citizens skills gives you way more possibilities to build something productive.
There is a misunderstanding here. The commenter wasn't addressing poverty in Germany but in the army. Given how dependent the US military is on the inflow of destitute people who have no other chance of getting an education, healthcare, or other benefits that are the norm in other countries, this is very understandable, isn't it... Of course, the recruiters are explicitely targeting this group and have done so for centuries. And it may very well be that it is also a consideration in the lack of support for this group. Everybody who thinks I'm writing nonsense should just use the search engine of their choice. The answer is at your finger tips...
Guten Morgen. Bin erst bei Minute 11. Als Arbeitnehmervertreterin möchte ich noch auf Betriebsrat und Schwerbehindertenvertretung hinweisen. Das ist noch ein ganzer Strang an Schutzmaßnahmen, sollte eine Kündigung im Raum stehen.
Great video as always! Would also be interesting to compare statistics about work place accidents. And how employees handles insurance of that etc. It might give a hinge on how tired the work force are/not are etc.
I worked in a fairly high-risk job in the states and each time I was injured at work, my employer/supervisors falsified the documents to absolve themselves of any responsibility. Eventually, I learned to make my own copies of everything so that they couldn't alter the facts and record every conversation with them concerning the cases. This was the only way I was able to win against their corruption and dishonesty.
But in Germany there is no Socialism. It's Social Market Economy. Soziale Marktwirtschaft. It is still capitalism. It is not that all companies are owned by the state.
Good morning Ashton, Sunday morning, a cup of tea and another high quality video from the black forest family, is getting a good day:) My personal thoughts were a bit like a up and down over the video. the first down was as i had to hear miss news anchor ranting about nanny state and that it is telling her about what and how much to drink of that soda...either she is a propagandist and has her text written with the clear intent to do make propaganda or she doesn't understand how a supposed nanny state is working... sure we do not have here any regulations how much soda you can drink... but we have regulation (sometimes not) what is in the soda, to protect the consumers from greed of companies from making more profitable products with potential dangerous ingredients that will harm the consumers... i really wish i could tell her personally... the other down, as i follow this and other channels about comparing this or that country in working rights, its always shocking for me how close the USA is always close to salary slavery (Lohn Sklaverei, i do not know if there is a better english phrase for that) and how lucky that i am to be born and raised in germany and moved over to switzerland later, instead of the USA. The personal up for me is i have here a social net which is currently me helping after a bad time, let keeping me my home, helping me to get back to the feet again and being again a productive member of the community....
I think there is a large part of the American working population who really don't see how little benefits they get for the hard work they put in. And often, when they do get benefits that come close.... they will say "Oh my employer is so generous". But the reality is that this employer is scratching the required minimum in nearly every other wealthy country. And in the end, data shows us that treating your employees better with greater benefits not only increases productivity, but also investment and loyalty to the company and its mission/goals.
@@TypeAshton maybe one day you can show how close the USA was under President Nixon to get a family assistance plan, of 1600 Dollars/year for a Family of 4 without any condition, this would have truly changed america... I agree with you, so generous of the employer to give me that day unpaid free must sounds for an american really normal, that's because channels like yours are so important to tell the truth about the differences and benefits of both sides...
Productivity: How many hours get wasted in the US by using the Imperial system? Energy: Cheaper in the US but wasted in lousy insulated timber huts, abuse of AC, etc Quality of life: The gap is deep as the Grand Canyon
It's funny. The more you learn anbout the US, the more I'm happy to be European. Even though I'm Belgian, we have our issues with the system... But in comparison with the US, we almost live in a paradise.
In the classical German company philosophy, personnel is part of the assets. In American financial philosophy, personnel is a cost factor which has to be reduced. Unfortunately, the American system is infecting the German market, thanks to business consultancies which are based in the US and follow the American approach.
When you loose a skilled worker, a company can easily endure cost of 1/4 to double of his/her annual salary just to find and train a good replacement. Of course this depends on the skill level. But HR processes and headhunters don‘t come free.
hahahahha, the comment about "I was in Germany in the 80s, everyone was poor" hahahhahhaaha, that's almost like comparing military dictatorship run South Korea in the 80s to South Korea now, hahahahahahahahahahahahaha
The mistake you made Ashton, is that unreasonable people who shout into a void don't care about data and statistics, especially if it doesn't suit them.
When i hear people comlain about having to pay too many taxes (and yes, selfemployed people in germany also complain about how much they have to pay for insurance etc.) I always think that their only real problem is, that they don't trust the organisation they pay them to. Yes we have high taxes relative to yours but we also get to see them in action all the time. Whether it's just receiving healthcare or seeing the work done on our infrastructure (i am of course including public transportation, which is fantastic when you live in a city, and is federally subsidized). It might look like you get way less money at the end of the month, but thats really not the case.
regarding: „the position is no more needed“ is not as easy as it sounds. as this does not apply to the job description, but your qualification. so then the company has to look at all employees with that same qualification and then make a „sozialplan“ to check who would be personally hit the hardest by losing the jobs (how old, how long with the company, how many kids, …)
I say you take all those people who talk about "choice" at 1:18 and put them alone on an island and see how well they do with their choices---all by themselves. They don't take into account all the people in the USA born with little to poor available choices and how that affects the whole outcome for everyone in the country.
As a Norwegian, I know of my governments priviledged position, and while not everything is perfect. I do feel that we atleast try to make a most functional society for everyone who is part of it. When I heard of politicians in Florida trying to "fix numbers" by increasing the complexity of gaining unemployed benefits. It blew my mind, in Norway we might limit the pays or restrict who will be viable. But to willfully increase the cost and complexity, for political goals, it just didnt occure to me as possible. If people suffer, they do not live in isolation, their suffering affects others. If we want to live in an open, safe and functioning society. Everyone needs to be taken into account, within reason but grounded in empathy. Hours spent by people worrying, filling out forms for benefits or working extra jobs. Means less time focusing on the work they are educated in, less time for rest and less time for their families. And the repercussions are a less efficient workforce, more prone for disease and burnout. With children and youth growing up with potential anti-social behaviour.
in the USA there is a narrative heard that more/ easier unemployment / welfare drives LOWER worker participation and that cut back welfare = MORE workers / productivity during the "pandemic" and a LOT of TAX money was "handed out" is being blamed on the worker "shortages" in the customer service industries
"Germany spends less to provide better benefits". It really helps to understand this when knowing that benefits in the US are mostly provided by for-profit companies (healthcare/dental insurance, 401k administrators, long-term disability admins, etc.) while in other parts of the Western world it's either the government and/or non-profit companies. The ~7 base percent point difference is what the shareholders of the benefit providers take home. The common belief that for-profit market companies are more efficient than government-driven organization is discredited by e.g. Medicare which is substantially more efficient in bringing lower cost (same quality) healthcare to the age-65+ American than private insurance for the working (under-65) population, and at significantly lower overhead.
Hi Ashton, I live in Belgium and suffered a burnout a few yrs ago. The employer pays the 1st month, then sick pay (around 65% of the wage). Luckily my big employer also since many yrs have contributed to a collective pension fund (I have worked there 35 yrs now and will on top of the state pension then almost receive either 50% more in monthly pension, or a big lump sum), which (so I was pleasantly surprised to find out) also tops up the difference betw sickpay and wage up to 80% if your sick leave extends to 3 months or more. When I eventually returned to work, I was still guaranteed a job (albeit not always the exact old position). Employer and health insurance together facilitate a return in stages, so during my 1st year back I increased from 25-50-75-100% every quarter. I had to attend a therapist to help me improve my coping skills (had to fund it myself, but 6 yrs ago cost only ca 25 €/session, so still affordable). Have now successfully been back in fulltime employment since 6 yrs. I lost more than a yr and don't have the resilience I once had, but at least I didn't lose my financial stability, which would certainly have impacted my health x10 for the worse. And come to think of it, maybe it's not only the huge amount of weapons floating around in the US, that makes the difference in amount of violence between US and Europe, but that in combination with a much higher degree of insecurity due to less social benefits and also less time allotted for people to take out holidays to rest and recuperate in the US compared to Europe. Maybe something to think about....
My father had complications after his heart surgery and wasn't able to work for about three years, thanks to the sick pay by the state, which was around 80% of his former income he was able to keep the house, hold his standard of living and get back to his old job after recovering. Otherwise he would have lost everything. Our system might have some smaller problems, but overall it's working really well and protects employees and employers from unwise business decisions related to potential overwork or regarding social standards that could clash back on the companys productivity.
![DDG & G Herbo - Nosey [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/I9Ra0Zc2NlQ/mqdefault.jpg)
A German here. I was diagnosed with very aggressive triple negative breast cancer mid October of 2022. My chemotherapy started shortly after the diagnosis and I am on sick leave since then (my chemotherapy will go on at least until March). The first 6 weeks, the employer paid my full salary, after that the (mandatory) health insurance takes over, paying something around 2/3 of the salary. In addition to that, I am working with a company which - even for german standards - is outstanding. My company takes out a special insurance for every employee which pays the "missing" 1/3 of the salary in cases of long-term sickness. My health insurance naturally pays the gros amount of my medication and treatments. There are minor exceptions, and I need to pay a small "personal share", in German "Eigenanteil", but that is usually something of 5 to 10 Euros per medication, no matter if the medication costs 10 Euros or 1000 Euros. Since I receive 100% of my salary, these small costs are not a problem at all. And in the meantime, I am receiving a treatment which, I am sure, is up to par with the standards of other first world countries.
What all that means is that I can fully concentrate on getting my treatments and recovering instead of worrying about work (that I wouldn't be able to do at the moment) or bills (which I can pay without problems). I am very happy and even more thankful to be able to enjoy all these benefits together with effective and efficient health treatment at almost no cost to me.
I cannot immagine what it must be like to be seriously sick or injured without all of these benefits and I really feel for everyone who struggles in this way.
Oh, and yes, the treatment already shows positive effects, my knots are getting smaller. 😃
Firstly - I was SO relieved to read the end of your comment and that you are showing great response to the treatment. I can't begin to imagine the stress and difficulty of such a prognosis and are very, very thankful that you are able to focus on your treatment without worry about finances.
In the US, I know many families who have had to turn to community fundraisers and go-fund me online campaigns to raise money when a loved one gets ill... whether it be to cover the medical bills or to cover the lost income due to the inability to work. This is sadly a very common occurrence.
Gute Besserung!
@@TypeAshton Thank you, Ashton! I heard about these comunity fundraisers, but I think I'd be scared senseless to be sick and to a good extent helpless (in the sense of: lacking strength and energy to work, having money issues and being dependent on the help of strangers in addition to that). I can only immagine how horrible that must be.
