The Success Story of the German Social Model

Germany has never subscribed to the American capitalistic model. Rather, consecutive German governments have publicly stressed the virtues of the German Social Model: humans, not profits, are the cornerstone of a policy of social justice. Former chancellor Gerhard Schroeder (now with Russia Inc.) frequently mentioned the inherent advantages of the German Social Model, as compared to the horrors of "pure capitalism". Remember the attacks of American locusts on German workplaces...

Results are now in from an analysis of statistical data from 2004 regarding the situation of families in Germany, conducted by the Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation. As one could expect, the favorable consequences of the German Social Model clearly show up in the data.

Here is a short summary of the family situation in Germany:

• There are more couples without children than with children.
• Within Europe Germany is among the countries with the smallest share of households with children.
• One third of each age group will not have children. This is a worldwide uniquely low share.
• People's desire to have children is ever shrinking.
• Marriage is at a historical low in Germany. Those who are married will have an 38 % chance of separation.
• 12 percent of newborn's parents don't have the German citizenship. In some larger cities, more than 40 percent of children and youths have a migration background. In 2010 migrants will present a 50 percent share of the under 40 age group in many cities.
• Germany's population size shrinks and the average age rises. In 2050 every third German will be older than 65, and the share of young people (up to 20 years of age) will decline to 16 percent (now at 21 percent).

So, as you can easily see, things are moving in the right direction under the guidance of the German Social Model. Germany within just a few decades will become a lagely sclerotic society with decreasing reliance on Christian and family values.

Obviously, Americans will look at Germany's future with envy and jealousy. Many will ask: "With such fabulous results, wouldn't it make sense to abandon our capitalistic system and switch to the German Social Model?"

Sure it would! And just to let you know: Germany will be glad to offer you advice from the creme de la creme of our social experts, such as Messrs. Gerhard Schroeder, Franz Muentefering or Edmund Stoiber.

Now, that's a deal too good to pass up...

(Text proofread by Richard Bartholomew)

Comments

[TM Lutas]

Since some people are quibbling about the existence of faiths that do not value life I give you the most explicit one I know of, thuggee, the cult of stranglers. It's a offshoot of hindu belief where they worshipped Kali. I use the past tense because the british suppressed them. The cult was passed on from older male to younger male relatives. They just provided for all thuggee adherents to stay in prison until they died. The faith died out.

Helian - The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were not written by one man. Their first drafts may bear the stamp of one or a small group of individuals but there were debates and edits along the way with the final documents being approved by vote. It was unanimous in favor. Timelines are available. John Witherspoon, signer and Presbyterian minister was probably not a deist. William Williams, who studied theology with his father, a minister, was another highly unlikely deist. No doubt there were other committed christians among the signers including at least one jesuit trained Catholic. I would submit that christians were very likely the large majority both in the Continental Congress and at the Constitutional Convention.

As for Washington:

After his marriage, George Washington, like his father before him, served for a considerable time as vestryman in Truro parish. Later he served in the same capacity in Fairfax parish. He is recorded as having served on the building committees of Falls Church and Pohick Church--the latter edifice, being built from plans which he drew, still stands today.

What a funny Deist, to serve four churches of a religion that he did not believe in. The Pohick Church work especially, would have been time consuming and a labor he could have easily evaded.

The very same Congress that passed the 1st amendment also spent from the public purse to pay ministers to open each day of Congress with prayer. Your "right" of religion and non-religion to be on equal footing is a phantasm, an invention not borne out by history.

George M - My point was that there are large differences even in the basis of the legal system. What came to mind for me was Louisiana. If others states show more variety than I was aware of, you are furthering my point. Thank you.

[Helian]

@TM Lutas

>>"The very same Congress that passed the 1st amendment also spent from the public purse to pay ministers to open each day of Congress with prayer. Your "right" of religion and non-religion to be on equal footing is a phantasm, an invention not borne out by history."

In fact, there is a natural right for religion and non-religion to be on an equal footing, because belief or non-belief is no more voluntary than sex or skin color. The intellectual leaders among our founding fathers understood that, and it is, in fact, one of the rights that America is all about. I will fight with all the strength I have to defend that right, along with the rest passed down by our forefathers.

Your mode of thought and that of those like you is fundamentally different from that of the men who made this country what it is. You believe that your opinions are somehow fundamentally better than those of people who are not your intellectual clones, and that you must, therefore, stuff those opinions, religious and otherwise, down the throats of people who don't agree with you. That is not what America is about. It is what, for example, the British Tories were about at the time of our Revolution, and it is what the obscurantists, theocrats, reactionaries, and assorted religious fanatics of all lands have always been about. Think people like me are going to let religious fanatics like you take our country away from us? Guess again! It will have to be over my dead body, and that of many more like me. The day that people like you win will be the day that America ceases to exist. It's astounding to me that people like you can equate your opinions in any way, shape, or form with "liberty," or "freedom." You don't support the principles of our government, you betray them.