Sir James Goldsmith.....he saw in coming in 94 !

[GRG55]

Re: Sir James Goldsmith.....he saw in coming in 94 !

Much of the German "success" is derived by importing low cost workers from the Middle East and other parts of Europe. My wife talked about growing up in former Yugoslavia where many of the men would leave to go work in Germany. They basically did the lower paying jobs the German nationals did not want to do and were treated like second class citizens to boot. But they would all go back home and build nice houses and drive nice cars since the money they could earn in Germany was a multiple higher than could be made in Yugoslavia at the time.

This is very much the same as America opening up our borders to Mexico and bringing in low cost workers from Central America to work in our factories and other manually intensive industries in order to keep the labor costs down.:rolleyes:

That's been going on a long time.

Back in the 1970s a Canadian friend of mine, a motorcycle aficionado, took a tour of the BMW cycle factory while on a vacation in Germany. Instead of efficient teutonic technicians clad in labcoats carefully assembling these prized motorcycles, as he had imagined, he came away disappointed after discovering BMW motorcycles were being bolted together by "a bunch of drunken Turks" [the reference to "drunken" arose from the twice daily beer wagon that made the rounds of the factory floor].

Hey, maybe America can rebuild it's former manufacturing prowess on Budweiser?

[sunskyfan]

Re: Sir James Goldsmith.....he saw in coming in 94 !

I think a key factor in the uniqueness of Germany is the fall of the Berlin Wall and the deal that was struck with Russia to let the two Germany's unite. There was a huge flow of capital from West Germany into the former East Germany and also into Russia as a buy-off to allow reunification. Talk about both a Keynsian stimulus combined with a world supported monetary subsidation of a good oil rich customer to the East made for a unique economic situation in Germany. The world simply could not allow Central Europe to fail economically after the end of the cold war.

[Shakespear]

Re: Sir James Goldsmith.....he saw in coming in 94 !

My wife talked about growing up in former Yugoslavia where many of the men would leave to go work in Germany.

Yes this is very true. Here in Poland many skilled workers work part time in Germany. Hence no German pensions in the future and neither here in Poland :-(

Also Germany has extended again the opening of its labor market to the new members of the EU. Happy family isn't it? :-)

As to what Germany make, heck yes, higher quality for a higher price. I stopped buying American cars in 1980. First a SAAB then a Toyota. Next I bought a BMW (had a better salary) and was amazed how the simplest thing in it (switches for lighting, windows etc.) worked LIKE THEY should. My mom bought a Pontiac at the same time and in a year her windows would not roll down because the switches for the windows were acting up.

Regarding how Germany does it. I remember back in the 80's the predictions that Denmark was going to sink in the sea due to its Socialist leanings. It is still there. How does it do it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voaTZ...eature=related