I wish you the very best outcome of the treatment!
In the land of the free, you would be begging on go fund me or selling everything you own to fund you and the treatment you are receiving, before you spend the last 10$ on a piece of rope to go feel in your neck the weight of your ass.
@@atticusrumi Herzlichen Dank!
Yeah, some Americans just don't want to hear/see/understand these major differences. They've been told for so long that it's so great here, that they can't fathom that this isn't actually the case in many situations and life experiences. Many years ago, my husband requested to take off 3 weeks for a family vacation to Germany. He worked for a giant German company here in the U.S. but his immediate boss, was an American. My husband had been working for the company for numerous years, and had the appropriate vacation time accumulated for a 3 week trip to Germany and still had more time saved up. His boss flat out told him, that if he were to take off the 3 weeks which he was totally entitled to, he would look for another employee. My husband's performance has always been stellar and he was shocked to hear this from his immediate boss. Eventually, he grudgingly agreed, probably because he was made aware of the fact, that yes, my husband was entitled to the 3 weeks. I was shocked, to say the least. Such a threat to your employment security because your immediate boss thinks 14 days at a stretch, is enough for an overseas family vacation. He only requested this length of time off, once in all the years he worked there! Prior to that, my husband would only take 1 week vacation time in increments. I have also witnessed women here in the U.S., having to return to work 2 weeks after giving birth with complications, because they could not afford to stay home w/o pay for 4 weeks, let alone 12 weeks. Their bodies still in pain and healing, and sitting there and crying and also missing their babies and bonding with them. It was jarring and heart breaking to see. I am not surprised that childbirth is declining. It's simply cruel.
my sisters learned German. I became somewhat fluent in spanish
Very powerful video, guys! Perhaps your best yet. Even though your strong opinions are evident, you present, as always, good evidence to support it. The stats about cost of benefits paid by companies in the US v other OECD countries was especially compelling. I wish fiscal conservatives in the US would believe that.
Ah that's so interesting that you mentioned to have made americans "angry" about these kind of comparisons you've done. I would have never thought of that or that they would think something different than "ah interesting" or so. Again learned something new again. 😃👍
They get angry because it proves the USA isn't the best in everything.
Hallo Ihr Lieben, vorab ein Kompliment ( sorry wenn auch nur auf Deutsch - aber ich bin mir sicher es kommt bei Euch an)
Ich habe selten eine solch gut aufbereitete, fundierte und realitätsnahe Gegenüberstellung zwischen den beiden Ländern finden können. Zudem noch wunderbar aufbereitet und nachvollziehbar. Danke hierfür.
Ein weiteres Positivum in der gesetzlichen Absicherung: ist das Kinderkrankengeld ( Ausfall der Arbeitskraft - bei Betreuung des kranken Kindes) . Das hilft enorm. Gerade auch bei Euch - wo keine Grandma / Grandpa vor Ort sind.
„Gesetzlich krankenversicherte Eltern können in den Jahren 2022 und 2023 je gesetzlich krankenversichertem Kind für 30 Arbeitstage (Alleinerziehende für 60 Arbeitstage) Kinderkrankengeld beantragen. Bei mehreren Kindern besteht der Anspruch je Elternteil für nicht mehr als 65 Arbeitstage, für Alleinerziehende für nicht mehr als 130 Arbeitstage.“
Liebe Grüße aus dem Sauerland - Home of 1000 🌲⛰️🌲
Is Germany a nanny state? Maybe it is, but that does seem to mean that it's a good thing, less costs, more productivity.
In the Netherlands we call the Netherlands "Verzorgingsstaat", literally translated it means 'taking care of'-state. The German word for it is "Wohlfahrtsstaat" or in English "welfare state"
So I do think "nanny state" could be a name for it, because we are definitely being pampered by the state (especially compared to the US). The pampering just has a positive effect on the productivity in contrast to what the Americans who call us "nanny states" believe.
The so called "nanny state" feature has one big positive effect, much less crime. Citizen is given the opportunity/time to overcome income crisis when losing their jobs, getting sick long term or having a baby. They don´t struggle getting bancrupt, losing house car and everything else because of the income crisis. Consider citizen with their back to the wall are more likely to become criminals to overcome the income crisis and as a matter of fact, people that successfully create income due ciminal actions tend to stick to be criminals. Just compare the "land of the free" with the rest of the industrial countries that provide the in my opinion basic human rights/benefits. Oh and every US citizen should read/watch Franklin Delano Roosevelt´s "New deal" and "Second bill of rights". He knew what would have been the right way for the USA.
On the other hand, shouldn't the State be working to improve and support it's Citizens" lot ? Isn't that what we expect when we go to the polls. When I listen to more right wing US politicians it becomes rather transparent that they are only there to improve the lot for the very rich, and/or companies, not for ALL citizens as a whole. Economists have debunked the 'trickle down' theory and have confirmed that people are often not very good at deferring (i.e saving for retirement, holidays, sickness, etc) so for the economy to flourish (and people to have a decent life) it is probably beneficial for most that such things are controlled by a central organisation. F.I in Belgium part of our pay is withheld by the state, and payed out at vacation time and at X-mas. This allows people with low pay to afford those times of year without creating debt, or to invest in something, that they might not otherwise have had the discipline to save up for, if left to their own devices.
@@catherinedeschryver1036 I don't think I understand your comment, you seem to agree with me but use "on the other hand" as if you don't.
What I was saying is: we are nanny states, but that's a good thing, not a bad thing as some people want you to believe.
@@codex4048 Nah, the nanny appelation is still unfitting. That suggests a level of care and pampering way in excess of what's actually happening. You're still expected to make your own life, social support is just intended to provide you the ability to do so even in dire situations.
@@Llortnerof but any type of care is in excess when compared to the current US situation, and its already more than some people in the US want.
So I wouldn't call it a nanny state, but I can see why people with a different perspective do call it that.
The name itself doesn't really matter, and I don't think there is a use to discuss whether it is or not. Unlike socialism, capitalism, and communism, nannyism isn't a defined thing, and applied relatively to people's own environment.
To be honest, the German laws and rules to protect employment have gaps allowing shortcuts for employers to get off an employee. The need for a lawyer is than mandotory for the employee and the employee has to pay for the lawsuite first, has the effort even to get a severance. Nonetheless, the partnership between employers and employees/labour unions are a sucess factor of German economy.
Many comments have stated that in Germany there is abuse of worker benefits like sick leave. There will always be people with an abusive mindset ("expert shirkers") and there will always be doctors who will issue fake sick certificates but the numbers are low. There are some countermeasures like home visits by the employer. What complicates any countermeasures is the high level of privacy rights in Germany.
I happen to own a small business in Germany and I'd have to be lying to tell you that giving an employee extended time off for Elternzeit or Mutterschutz is an easy thing to do when that person represents 25% of your workforce. But particularly hearing you talk about Germany's achievements makes me proud as I can see what I'm doing it for. It feels good to be part of the community that makes it possible to provide as Germany does.
Part of the reason that American communities are fragmented, and therefore have much less single group loyalty, is that it is a multi-ethnic state. Ironically the only thing that holds us together is individualism.
Are the employees themselves showing you respect for it?
@@pandaman1331 Well, why should they, it's not like he's doing that out of selflessness.
But in my experience especially people that work in small businesses mostly do care about their employer and know that their workforce is essential to the company.
Which is why people often already feel bad for calling in sick and such.
@@antonb9459 That's why they should appreciate the work and dedication of their employees.
@@bobdobb9017nothing hold us together. We were never a "real country". Just a collection of different people who work like slaves.
Whoever calls countries that care for their citizens a nanny state clearly never has left their own country themselves. It almost makes me chuckle how ignorant people can be…. 😅
And I really prefer to live in a country where I work to live instead of living to work.
They send the nanny state message out to people who have little to no idea about how things can work, and do work in other countries. It's a tactic widely used to get get votes by scare mongering
It's right wing corporate media that shout about the "nanny state". I think large corporations are also responsible for the talk about small businesses vs. the reality, because they use the mantra of "small business" to pass legislation that actually benefits them.
Corporate media with partisan propaganda exist in the mainstream, mainly, because of the demise of the Fairness Doctrine in the Reagan years. These people aren't getting balanced viewpoints in the news, although, when polled, they want more of what right wing corporate media calls socialism.
The grandparents of those same people who parrot the "nanny state" nonsense likely voted for FDR, and the New Deal, which is the closest the U.S. has come to treating its citizens like human beings.
I'm always thinking how would those people talk if they would loose all of their money and have to live from paycheck to paycheck like many do. I believe they would change their opinion.
You have to take into regard that many of the people ( in this case Fox employees) very often have a special agenda. They fight any form of social security, health insurance, paid vacation, etc. because they benefit from the current situation as employers, share holders or just owners of big fortunes. For them it is all about to preserve the current situation to keep on benefitting from it. But of course they don´t say openly - I want to profit, I want to exploid your misery. They talk of freedom, of nanny state, of the land of the free, of the american dream. But what it´s really all about is the preservation of unequallity and advantage of the rich people.
@@seanthiar Unfortunately that is no helping, especially those who live paycheck to paycheck are sold in a narrative there was no other, better way, that isnt communism and tyranny. And so they say thank you sir and take it as it is.
robert bosch once sad: "i dont pay good wages because im rich, i am rich because of the good wages i pay". he is also one of the first who introduce the 8 hour workday to his company. and to this day everyone knows about the good quality of the products from the bosch company. german companies also benefits from the apprentice program. you create workers with the same skills for a certain field, so they can focus and specialize in one trade. that increase the productivity. there is no learning by doing. first you learn and than you do.
Because you "quoted" him. He did not say excactly this. He said "I have lots of money" instead of "rich".
"Ich zahle nicht gute Löhne, weil ich viel Geld habe, sondern ich habe viel Geld, weil ich gute Löhne zahle"
I know it means the same but when you quote someone, you should use the exact words the person did.
Bosch products are no longer particularly good nowadays. Since they mostly no longer produce in Germany but have their products produced in cheap far Eastern countries, the current leaders are Swiss and Japanese manufacturers that haven't made this move yet. Of course this doesn't contradict your main point. It reinforces it.
@@helloweener2007 i know that rich dont necessarily means beeing well in money but english is not my first language and there may be a mistake in translation but you got the point and that is what counts for me.
@@johaquila there is a huge difference between Bosch consumer products (chepa production) and industry and security products (still made in germany and thats for a reason)
@@johaquila yeah, bosch might not be the best but they do solid work. i dont mean the "green" electric tools that you can buy in every hardware store. the "blue" prfessional line are the main electric tools in the company that i work. also alot of the electric tools that würth sells contains bosch elements. basicly bosch is like volkswagen. not high end but solid and good enough for the most time.
