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Why would this work any better in Germany or France? Do you think housing is a right here? We are very much still at the mercy of landlords, i can attest from recent personal experience. Trying to find housing to rent is like applying for a job. You have zero leverage and you compete against dozens of other applicants.
In fact in many ways the housing situation is worse here than even in many other European states. My own grandparents were shocked when i told them that here even all the big apartment blocks are privately owned by either “small”-ish landlords or big corporate real estate firms.
Because where they are from even now over 30 years after socialism ended most of the apartment blocks that offer flats for rent are owned by the state, the city or the local community. And more than that most people own their own apartments and renting is seen as the exception not the rule and something to be avoided.
Believe me, western European “social democracy” is not as great as Americans make it out to be. And don’t even get me started on the “social welfare” system which is really not much of one at all, if what i’ve heard from people close to me who’ve had to go through it is true, all they do is try to get you into the job market as quickly as possible, meanwhile searching for the slightest bureaucratic excuse to cut your benefits.
I apologize. I was under the impression social democratic reforms were still very much in effect there. I am not European, my view from where I am is quite limited. Thank you for correcting me.
This is what social democracy looks like in practice. It’s the same in the Scandinavian countries too.
Unfortunately because things are even worse in the US there is a tendency among many American leftists to view European social democracies through rose tinted glasses, but if you live here you realize it’s still not really as great as you’re always led to believe.
Another example of this is health insurance. In Germany there is a legal obligation to be insured and usually you get it through your employer and the contribution gets deducted from your paycheck, but if you are unemployed without receiving social benefits, self-employed or do gig work it is up to you to get privately insured which is expensive and i’ve known people who skip out on it because they can’t afford it despite it being technically illegal to be uninsured.
I see… (gig work to dodge regulations) So neoliberal decay has already begun in Germany. Yes perhaps we do hold some misperceptions. Is housing guaranteed in Germany? What are the state of unions? I have heard they have a sort of UBI there, is this true?
Housing is not guaranteed unless you enter the welfare system and the conditions they impose for continuing to provide you benefits are very strict and it is very easy especially for people with mental health problems or people who don’t speak the language very well to miss appointments or to be overwhelmed with the bureaucratic paperwork that needs to be filled out correctly in order to keep your social housing. Also they demand that you apply for the jobs they tell you to apply for since their primary objective is to get people into the job market.
Unions are widespread in certain professions but they are essentially politically neutered. By law they are forbidden from engaging in any activities that could be construed as political and they are highly regulated in terms of even when or how they can strike or collectively bargain. Everything around worker participation follows strict legal regulation, the point of which is to create class collaborationism and make it impossible for workers to act in an organized way that is hostile to the employer.
No, there is no UBI. If you have worked for a certain period of time you get unemployment benefits for a time if you lose your job. Otherwise when those run out you only have social welfare which is very meager and as i said before comes with very strict conditions and a humiliating loss of control over your own life essentially. The system is also semi-privatized with the state often outsourcing the managing and coaching of unemployed people to private agencies.
There are a lot of differences to the US, but also a lot of similarities. In some ways it is still much better, it can’t be denied that there are still many more regulations that protect workers and greatly increase the quality of life, things like guaranteed paid vacation time, maternity and sick leave, certain protections against being fired without reason, etc. But the point is the long term trend which has been everywhere from the UK to Germany to Scandinavia toward a slow dismantling of the post war social democratic consensus and adoption of US-like neoliberal practices but “with European characteristics”.
Why would this work any better in Germany or France? Do you think housing is a right here? We are very much still at the mercy of landlords, i can attest from recent personal experience. Trying to find housing to rent is like applying for a job. You have zero leverage and you compete against dozens of other applicants.
In fact in many ways the housing situation is worse here than even in many other European states. My own grandparents were shocked when i told them that here even all the big apartment blocks are privately owned by either “small”-ish landlords or big corporate real estate firms.
Because where they are from even now over 30 years after socialism ended most of the apartment blocks that offer flats for rent are owned by the state, the city or the local community. And more than that most people own their own apartments and renting is seen as the exception not the rule and something to be avoided.
Believe me, western European “social democracy” is not as great as Americans make it out to be. And don’t even get me started on the “social welfare” system which is really not much of one at all, if what i’ve heard from people close to me who’ve had to go through it is true, all they do is try to get you into the job market as quickly as possible, meanwhile searching for the slightest bureaucratic excuse to cut your benefits.
I apologize. I was under the impression social democratic reforms were still very much in effect there. I am not European, my view from where I am is quite limited. Thank you for correcting me.
This is what social democracy looks like in practice. It’s the same in the Scandinavian countries too.
Unfortunately because things are even worse in the US there is a tendency among many American leftists to view European social democracies through rose tinted glasses, but if you live here you realize it’s still not really as great as you’re always led to believe.
Another example of this is health insurance. In Germany there is a legal obligation to be insured and usually you get it through your employer and the contribution gets deducted from your paycheck, but if you are unemployed without receiving social benefits, self-employed or do gig work it is up to you to get privately insured which is expensive and i’ve known people who skip out on it because they can’t afford it despite it being technically illegal to be uninsured.
I see… (gig work to dodge regulations) So neoliberal decay has already begun in Germany. Yes perhaps we do hold some misperceptions. Is housing guaranteed in Germany? What are the state of unions? I have heard they have a sort of UBI there, is this true?
Housing is not guaranteed unless you enter the welfare system and the conditions they impose for continuing to provide you benefits are very strict and it is very easy especially for people with mental health problems or people who don’t speak the language very well to miss appointments or to be overwhelmed with the bureaucratic paperwork that needs to be filled out correctly in order to keep your social housing. Also they demand that you apply for the jobs they tell you to apply for since their primary objective is to get people into the job market.
Unions are widespread in certain professions but they are essentially politically neutered. By law they are forbidden from engaging in any activities that could be construed as political and they are highly regulated in terms of even when or how they can strike or collectively bargain. Everything around worker participation follows strict legal regulation, the point of which is to create class collaborationism and make it impossible for workers to act in an organized way that is hostile to the employer.
No, there is no UBI. If you have worked for a certain period of time you get unemployment benefits for a time if you lose your job. Otherwise when those run out you only have social welfare which is very meager and as i said before comes with very strict conditions and a humiliating loss of control over your own life essentially. The system is also semi-privatized with the state often outsourcing the managing and coaching of unemployed people to private agencies.
Thank you for the info. So it’s the US but with a welfare system basically…
There are a lot of differences to the US, but also a lot of similarities. In some ways it is still much better, it can’t be denied that there are still many more regulations that protect workers and greatly increase the quality of life, things like guaranteed paid vacation time, maternity and sick leave, certain protections against being fired without reason, etc. But the point is the long term trend which has been everywhere from the UK to Germany to Scandinavia toward a slow dismantling of the post war social democratic consensus and adoption of US-like neoliberal practices but “with European characteristics”.
Thank you for the information