I'm a small employer, having only 4 salaried employees. Paying 6 weeks in full when an employee is sick, would be a real problem.
But Germany has a solution: For 2% of the gross salaries I get insurance for 50% of what I pay during sick leave, for under 3% I get insurance for 80% of what I pay during sick leave.
Being financially secured, I can tell my employees to really get cured.
Btw: My employees have 35 days off for vacation, a little more than than the 25-30 days I take myself.
Wow that’s awesome!
The problem is, can you charge "enough" for the services, and do the customers have the money to pay. And do you have enough customers.
It's an interesting thing with many vacation days, and that's all kind of creative small businesses that can have many potential customers, and if you live in a remote village but have an interesting idea you can survive that means all country can survive and all Germans need not live in a couple of big cities.
If only money would count in life all Poles would move to Germany, but most of them stay at home in Poland!
But if you have enough (!) money the life is much easier, but it doesn't solve all problems.
As a foreigner/guest in Germany I think I have never driven faster than 130 kpm on the Autobahn. Autobahn is no race track by the way!!! Then I, of course, try to avoid it. Germany is in many places a garden landscape!
Auf Wiedersehen!
“I can tell my employees to really get cured.” Compared to American employers: “don’t really get cured. Come back to work and infect the whole workforce with Covid and shut down production.”
Protecting workers means protecting your business.
It should be common knowledge that its preferable to send someone home if he is sick. Getting fully cured over a couple of days and returning to work fresh and motivated is better than having someone at work that works with half the efficiency, prone to infect other workers as well. In my experience it is cheaper to let people recover instead of letting them work until they are completly burned out.
@@leiflillandt1488 i share your sentiment about the autobahn, but sadly a huge procentage of germans love the autobahn and its racelike charackter. Personally i allways hated driving on it in germany, its just pure stress.
Well, one can be against the “social net” like in Germany or other European countries, as long as one does not need it and one is belonging to the wealthy part of the American society! In the moment you become unemployed, a single mother with child or severe ill, it will be turning one’s perspective. I think that our system here in Germany is far away from perfect, it’s surely expensive (in form of taxes) for the citizens, but I don’t want to miss it at all. Because it makes me sleeping very calm.
I second that. There is not a second in my life where I thought it would be better if our health care system was like the one in the US.
I have heard of several cases where a cancer in the US meant bankruptcy (or death because the treatment was not affordable).
When my father got cancer, it cost us around 200€ - and that already includes the gas for driving him to the hospital.
@@steemlenn8797 but we have to thank the US for Shows like breaking bad. Without their system they could have never made such a Series. If you did it in any other Developed country, the entire show would have a total runtime of 15 minutes max.
I've been in a full time job for the last 10 years, but I sure am glad there was a social net to catch me when I Iost my job a couple of years before that. It took me two years to get back on my feet, but I'm pretty sure the taxes I've paid since then more than makes up for what it cost for the government to keep me off the streets.
It's like insurance, or seatbelts even. You hope you don't need it, and sometimes even question the point of them. Until you suddenly need it. Unless you were born into extreme wealth, there's always a chance *you* might end up in a situation where you need that sort of help as well. Even if your life and job is pretty comfortable, medical bills can wreck your finances pretty fast, especially if the treatment also prevents you from working.
But it's not expensive!
Had teams all over the world. The folks with the highest attendance were Korean. The ones with the least vacation and sick days were the Americans. The highest productivity was in Europe. Less chatting, less Solitaire, less burnout, less degradation of performance over time.
Interesting yet not surprising.
A particularly sad model is very common in Latin America: Paying people a premium for not taking sick and not mandatory off days. This only results in people not taking proper care of their health. Whilst you can do this for a couple of years, it is extremely costly in the long run.
@@mina_en_suiza interesting. I had a team in Joinville and they had a pretty good work life balance. Worked hard, but not desperately.
@@jhwheuer Well. Latin America can be a great place to live. If you happen to have a decent job or business, quality of life can be better than in many other places.
Especially in the early 2000s, many countries, like Brazil, Chile, Argentina and Colombia saw enormous rates of economic growth, but currently the situation looks pretty dire, and that's the thing: The lack of economic and political stability often makes long-term planning very hard.
@@mina_en_suiza I haven't taken a sick day in 4 years (German) sign me up for this program! (Other colleagues are renown for taking 6 weeks sick leave every year)
Habe in meinem Berufsleben über 20 Jahre in USA beherrschten Firmen in leitenden Positionen in Deutschland gearbeitet. In informellen Zusammenkünften nach Konzernbesprechungen war ich in den Augen meiner Kollegen der Märchenerzähler wenn ich über meine Arbeitsbedingungen und die meiner Mitarbeiter berichtete.
Deutsche Märchen sind wohl nicht so Grimm.
@@Ashley-lm4nv I see what you did there... ;)
Dieser Glauben, das es sowas nicht geben kann, die auch in den Chefetagen vieler amerikanischer Konzerne herrscht ist der Grund, warum diverse amerikanische Unternehmen - prominentes Beispiel Walmart - eine Bruchlandung in Deutschland hingelegt haben, als sie versuchten in Deutschland Fuss zu fassen und ihre Firmenphilosophie nicht anpassten. Im Gegensatz dazu haben deutsche Firmen ihre Philosophie in die USA exportiert und expandieren dort. Z.B. Trader Joe's (ALDI Nord) ist im Lebensmittelhandel eine der Firmen in den USA mit besseren Arbeitsbedingungen als die Konkurrenz.
I have been working for a german company with a lot of sites in the US. I have been responsible for a global distributed team with some members in the US, some in Germany and some in Asia. I can fully understand your point and have very similar experience. American co-workers often did not fully believe what we told them about our work conditions.
Stimmt ja auch. Deutschland ist ja ein Schlaraffenland 🤪
Germany is the country of honey and milk.
Aber was viele vergessen ist, dass dieses Schlaraffenland hart erkämpft wurde. Mit Bürgerkriegen und misslungenen Revolutionen.
Was ich von meinen nicht "preußischen" Mitbürgern höre ist oft, dass Bismarck ein "Wohltäter" war.
Die unzivilisierten Deutschen denken wirklich, dass der die ersten sozialen Gesetze freiwillig eingeführt hat, und nicht auf Druck einer gewissen roten Partei. So etwas lernt man wohl nur im norden Deutschlands in der Schule.
Talking about personal experience. I live in not the wealthiest country in the EU (Lithuania). We have a lot of problems with social network, but universal healthcare, unemployment benefits in my experience worked Okey. Had some issues with my health at the same time when everything shut down for the Covid (1st time). It took some time for doctors to find what's wrong with me, but after aournd 6 months I came back to work. During those 6 months - I did not have to pay insane amounts of money for doctor visits, different tests, multiple times in a hospital, operation, after operation treatment and etc. And I was paid sick leave payment by the state. Of course, it was not easy to live with less money, but as a couple without kids our expenses were covered by my sick leave payment and my partners salary: loan for the flat, utilities, food and etc. After I came back to work, I worked for a little bit over a year and realized that it's time for me to quit my job: lot's of reasons for it but basically I was burned out, annoyed and not in the best place mentally. After you lose / quit your job you are paid by state while you search for a new job. For the first months I wasn't mentally prepared to do that. But after some time I was rested and ready to work. I'm happy where I am, and happy that I was able to quit my toxic job and not to lose income fully. Sadly my partner broke his foot recently. Xrays, doctors visits, 3 weeks in a hospital, operation and now long healing process (it should be around 5 months). When I think about how same situation would basically bankrupt us in the USA, we are happy, getting the help we need and will be OK 🤗😊
Hi! Thank you for your videos! I am a Brit, living in Germany. I have been with the same small firm (about 50 people) for around thirty years. In that time I have broken bones twice, due to accidents at work. Each time I was off work for around six weeks and had no financial loss whatsoever. Due to the accidents happening at work, I also received my Christmas and Summer bonuses to their full amount. I also needed to have a benign tumour removed from my leg, 4 weeks off work, yet again with no financial loss. I cannot imagine working or living anywhere else at the moment.
In US, you would have to sue your employer for accident on work, and you and your lawyer would get rich.
@@bojantenja it was my own fault. I would not sue anyone because I was careless
What about GB? How do they handle such cases you described? Do they also have Lohnfortzahlung when being sick?
Same in the Netherlands.
@@capricorn1970i Sorry, no idea. I was a British soldier here in Germany and have never worked in the U.K as a civilian. I found Germany far too much fun and decided to stay.
Last year I managed to get a union job in Germany and it really is amazing. 35h work weeks (considered full time of course), really good pay, 30 paid vacation days (which most companies do anyway, 20 is mandatory but I have never seen a company only offer 20. 30 is the norm), a really nice and relaxed atmosphere, could hardly be any happier. If I had an offer from the US for twice the money, I would probably still reject that offer, I like my work/life balance and the paid vacation days.
I always wondered about that, too. 20 days are mandatory but I also don't know any company that gives less than 30. I think you really couldn't compete with other companies if you give that little.
I was interested in working in the US for a while and applied for some positions, one company emphasised that they offered a whopping 18 days paid time off per year. I live in Germany now, but am originally from South Africa, even in South Africa the statutory vacation days are higher at 21 working days per year!
It's not unusual for smaller companies to offer less than 30. But I have yet to meet someone who only gets the mandatory 20. The lowest I know are 28.
The lowest I had were 25. And that was a real asshole company. Not surprisingly, employees usually stay only for a few years before moving on
well, mandatory (according to § 3 Bundesurlaubsgesetz) are 24 "working days" (Werktage) where these are defined as "neither sundays nor public holidays". Yes, the law is a bit old (it's from 1963), so saturdays were seen as regular working days.
The "20 days" most often cited are for five-day-weeks, but it would be more fair to say that "four full work-weeks" are the mandatory minimum.
Wow, again, one of the best videos on this subject I have ever seen as a German. You are a teacher by vocation. This subject is not taught in this way in German schools and may be one reason why Germany is still so attractive to People from within and outside of the EU who are willing to work hard and integrate into German communities. Tying fundamental worker rights to human rights is also a compelling argument. However, trying to win over the diehard neo-capitalists appears to be an almost lost cause to me because, from what we have seen clearly in the last decades, science and data do not matter, only opinions and narratives that feed their fantasy bubble. So whenever you feel you are running into a brick wall with this mission, extend your mission to remind us Germans of what we have achieved since WWII in the competition of societal systems for attractiveness. We need this sort of content as no one is really capable of fully appreciating what one has right now until it is gone. This content is second best to that learning experience and much less drastic in consequence. Thank you and I am personally very happy to have you as a growing family in Germany and thankful for your contributions to our community.
Ditto, well said!!
Some time ago a colleague from a US NGO asked me how our salary structure and our benefits is composed. They wanted to review their system at that time. As I had a bit of time, I compiled all legal benefits plus what we have additionally in our NGO. After sending this to my colleague in DC, she simply replied: "You are living in paradise.".
Ashton that was great. I recently retired from Siemens after 32 years working for them in the USA. I have always known what the differences were and also know about some of the other benefits of working in Germany. What I have always found interesting is how little most Americans, including my former colleagues, know about work/life in another first world country and what one can expect as a worker in a place like Germany. If I try to explain some of the benefits afforded to every worker, they think I'm dreaming or on drugs. If only more information, as seen on your video, got out on mainstream media on a regular basis, then perhaps Americans would figure it out and demand change.
(American in Europe here) I have been trying to relate this information to my family for years. They insist that the USA is the BEST country in the world and everyone wants to go there. It's indoctrinated into them.
@@CabinFever52 That's so sad. Most of them deserve so much better.
@CabinFever52 you know people in North Korea have been brainwashed into believing that nonsense also
We as a family live our lives without the fear of loosing our state of wealth just because of unforseen events or conditions.
This is even more important after my significant other was diagnosed with a chronic condition preventing her to go back to her job after giving birth to our second child.
Tbh, we would have more income if she'd be able to work or work full-time. But at this point we're able to live/afford our lives, raise our kids, and give them the best head start as possible to their own lives.
This would never have been possible in the "Land of the Free". We would been ruined by now looking at all the medical costs and lost income. Let alone the chance of having lost her years ago.
We're so lucky to live here in Germany.
As much as I love the US and I had the opportunity to live there, I never wanted to settle over because of exactly these reasons. Great work, Ashton!
You can always go there for a short vacation but other than that be thankful that you still live here in Europe where it's so much better.
And the American is nothing more than a nightmare WAKE UP.
I see it exactly the same way. I lived from age 12 to 20 in the US. Love much of it but particularly many social aspects are appalling.
The same - I love the American landscape and variety, but working and living there wasn't nice. It's ok for holidays or if you are rich and don't have problems to pay high healthcare etc. but as a normal working person you doesn't want to live there, because it's not healthy.
Same story for me.
@@Ron_Coletta My former employer (claim: world leader in safety technology) offered me a position with US conditions, and that’s why I didn’t accept it.
In Romania we get 1-2 years of paid maternity leave (fathers can also choose to get time off), 21 days of vacation (after 9 years I have 28), unemployment money (but it's just a few bucks), free health care (paid by taxes, not the best but it's something), unions (because of them we have: meal tickets, private healt insurance, moeny for gym, money for working overtime or bank holidays and many more things), private pension (on top of the universal one). We also have the higest homeownership in EU (95%). My country has many issues small or big with the mentioned examples but at least we have examples to give
Majoritatea o ai in cauza Germania prin legile din eu.
Salut din Germania ;)
@@auseryt I never said that Romania thought of these benefits on its own, I just answered to Ashton's question. I'm very grateful that Romania is in the EU.
@@Diana_M indeed you didn't said. But in the context of what i heard from so many other Romanians in Romania i assumed it because of how you said it.
I apologies for that.
Scuzâ.
@@auseryt you are wrong, form the begginig , the minimum holiday days per year was 21,maternity leave for one year in 1990, extended to two later, bonuri de masa...from 98. what is new? free deduction for gym, holiday bonuri, payd paternity leave for father. and, yes, the eu gives us a lot, but........we warent a free slavery heaven like usa
I live in Australia. We have similar benefits to the German situation. What annoyed me some years ago when a trade agreement between Australia and the US was being negotiated, the US negotiators objected to aspects of the agreement because they perceived Australians received too many benefits placing the US at a disadvantage. Needless to say that did not fly very well here! I have been to Germany a few times, great country, nice people. Thoroughly enjoyed each trip!
Being a German living and working in Australia I have to say social security in Australia, even though not as sophisticated as in Germany, still is very good. Additional healthcare costs in comparison to Germany are usually well absorbed by the higher salaries.
I had a god laugh, living in Norway:the last statistics I saw about productivity was, that we are one of the most productive workforce. Having maternity leave, high taxes and a safety net like Germany, and 5weeks of Urlaub plus sick days and champions of taking free like to eastern or christmas or measure during summer from June to august, it feels like heaven to me.and we have a38.5 workweek and....
Thank you, I really enjoy your videos! Here is my personal experience: I am German and lived with my wife in Sacramento, CA, for a year where our daughter was born. Birth was easy and we left the next day but the hospital still charged USD 15,000. Our German health insurance (monthly premium of about EUR 400) covered birth and we ended up paying nothing. Our friends in Sacramento had a baby the same day and since they spent 3 days in the hospital the costs were USD 50,000 of which our friends had to pay the first USD 5,000 and 10% of the remaining USD 45,000. Their health insurance premium was about USD 1,000 per month. After we returned to Germany we had another baby and the hospital charged for birth ca. USD 1,500 while providing better service. On top, after giving birth to our daughter in the US the pediatrition and the gynaecologist (however not the one that knew my wife it was just someone from the doctor's office) showed up in the hospital eventhough we did not ask them to. Since birth went very quickly they arrived when everything was done. The congratulated us and left. However we did receive a bill from the in the amount of USD 2,300 for services that were never performed. I called and explained, later on I sent letters that no services were provided. It only lead to me receiving reminders.
So u mean u got scammed and took it as a b..?
I'm sorry. Thanks for telling your eye-opening story.
Excellent. When I was a lot younger I dreamt of living in the USA. But, the more I learned about the general ethics of the USA the more the dream dissolved. I preferred the trust of my employers that I do my work in the specified time, preferably without overtime. For a large part of my worklife I didn't need to register my time at work. I could work from home if needed -- some tasks were easier to accomplish without the inevitable distractions a the workplace. I got to work and left when I wanted (within certain boundaries, of course). That model does not work for many jobs, I know that I was privileged. I would have never given up this privilege to work in the USA. This includes all the other benefits of the worklife in Europe vs. USA.
European reality is better than American dream.
@@lukaszwojtowicz1981 X-act'ly. Better work 2 live, than live to work. Germany ain't perfect either, but in comparison to other countries, we don't even see the paradise we live in ("we don't even see the forest, although we stand directly infront of the trees" - as we use to say).
German companies with subsidiaries in the US do not give their American staff the same benefits the workers in Germany get. This tells me that LAWS are the only way to assure fair treatment of employees. And no politician in the USA is about to really try to change the system to help the people and the working classes.
Another brilliant essay - thank you so much for your hard work on this!
So glad you enjoyed the video! Thank you for watching!
@@TypeAshton If u are interested on a "typical" german business owner ruclips.net/video/bTlS9eX7un8/видео.html
Great video. I agree with you: If my employer is loyal to me, I'm loyal to them. As employee of a big company since 19 years, I work focused and take care about my projects in all aspects. Thus, they run very successful and with high profit and low failure costs for my company.
On the other side, if I take time off - half a day, a day, no-one complains.
Imho: respect and responsibility only work in both ways. Treating employees poorly will result in poor work.
Haha, 'lazy' german workers! Well, I had a burn out in my job before this job. I was at home, try to recover from it and got a stroke. And I'm happy, I live in Germany. I went to hospital and rehabilitation, had not much to pay for and I was paid, too. And now I'm back, working, sometimes very hard and I have to be careful. But I know - whatever happens I will not becoming homeless or have to starve thanks to our "nanny state". :D
There u go - ThumbsUp 👍
You were not happy, but you were lucky. (Fool's friends.) Very important difference in that case ;)
Hi from Austria 🇦🇹 I know doesn't sound like much, but in many countries (like Austria and Germany) you get qmonthly childcare "Kindergeld", depending on the age of the child for each kid. Mostly between 120 and 250 €. Until they are 18, or even longer if they go to university. I know that doesn't cover all the extra costs of children, but it helps for the basics.
Dear US-Viewers i hope you recognize the content value of this channel?! Ashton and Jonathan are putting so much effort and accuracy to offer you an unpaid or rather a priceless value of information based on official facts and data, that i really hope that this reaches more of the sceptics in America, than those that can easily follow and understand this complex information and put it all together for their own perpouses to drag the best out of this informations.
Liebe Ashton und lieber Jonathan, eure qualitativ gut recherchierten Inhalte sind auf weiter Flur einzigartig auf YT - und damit eine wertvolle Nische die ihr bedient; aus Auswandererperspektive solche Vergleiche für potentiell Interessierte, die auch nach Deutschland zu kommen erwägen, zusammenzutragen und zu kredenzen.
*ThumbsUp & HandClap* 👍👏
! watch your Content since 2022, almost a year. Pleace keep it up! Your content is funtastic and a blast full of quality values. *Really, ThumbsUp & HandClap again*‼
So glad you enjoy our content!! Thank you so much for watching.
@@TypeAshtonso many people in the U.S are unfortunately brainwashed as bad if not worse then people in North Korea they believe worker protection aren't normal
I don't know any nanny state that forbids drinking alcohol under the age of 21.
I was born and raised in the US and growing it was basically indoctrinated into us how the US is the best in the world. After gaining internet access and learning about how the rest of the industrialized world lives, I've been looking into how to leave the "greatest country in the world". I see all these pros of working in Germany and I think, "why can't we have that here?" "why is America such a 3rd world, s***hole?" So my goal after finishing my degree is to find a job in my field in Germany and move there asap.
Create your Resume and CV with picture and proffesional. Germans love proffesional CVs. In Europe and also in Germany there are lot of American Companies - Amazon, GE, etc. Send your VC directoy to them for some job. You will need time until you learn German A- level and write that you wish/ plan to move there. Have in mind that you will need a starting capital to rent the appartment. 90% will ask for three paychecks and everything but there are cheap hotels that will give you temperarly proff that you are living here so that your Employer can register you. Thats it. Good Luck ( btw. this are safe countries)
Try to get your degree in germany. Its cheaper here.
Your impressions are accurate. But if you were to come to Germany to work, the first thing you might realize is that there's a real work ethic here. Americans tell themselves they're the most productive workers in the world blah blah blah, but when they come to Germany, they're shocked at how much the people here do in a day, and how efficient and competent the workers and staff are. You can't just come here and expect to be on easy street.
@@motioninmind6015 I understand that. Americans aren't that productive, they just think they are. I want to surround myself with people who are efficient and competent. Learn their habits and apply them to my own life and work.
You’re very welcome. Very very.
Dear Dr Ashton dear Jonathon and HI little Jack ( not so little anymore)
Talking about unemployment: The company i started to work age 17 was closed 3 years later......so i went unemployed. At that time i collected 67% of my last paycheck which still was enough to pay my bills and feed my dog. It was hard. Now i am working for 38 years in a big company and i am glad to pay taxes to support those who have to face unemployment. I am german ( or better bavarian)
Are you in California?
@@alexdentist I guess he said he's Bavarian...and said he's glad to pay his taxes to support the less fortunate, how would you conclude he's in California
@@alexdentist What makes you think I am in California?????Are you drunk????
@@alexdentist you must be an American 😂
"or better bavarian"
Is that better? lol
Leans back with a Brötchen and a coffee.
Mettbrötchen? 🤣🙋♂
🙁 sonntags hat der metzger geschlossen darum gibt es kein frisches Mett. darum gibt es sonntags Leberwurst blutwurst und Marmelade Brötchen. 🤣
Same, aber mit Tee und Brötchen mit Johannisbeergelee
@@gerhardhettler8521
Ich lebe gefährlich und habe Mett von gestern zum Frühstück heute gegessen. 😱 Noch geht’s mir gut.
@@arnodobler1096 Philadelphia mit Kirschgelee.
Excellent research and presentation as always. 👍🏼
This video does a great job comparing the place of my upbringing with my adopted homeland. Your research, statistics and visualization underline a point that I have been stressing to my family and friends for decades - less scientifically. Thanks!
Full disclosure: I’m coming up on 24 years in Germany and this year will celebrate becoming a German citizen a decade ago.
I listened with great interest about your enthusiasm about the liberalization of German naturalization. One aspect you sounded encouraged about was the prospect of dual citizenship becoming available to you. While I understand the appeal of this, there is one huge drawback to dual citizenship which is virtually unique to American ex-pats: the continuing requirement for you to report your income to the IRS and potential tax liability, as well as the regulations that your bank needs to comply with in order to do business with US persons.
The complexities for banks dealing with US ex-patriots has become increasingly complex over time (even more so since I ceased to be a US person). Long before I set out to become a naturalized citizen, I got a notification from my bank informing me that new US regulations forced them to change their policies for US persons, and I would no longer be able to place orders for most kinds of securities (including stocks and most mutual funds). I was fortunate in that I was allowed to continue with previously existing standing orders, but I could no longer modify them, except to stop the order completely and liquidate the position. I was told that other banks were giving their customers two weeks‘ notice to move or liquidate their securities holdings. I was fortunate to have a workaround with the help of my German citizen wife. We opened an account in her name. That’s not an option available to you.
While this wasn’t my primary motivation to become a German citizen, I was hugely relieved that I was no longer subject to American tax regulations after becoming a citizen. I was becoming increasingly concerned about how to do financial planning in Germany with my options being limited, and at the time it looked like the situation would become more precarious over time. The reality turned out to be even more dramatic than I could have imagined. BTW, check out a RUclips video from Evan Edinger about taxes on this subject for an excellent introduction.
I would be really interested in your perspective about financial planning for long term US ex-Patriots in Germany.
Keep up the great work. I look forward to your videos every week.
Thanks for the tip on Evan’s video. Our son is working in Germany now and subject to dual taxation.
@@mnsegler1 he released a new video on this subject yesterday. There is a court case which could potentially bring about an improvement.
@@mnsegler1
I’m not qualified to give tax advice, but do want to mention that there’s a pretty high threshold to cross before a real tax liability to the IRS materializes. First, there’s the foreign earned income exclusion (currently $112,000 for 2022, indexed for inflation). When I started out on my career, I thought that I would never need to worry about crossing that threshold. It turns out that the threshold isn’t unachievable after all, which can come even sooner than expected with a favorable Euro exchange rate.
Even after exhausting the foreign earned income exclusion, it is possible to deduct things like taxes paid abroad and living expenses. Between the foreign earned income exclusion and all the deductions, you have to be making a substantial income before having a tax liability to the USA. Keep in mind, I haven’t been up to date on this for ten years, but from what I can see on the IRS website today, the basic structure is at least roughly what I was dealing with back then.
German truck driver.
I did had a problem with punctually and doing my work fast enough for some time, but I thought that would go away. I talked to my employer about it, and he offered to pay someone to assist me with getting back on track. But I had two accidents because I was "daydreaming", just operating on auto-pilot, however you want to put it. This is when I went to see a doctor to get checked. The doc told me two things: First, if I wouldn't have come, within 2 or 3 years I would most likely have died and second, that I am no longer allowed to drive. This was in late december 22, which made it a bit difficult to get appointments fast, but as soon as the holidays where over, everything started to go smoothly. I see three doctors, one general practician and two specialists. I had examinations which cost thousands of euros - each. 100% covered. I have medications for free. And I received 6 weeks of normal payment from my employer. Since then I get 60% from my insurance. While 60% of my salary isn't much, it is enough to pay the bills and to "keep alive and a roof over my head."The insurance called me to verify wether or not I try to be lazy and hang around at home. After they heard my story all they said was: Don't worry, we got you covered, if you need any additional help, please call us. So… as the doctors here could not help me, I now have an appointment with one of the leading experts in the world, when it comes to my condition. Wait time: 3 weeks. Costs for me: zero.
Just having lost my cousin, whom I never met because he was part of the "American branch" of my family and knowing that his children had to sell the family farm to pay for the medical bills, I am really grateful of the German system of doing things. I am sure, I wouldn't be able to afford my treatment in the US and not being able to work because of my condition is the definition of a vicious circle.
German resident here. Great video!
One small point though: here in Germany, if you are disabled and have a special ID stating that your disability status (as determined by the Health Department) is 50% or more, you have much greater job security and even more vacation days, both federally mandated. There are also a plethora of other benefits, such as free or reduced cost public transport and more. @ElinT13 posted a detailed comment on health care below, so I won't expound on that. Go read theirs, and send them your very best thoughts and prayers of support while you're there! 😊
I am currently applying for this 50% disability status. It's quite an involved process, but well worth it if you qualify.
Update: I just received confirmation of my 50% disabled status, and my official Disability ID. I'm so relieved that the red tape is finally done with, as far as that goes. 😊
Hi, I’ve watched these last three videos and they have confirmed what I have suspected. I am from the UK but moved to Germany after finishing university and am coming up to retirement soon. It is useful to consider how many hours you need to work to pay for something. It puts a different perspective on the example made of a young person working in the US compared to Germany. Perhaps the German has more take-home pay per hour than his American counterpart does. I came across this concept at a motor museum. A very expensive automobile from the 1930s had the notice that the worker who put the vehicle together would have to work 40 years to buy the vehicle.
100 years ago a famous economic (insofar as you could use the term for someone at that time) predicted that people would only work 15-20 hours in the year 2000 because of the advancements in productivity.
As we all know he was wrong.
Or was he?
With a German average income (per hour) you can easily live better with 20h/week then at his time with 40/48. When he wrote that, workers didn't have cars, their houses were a lot smaller and TVs were a fantasy. And in Germany you would still be fully health insured.
I had commented on another channel with a similar topic: Americans are invited to come to Europe to see what works better here than yours.
I immediately received a hate reply from an American who wrote me that I was a liar and just jealous of life in the US. And of course everything is much better in the USA than anywhere else. After some back and forth discussion, I gave up and deleted my comment. If someone don't want to learn anything, he remains stupid.
There are all so indoctrinated. It begins every morning in school with the pledge.
I am from Heidelberg in Germany. Until 2005, we had two large American Villages with army personal around here. Many children born here went to german schools and after 2005 stayed in germany despide the Villages got closed and army personal got relocated. This is something a parent of a frend toled me about leaving germany. In short, he was terrified to get back after years living in germany with all its wealth and benefits to secure health and education for him and his son. He himself was a second generation child from parents came over in the 70' so he nerver was keen to get in the army by himself, but worked in american stores build on army property. But as far as I got that, the social standarts in those shops were to german standarts. So he got everything a german got and suddenly he was confrontet with a note, "well now we go back, have fun". Save to say, he stayed, he apply for full german citizenship and got it, because he was born in a german hospital. and so did his son. my frinds grandmother, 70 by that time, said once, It is the americans downfall to think only they know whats best without trying to addapt to something that is not beneficial in that exact moment" means, no american would think universal healthcare is good if the havn't a 100k $ hospital bill in hand at this exact moment if they get asked. They cant get there head around a system that will benefit them in any given time because it just cost money now and don't help them at that moment they have to pay for. sad but well, we know better
America has stopped millions of dollars that flowed to Germany 🇩🇪, for about 50 years. Germany 🇩🇪 asked Americans to leave. Most of the BILLIONS of U.S. dollars, have now stopped flowing to Germany 🇩🇪, and the impact is beginning to appear, and their economic reports are showing weaknesses. God Bless.
@@arneellermets uhm... No, the US paid 12,4 Millian Dollar in 1950 (1948 - 1952) were only 1,5 got to west germany, 10,9 Million were for them selfs and the construction of bases, after that, the US only supported there setlements in Rheinland-Pfalz and Baden-Würtemberg.
All the base construction (i.e., houses, apartments, roads, hospitals, airfields, etc), was given to Germany 🇩🇪 when AMERICANS departed GERMANY.
@@arneellermets well that is kind of true... first every equipment that was half usebel was taken by the americans and all the houses arent of german building code so 90% must be destroid and 10% masivly upgraded. so no, america didnt contribute to germany like many belive it did.
For a decade, I was working for the German branch of a major US firm, which really drove home some of the points you are making in your video:
- They were, of course, aware of the legally mandated 20 day paid vacation time - however, actually taking 20 days off per year every year could quickly develop into a career-stopper.
- Everything centered around billable hours per year. As we heard through the grapevine, a good number of our US colleagues had truly awe-inspiring hours (upwards of 3000/y). When comparing the US colleagues‘ invoices against ours, however, we found that they took 2-3 times longer for the same routine-tasks. At that point, I decided that US work ethic involves lots of smoke and mirrors.
No works council in the company, i presume? Without a work council all good laws and contracts are only "paper tigers", as we say in Germany.
Workers who always work long hours eventually become less productive. It happened to me and it was destroying my health too. So I put a stop to it over 20 years ago. Immediately I became more productive, happier and healthier. Without our good health we will suffer the consequences.
To the first point: so the company preferred to get sued? Because the mandatory vacation days are not only mandatory in the sense of "need to be offered". They're also mandatory to be taken.
Amazingly, US companies here in Austria follow all the same requirements as other companies here, and contrary to the argument that they can't afford to provide their employees with the same benefits in the states, they still operate here with a profit---companies like McDs and Ford. Trust me, they would not be here if they were losing money. American corporate greed knows no bounds, including invading other nations to acquire their resources.
It's ingrained in us that we must work massive amounts of hours or we might be viewed as lazy even if we are getting all the work done that was first put on our plate. People will try to be the first and last one online, especially if the boss is online because clocking out after working a straight 8 hours would be seen negatively. This also leads to more work being placed on people rather than hiring more staff for the higher workload... so more hours again and a huge amount of burnout.
I was a freelance teacher in Germany for several years and while I never actually made enough to pay much in taxes (I think the most I ever made was about 10k euros), I made enough to have a happy life and even travel quite a bit. I just couldn't pay my student loans off with that income, so ended up moving back to the US to get a more solid career. I rather regret doing that. There's a bit more to that story though. :)
Became a dad close to a year ago. Too two months of parental leave. Will take more if there is a second child. The time with my kid is something no employer can give back.
Some women get sick during pregnancy, heavily sick where they cannot work anymore and if they would, it would endanger the child's life. Some women get hyperemesis gravidarum and puke like there's no tomorrow and struggle with neasuea. Doctors usually give something called a 'individuelles Beschäftigungsverbot', meaning they're not allowed to work but receive full pay (Mutterschaftsgeld, not mutterschutzgeld). This is during pregnancy and can happen from the 2nd or 3rd month onwards until the actual mutterschutz starts.
Unsurprisingly, there is nothing that even comes close to this in the USA. I've shared this before, but my mother literally worked up until she had me. Her amniotic fluid was "leaking" the day before, so STILL went into work and scheduled an appointment with her OBGYN during her lunch break (I was 1 month early). The Doctor literally looked at her and said "uhhh, you're going to have a baby.... today". Needless to say, I was born 2 hours later.
The US has a way higher mother mortality than any other industrial country. It is as high as Romania and even higher than Iran, Bahrain and Qatar.
@@seldakaya0414 Thats freedom xD xD xD YOU ARE FREE TO DIE!
@@TypeAshton In some professions you actually get a Beschäftigungsverbot from the second your employer knows of your pregnancy no matter how good or bad the pregnancy is going. I work in EMS for example and because the risk to the baby would be high being exposed to all kinds of illnesses and sometimes violent patients plus the rather high physical demands if you get pregnant you're not allowed to work anymore until the pregnancy ends.
@@Serenity_yt My wife had to stop her lab work because of all the reprotoxic and mutagenic substance that should could have come in contact with. So it was just office and administrative work for here. Did not help with her mood during pregnancy. She was really bored … while at the same time having actually more work to do on some days has naturally her colleagues were happy to delegate more office work onto her to spend more time on research and lab work.
Still a far better solution instead of working full time in the lab while pregnant for sure.
I think there is another dimension that hasn't been mentioned, but was addressed in an earlier video: travelling and vacation. Especially from an educational perspective. Going abroad. Learn new languages, cultures, systems while you are young and not only after you retired. Especially from a political/educational standpoint. To talk to other people, to be away from the grind, television and daily news. Or even if staying at home, to get some sleep, learn new skills and simply have time off.
Excellent point.
The basic difference is easily recognizable in the wording:
In the US, they call it "benefits"... while in Europe, we call it "mandatory rights"!
And one big difference about sick days was not completely shown in the video:
Unlike in the US, where you get a planned and fixed amount of sick days per year, in Germany "sick days" are literally just all days when you are sick.
You cannot plan this in advance! - In Germany, when you're sick, you just take (paid) sick days - as many as needed until you are not sick any more. There is no limit!
Well there is kind of a limit for paid sick days- it's 72 weeks if you have a longlasting illness. But if you're very unlucky and get sick again with another illness, you get another 72 weeks ...
Just a note! How can it be that a people of only 84 million people of which maybe 1/4 are elderly and 1/5 are younger people under 26 and 1/8 are sick and half day workers 3rd best nation in the world for exports and productivity in quality can be when it's so lazy? Why can a nation of 340 million US citizens not protect half of its population , rescue , guarantee jobs and health and even maintain the status of a rich nation even though there are already third world situations in parts of the country ???? How can that be ? Capitalism is the greatest evil of the Americans, who still practice slavery with their fellow citizens to this day! The rich there get richer at the expense of those who no longer belong to the middle class, but even the middle class becomes impoverished in the process. Poor America pretends that everything is still in order. Nope, it's not, but they are being lied to and cheated and excluded. Poor America.
I am fine if US americans think their have a better system, but they should at least use valid arguements.
"It's better in the USA, because we have the choice to do better." is just to blame the poor people for not doing the right choice, instead of thinking about the whole system as the problem.
Also the family in Germany had already less money than the US one at a point the US family not even choose to dont invest in healthcare or education.
But I guess these people will argue that there choice of getting a baby is the real problem. As if getting a baby does not benefit the whole society in long termn.
For the "we are so free" people: Try to drink in public. I guess the "beep" in you tv-shows are the sound of the freedom bells and not cencorship.
Regarding workers right: I think it is the same as with states: "Not the people should fear the goverment, the goverment should fear the people." Still think that the employers are doing the work. No employers, no product, no money.
You also should not underestimate the knowledge of long term employers about the development of the company. Ok this can also block inovation, as long as you have one who can handle the old way, but it also improves transitions.
I gotta say, whenever I'm watching videos on US working and social culture and all the topics that surround that I'm not sure if I should be impressed or horrified. Impressed or horrified by the fact that US politics and businesses managed to "brainwash" the average worker into fighting against his own interests. "Healthcare? Unemployment Benefits? Social Security? One for all and all for one? What are you? A Communist?!"... the "Red Scare" really did and is doing a number on the American public.
Or as my friends an I like to call it: The US has "Kapitalismus im Endstadium" - "Capitalism in the terminal stage".
Thank you for another well researched video.
As a Dane I've got approximately the same working conditions as a German; in some aspects a little better, in some a litlle worse.
You brought me to think about what happened some years ago when the Danish medical company Novo decided to start up an American branch of their company.
Of course they were accused by the Danish trade uniions for doing this because of the lower wages in USA. Novo answered that they only did it because it would make it much easier to get their medical product acknowleged by US authoririties. So to prove this (and also because that the danish model would be more efficient) their American employees got Danish wages and also the other benifits from Danish work life.
However this created an outrage among American companies in that area, partly because they thought Novo was bidding up the wages, but mainly because a lot of the skilled workers preferred to get a job at Novo.
Interesting that the wages in the US are usually lower for that kind of work. I always heard (and as Ashton explained in the last two videos) that wages are higher in the US than in Europe. I thought that in the EU it would only be better for low skilled workers because here we usually have a minimum that usually guarantees that you can at least live off your wage. But a medical company probably needs a lot of skilled workers, right?
Saying Germany is a "Nanny State" for taking care of their workforce is like saying "normal people cuddle their children, by not being abusive".
It is the baseline that is the difference.
Do you accept, that "the workforce" are human beings with the right to be treated fairly? Then Germany is a normal state.
Do you think, that it is ok to exploit "the workforce" to its fullest and pay them as little as possible? Than the US is a normal state and Germany is a Nanny state.
Drinking beer in a pub in West Berlin (yes decades ago), discussing life differences between USA and Europe, a German said "you Americans live to work, we Europeans work to live." He was and still is right; sadly too many of the American conservative electorate gullibly support polliticians who prefer that we in America continue to live to work.
One very important info is missing... when you are in probation (let's say, day 3 of the 6 months of probation) and you are saying "I'm pregnant"... the probation ends and you are protected from being fired.
Excellent point!
Great video! I'm working for the Bundesagentur für Arbei (Federal work office) and I know how much of the unemployment insurance budget is used for improving their working skills. This system really works! If someone couldn't do his job any longer, we qualify them for other high-skilled jobs including a monthly paid unemployment 'salary'.
Unfortunately that varies drastically from Ortschaft to Ortschaft...
When it works, it works, but when it doesn't... it *really* doesn't
@@insu_na I agree. A lot of people get a chance to adapt to a changing labor market, or to correct a mistake in their original choice of education. This is extremely valuable for society. But there is also a tendency for bureaucrats to abuse this scheme to doctor unemployment statistics by putting people into bullshit courses which they must attend (or get sanctioned).
@@johaquila We didn’t experienced the same. Seems to depend on the person behind the counter what support you can receive by the Arbeitsagentur
@@_KA_RO_ those discrepancies of treatment depending on who takes care of your case I was able to witness when about 30 people were made redundant at one company, who were treated so differently case by case (from absolutely zero service, teated like useless trash, to being offered a Rolls Royce of trainings) that one could only wonder whether the Arbeitsamt had anything to do with a modern state institution or was more like medieval principality where everyone is treated according to the good will of the princely case manager. Absolutely mind-blowing.
I took this opportunity a few years ago when I was unemployed for almost 1 year. I received unemployment payment while I took an "express" class to earn a vocational qualification degree ("IHK-Abschluss").
Immediately after the exam I got a new job that payed several hundred €/month more than my previous job.
So for me it definitely worked out! 👍
I started with nothing and after 50 years of hard work, I have most of it left.
No it isn't bad to work like a German. I work part-time and there are coworkers of mine working 60-80 work weeks for the company. They also take no vacation time, they work when they are sick (to me this is ewww because we work with other people's food), and they take no paternity leave if they need it (our company gives 6-9 months paternity leave). Yeah sure they make a lot (and I mean a lot. Making 2,000 a week after taxes, insurance, retirement, and life insurance is good for my profession) more money than I do, but they are slowly killing themselves. A healthy coworker had a heart attack at 35 because the amount of stress he was putting on himself. Another coworker who worked 50 hour work weeks needed a pacemaker. My coworkers are always sick with flu or cold. I work 20 hours, take my 4 weeks vacation, and I took maternity leave when pregnant. I'm healthy and Im happy. My coworkers see me as being lazy because I could work more. I'm like who's the healthy and happy one?
I was an au pair in the US a few years ago and I was truly shocked by how much my host parents worked (they both regularly worked on Saturdays and occasionally even on Sundays) and only took 2,5 weeks of vacation in the whole year while still being available on the phone on their days off.
In my family, my parents work full time but in most weeks, they worked half-days on Fridays and really valued their vacation time by turning of work phones and laptops and not even texting with co-workers about topics related to their work.
Well, as a worker u need to recharge your batteries. But American CEO's don't care. If you can't do your job because u r burned out or u r overworked, you're fired. They throw workers away like litter or a piece of paper. No apperication for workers unfortunately.
@@UltimaTiV-one "Human Resources"… "menschlicher Rohstoff" in German. The german equivalent is of course "Personal" (the HR Department becomes the Personalabteilung).
The more I watch your videos, the more I appreciate living in Germany. I almost moved some years back, Thank God I never made that mistake 🙏
The mere fact that life expectancy in Europe is considerably higher than in the USA, and that life in Europe is much more relaxed, should give the average American something to think about. We all only have one life and it's damn short.
13:26 I actually take every year, usually during summer a 3 week vacation. I really need that to absolutely forget about work. 1 Week to come down and settle in. and then you really can enjoy the rest of the vacation. My employer is not too generous with vacation days, so I get 26 days per year now after working 5 years there, but I really can not stress enough how important real vacation is.
Go live in the USA now and they'll appreciate it socialism😂. Yeah try stressing over the idea that $300,000 is equivalent to $100,000 and still struggling in California for example. Once they get it its still not enough. Capitalism is not worth your health.
Great video, as ever! You really do make an effort to present good data. I actually find it funny to see these responses from Americans to your earlier videos. The 'socialist' narrative that is being fed to them through their employers, sponsored media outlets and politicians make them, as we say in the Netherlands, ""thieves of their own wallet". Not only employees, employers as well looking at the additional benefit cost.
US-Employee gets out of his car, when is boss arrives in a brand new Ferrari.
"Wow! Nice Ride!"
"Thank you! You know what? If you work really hard, put in some extra effort, do overtime and work on the weekends, then maybe a year from now I can afford another one of those."
Phenomenal piece of work, thanks Ashton!
For me, the USA is the perfect example of corporations taking over a society. I hope the once most progessive country finds the strength to balance work vs. social benefits in the future.
They were the most progressive? When?
The citizens of the USA seem preoccupied with stupidity like Trump rather than focusing on their own plight (healthcare, education and pay). Will they grow up?
I am a huge fan of space exploration where the US is ahead of pretty much everyone else and love the idea of Elon Musk to colonize Mars. But at the same time I am absolutely horrified by the vision of a US corporate driven Mars colony.
14:29 luxembourg wtf
Also i think there is some room to make an argument for whatever side here depending on your views. But who in their right mind decided that actually being sick is not grounds for entitling you or rather forcing you into staying at home, resting up and not getting your co-workers sick. (of course paid since people really need the money they work for for their living, it's not like you suddenly don't have to pay rent when you are sick anymore). And the same goes for parental leave. Even if you're conservative at least give mothers a bit of time. Honestly at that point where sick people and highly pregnant women don't have anything at all, it's not just empathyless but just plain barbaric / brutal.
Great video. In Australia in recent years some right wing radio hosts have been trying to change government thinking about employee rights, pay, etc as they were saying “in the USA they do…..” Never did they say “in Germany they do…..”.
Our unemployment benefits have been eroded the past 20 years. Our weekend overtime pay rates have been reduced. They said “it’ll create jobs” and “if you cannot fire you won’t hire”. Well, our pay hasn’t improved as promised and unemployment rates haven’t improved either.
If businesses want a thriving economy with thriving profits, they need people (employees mostly) to have the confidence to spend, save and take time off to spend more money on vacations. It goes in a circle.
You have a well paid workforce not afraid to spend, you have thriving businesses. If you have a workforce too scared to spend (due to low pay mostly), too scared because their unemployment benefits are at poverty levels, then businesses won’t thrive. This is especially true for small businesses.
I believe in a fair society. Honest pay for your work which breeds honesty within society. It also reduces crime and improves everyone’s health.
It’s time we all collectively make sure people are treated as people and not as slaves. Low pay, bad healthcare and little unemployment benefits breeds distrust, anger, lower life expectancies and crime.
These media fools going on about “nanny state” lies are only pandering to the ultra conservative wealthy. I bet if you see their pay and they would be getting huuuuge dollars! Hypocrisy is a disease amongst them.
Again, great video. 👍
I betcha that Steve Bannon had something to do with those radio hosts' shows. He came over to Europe to influence politicians here.
In Sweden we have 36 days off at a vacation, the last 7 days you kan save up to 4 years when you have to use them. But most people often save those 7 days to be free over christmas and new year. But then again, companies dont have to pay anything if you get laid off, Thats where our unions comes to the rescue, they set up a fond where you kan get a whole year with 80% of the pay you had, gives lot of time to find another job.
I'm American but grew up in Germany. In fact, I was just in Germany for part of my two week vacation last year and was in your neck of the woods (I brought my hubby to Freiburg for an excursion). Seeing these comparisons in data sets really reinforced some of the key differences I've always sensed.
I think she does a really fantastic job presenting her extensive research.
My wife and I were in a serious accident on April 15, 2022. My wife got the worst of it and is still bedridden a year and 4 months later. Though she is getting better and we hope she will be walking soon, the American health care system has really let us down. I have had to take early retirement in order to take care of my wife (and take care of my own injuries) and have gone since September 15, 2022 without any pay (this is after I used up all my leave). My early retirement is still pending. I have had to fight regularly with my insurer to get the benefits my wife is owed. Here is the shoe drop. My wife is a 20 year USN retired Chief Petty officer. Everyone keeps telling us we have the "Gold health care plan." If this is "Gold" god help those with less.
For someone who works in HR in Germany, I must say that you have researched very well and you have done a wonderful job with the video (at least from the German side I can judge it). Great work! 🙂
But even if there is a very good protection here in Germany against dismissals by law, there are crafty lawyers who manage to undermine exactly this. If a company wants to get rid of an employee, they search until a reason is found or they simply invent a reason. Of course, it is possible to file a complaint at the labor court, but often such proceedings end in some out-of-court settlement and then the company pays a little more money and often the employee is left with the costs of the proceedings (at least half).
Example my father: He was employed in a company for 33 years, the boss changed and mobbing started. Then my dad got sick because years of heavy lifting destroyed his shoulders. The recovery took longer, he was dismissed for "health reasons" because he would be "not sustainable for the company". However, there were enough jobs in the company that would not have required heavy lifting and he would have just had to be transferred there. I was studying Economics with a focus on HR at the time and urged him to get a lawyer. He did not take a lawyer who specialized in labor law despite my advice. The proceedings ended after one and a half years (!) with an out-of-court settlement, the amount my father agreed to as compensation was absolutely ridiculous in comparison to his long service in the company. But the companies know that this is exactly how they get rid of disagreeable employees, exactly with this scam.
The view from the U.S. always surprises me, the term "nanny state" I hear for the first time. Here, too, all that glitters isn't gold. But the position of employee rights is really much stronger than in the States, I'm quite happy about that.
I think one of the reasons things in Germany/Europe are they way they are, is the fact wie like bitching about every incident that does not fit into the nice world we want to have or see. And there are lots of demonstrations trying to improve such things. And in many cases changes are made and situations improved. Working together to solve problems rather then only accusing some people of wrong doing
The USA also spends more on healthcare than all nations that provide universal healthcare. Something is sick in the USA.
in germany we work harder because we dont get punished for working hard.
Let me put it this way: With Germany being the third biggest exporter in the world (with 7.62% of all export world-wide) with about 83.2 million population, the "lazy" people seem to be in the USA, who have a much higher population of 331.9 million and are the second biggest exporter in the world with 10.26% of all exports world wide, which means that they export just about 1.35 times the amount of what Germany exports - with about FOUR times the population...
'nuff said.
1:18 these comments from your fellow Americans are staggering. Absolutely blinded by their so-called freedom of choice.
Good job on all three videos!
Just a couple of points.
As has been mentioned,sick leave is six weeks with full pay. That is, per separate illness!! „Full pay“ is the pay which you would have received, so if your shift is doing overtime and continues to do so when you get sick, guess what? You get that pay, too! Also, the German unemployment insurance expects you to fight for your job if you are fired, which is why, in most cases, you have to sue. Most cases are agreed to out of court, which is where the severance pay comes in. If you agree to terminate your job, not getting fired or quitting, you might go six months with no benefits. Many more job benefits are agreed to in collective bargaining agreements with the unions or in company agreements between the employer and the Works Council (I am the chairman of such a council). Many workers receive vacation pay, for example, on top of their normal pay for each vacation day.
Now I have to go back and read some of those comments from the other videos. I could use a few chuckles. 😉
If you can't pay your employees appropriate wages and can't offer them the benefits they deserve, you shouldn't be in business.
"Nanny" state, otherwise known as "we care about you as human beings" state...
These first three videos have been amazing, well researched combined with a great presentation and editing!
Especially appreciate the fact you keep hammering on "a person's rights" and how they should not be a bargaining chip..
Also love how this series is dispelling a lot of "arguments" often brought up when discussing "social programs".
"Second thought " made a video on labor practices a couple of years ago (called "America compared or why do other nations treat their workers so much better") in which he summed up the American "business" mentality as "short term profits over anything else" either by exploiting customers (bad service/products) or exploiting workers (wage theft, no rights etc).
Anyway keep up the great work!!
Thanks again for this nice video. From The Netherlands again ;-). I love all your well built video's.
I only have remarks and questions to one very small item. At 4:05 you compare two USA neighborhoods and some of the comparing figures were "99% African Americans" and "70% White". What do the skin colors of Homo Sapiens do in a economic comparision of two neighborhoods? Where do those figures come from? Government registration? I have the impression it's impossible to get figures like these in Europe, based on governmental registrations. Maybe something to research. What have the USA and allies forced the present Germany constitution to legislate after WW2 about this? As far as I know this kind of figures are no part of governmental registrations in Europe. The same goes for religion, political affiliation etc. Why do the USA still use this kind of registrations that were used by NAZI Germany to deport and murder all kind of groups of people? When you don't register this kind of things, politicians only are able to talk about people... poor people, rich people, educated people, uneducated people etc.
This data mostly comes from the US Census Bureau (typically their American Community Survey), but sometimes also comes from an add mixture of data collected from the Department of Education or the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. For quite some time, it was totally legal to segregate on the basis of race in the US, so the government still feels the need to track the long-term effects of those policies, even after they were abolished (such as via the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing regulations).
The recording of income is also an important metric for primary and secondary education, as well as public infrastructure, in the United States. Unlike here in Germany, K-12 education (as well as police, fire, libraries, and other public services) is funded primarily through LOCAL property taxes. Meaning that if you live in a wealthy area (where property values are higher and people can afford more expensive homes) - there is greater property tax generated that can then be funnelled into better services. As many Americans say... "why should my taxes go to a school that my kids don't even attend?"
It is why poor neighborhoods suffer from under-funded schools and social services, which then i turn, discourage wealthier families from wanting to move there. So its a self-feeding beast, so to speak.
I am not sure about the US situation but I can tell you when I (German) moved to the UK I found that your ethnicity is a point on every questionnaire that you fill in, whether you fill out an application or sign up for treatment at a clinic. Initially I found this very disconcerting because it would be a completely unthinkable question in Germany. However, it makes sense to ask this question, otherwise you would never get any solid data on how different ethnical groups are doing. For example, statistically, black women are four times more likely to die during childbirth in the UK, so there are issues to be resolved. POCs have housing issues and troubles finding jobs. If you never ask the ethnicity question then you stay ignorant of very important social issues.
As a German I was shocked when I moved to the UK (long before Brexit) for a university position and was asked to fill in a form asking about my 'race', with no explicit option for refusing to give information. (I also found the list of 'races' in the form absurd. It think it was worse than the list of ethnic groups used by the UK census, which includes gypsies. I don't know if it included Jewish, but it wouldn't have looked out of place in the list.) So this kind of official statistics exists in some European countries.
@@TypeAshton To me funding schools and social services in ways that encourage and/or perpetuate inequality is absurd. You are wasting your best equalizer, your best tool to turn pebbles into diamonds. Breaking the cycle of poverty is hard but increasing your citizens skills gives you way more possibilities to build something productive.
The comment "I was in Germany in the 80's in the army. Everyone is poor there" is my favourite one LOL
We definitely read the comments in pure *disbelief* sometimes.
There is a misunderstanding here. The commenter wasn't addressing poverty in Germany but in the army. Given how dependent the US military is on the inflow of destitute people who have no other chance of getting an education, healthcare, or other benefits that are the norm in other countries, this is very understandable, isn't it...
Of course, the recruiters are explicitely targeting this group and have done so for centuries. And it may very well be that it is also a consideration in the lack of support for this group.
Everybody who thinks I'm writing nonsense should just use the search engine of their choice. The answer is at your finger tips...
Guten Morgen. Bin erst bei Minute 11. Als Arbeitnehmervertreterin möchte ich noch auf Betriebsrat und Schwerbehindertenvertretung hinweisen. Das ist noch ein ganzer Strang an Schutzmaßnahmen, sollte eine Kündigung im Raum stehen.
Das sind ja die schweren Kanonen.
Great video as always! Would also be interesting to compare statistics about work place accidents. And how employees handles insurance of that etc. It might give a hinge on how tired the work force are/not are etc.
Great idea for a video!
AFAIK, in Germany the employer is *required* to handle the insurance of that. Including necessary travel to and from work.
I worked in a fairly high-risk job in the states and each time I was injured at work, my employer/supervisors falsified the documents to absolve themselves of any responsibility. Eventually, I learned to make my own copies of everything so that they couldn't alter the facts and record every conversation with them concerning the cases. This was the only way I was able to win against their corruption and dishonesty.
@@Llortnerof That is handled by what's called Berufsgenossenschaft. The way to and from work is also insured. Membership is mandatory for companies.
@@Llortnerof That is handled by what's called Berufsgenossenschaft. The way to and from work is also insured. Membership is mandatory for companies.
Socialism: worker support funded by taxes
Capitalism: 80yo retirees working at Walmart selling Chinese products.
But in Germany there is no Socialism. It's Social Market Economy. Soziale Marktwirtschaft. It is still capitalism. It is not that all companies are owned by the state.
Good morning Ashton, Sunday morning, a cup of tea and another high quality video from the black forest family, is getting a good day:) My personal thoughts were a bit like a up and down over the video. the first down was as i had to hear miss news anchor ranting about nanny state and that it is telling her about what and how much to drink of that soda...either she is a propagandist and has her text written with the clear intent to do make propaganda or she doesn't understand how a supposed nanny state is working... sure we do not have here any regulations how much soda you can drink... but we have regulation (sometimes not) what is in the soda, to protect the consumers from greed of companies from making more profitable products with potential dangerous ingredients that will harm the consumers... i really wish i could tell her personally...
the other down, as i follow this and other channels about comparing this or that country in working rights, its always shocking for me how close the USA is always close to salary slavery (Lohn Sklaverei, i do not know if there is a better english phrase for that) and how lucky that i am to be born and raised in germany and moved over to switzerland later, instead of the USA.
The personal up for me is i have here a social net which is currently me helping after a bad time, let keeping me my home, helping me to get back to the feet again and being again a productive member of the community....
I think there is a large part of the American working population who really don't see how little benefits they get for the hard work they put in. And often, when they do get benefits that come close.... they will say "Oh my employer is so generous". But the reality is that this employer is scratching the required minimum in nearly every other wealthy country. And in the end, data shows us that treating your employees better with greater benefits not only increases productivity, but also investment and loyalty to the company and its mission/goals.
@@TypeAshton maybe one day you can show how close the USA was under President Nixon to get a family assistance plan, of 1600 Dollars/year for a Family of 4 without any condition, this would have truly changed america... I agree with you, so generous of the employer to give me that day unpaid free must sounds for an american really normal, that's because channels like yours are so important to tell the truth about the differences and benefits of both sides...
Productivity: How many hours get wasted in the US by using the Imperial system?
Energy: Cheaper in the US but wasted in lousy insulated timber huts, abuse of AC, etc
Quality of life: The gap is deep as the Grand Canyon
Sehr geehrte Frau Dr Schottler,
vielen Dank für ein wieder einmal hervorragendes Video.
Excellent series. Thank you for your (obviously) hard work.
It's funny. The more you learn anbout the US, the more I'm happy to be European. Even though I'm Belgian, we have our issues with the system... But in comparison with the US, we almost live in a paradise.
In the classical German company philosophy, personnel is part of the assets. In American financial philosophy, personnel is a cost factor which has to be reduced. Unfortunately, the American system is infecting the German market, thanks to business consultancies which are based in the US and follow the American approach.
When you loose a skilled worker, a company can easily endure cost of 1/4 to double of his/her annual salary just to find and train a good replacement. Of course this depends on the skill level. But HR processes and headhunters don‘t come free.
hahahahha, the comment about "I was in Germany in the 80s, everyone was poor" hahahhahhaaha, that's almost like comparing military dictatorship run South Korea in the 80s to South Korea now, hahahahahahahahahahahahaha
She forgot to mention that she was in Dresden.
The mistake you made Ashton, is that unreasonable people who shout into a void don't care about data and statistics, especially if it doesn't suit them.
When i hear people comlain about having to pay too many taxes (and yes, selfemployed people in germany also complain about how much they have to pay for insurance etc.) I always think that their only real problem is, that they don't trust the organisation they pay them to. Yes we have high taxes relative to yours but we also get to see them in action all the time. Whether it's just receiving healthcare or seeing the work done on our infrastructure (i am of course including public transportation, which is fantastic when you live in a city, and is federally subsidized). It might look like you get way less money at the end of the month, but thats really not the case.
regarding: „the position is no more needed“ is not as easy as it sounds. as this does not apply to the job description, but your qualification. so then the company has to look at all employees with that same qualification and then make a „sozialplan“ to check who would be personally hit the hardest by losing the jobs (how old, how long with the company, how many kids, …)
I say you take all those people who talk about "choice" at 1:18 and put them alone on an island and see how well they do with their choices---all by themselves. They don't take into account all the people in the USA born with little to poor available choices and how that affects the whole outcome for everyone in the country.
(you can see how the latter affects the state of the USA today, politically, socially, and economically---as well as morally)
As a Norwegian, I know of my governments priviledged position, and while not everything is perfect. I do feel that we atleast try to make a most functional society for everyone who is part of it.
When I heard of politicians in Florida trying to "fix numbers" by increasing the complexity of gaining unemployed benefits.
It blew my mind, in Norway we might limit the pays or restrict who will be viable. But to willfully increase the cost and complexity, for political goals, it just didnt occure to me as possible.
If people suffer, they do not live in isolation, their suffering affects others. If we want to live in an open, safe and functioning society. Everyone needs to be taken into account, within reason but grounded in empathy.
Hours spent by people worrying, filling out forms for benefits or working extra jobs. Means less time focusing on the work they are educated in, less time for rest and less time for their families.
And the repercussions are a less efficient workforce, more prone for disease and burnout. With children and youth growing up with potential anti-social behaviour.
in the USA there is a narrative heard that more/ easier unemployment / welfare drives LOWER worker participation and that cut back welfare = MORE workers / productivity
during the "pandemic" and a LOT of TAX money was "handed out" is being blamed on the worker "shortages" in the customer service industries
"Germany spends less to provide better benefits". It really helps to understand this when knowing that benefits in the US are mostly provided by for-profit companies (healthcare/dental insurance, 401k administrators, long-term disability admins, etc.) while in other parts of the Western world it's either the government and/or non-profit companies. The ~7 base percent point difference is what the shareholders of the benefit providers take home. The common belief that for-profit market companies are more efficient than government-driven organization is discredited by e.g. Medicare which is substantially more efficient in bringing lower cost (same quality) healthcare to the age-65+ American than private insurance for the working (under-65) population, and at significantly lower overhead.
Hi Ashton, I live in Belgium and suffered a burnout a few yrs ago. The employer pays the 1st month, then sick pay (around 65% of the wage). Luckily my big employer also since many yrs have contributed to a collective pension fund (I have worked there 35 yrs now and will on top of the state pension then almost receive either 50% more in monthly pension, or a big lump sum), which (so I was pleasantly surprised to find out) also tops up the difference betw sickpay and wage up to 80% if your sick leave extends to 3 months or more. When I eventually returned to work, I was still guaranteed a job (albeit not always the exact old position). Employer and health insurance together facilitate a return in stages, so during my 1st year back I increased from 25-50-75-100% every quarter. I had to attend a therapist to help me improve my coping skills (had to fund it myself, but 6 yrs ago cost only ca 25 €/session, so still affordable). Have now successfully been back in fulltime employment since 6 yrs. I lost more than a yr and don't have the resilience I once had, but at least I didn't lose my financial stability, which would certainly have impacted my health x10 for the worse. And come to think of it, maybe it's not only the huge amount of weapons floating around in the US, that makes the difference in amount of violence between US and Europe, but that in combination with a much higher degree of insecurity due to less social benefits and also less time allotted for people to take out holidays to rest and recuperate in the US compared to Europe. Maybe something to think about....
My father had complications after his heart surgery and wasn't able to work for about three years, thanks to the sick pay by the state, which was around 80% of his former income he was able to keep the house, hold his standard of living and get back to his old job after recovering. Otherwise he would have lost everything. Our system might have some smaller problems, but overall it's working really well and protects employees and employers from unwise business decisions related to potential overwork or regarding social standards that could clash back on the companys productivity.