Can we talk about Germany for a bit?

[BOR]

Tony427 said:

Totally anecdotal, unscientific, unprompted and maybe unrepresentative, but when three middle class Germans , who should all be feeling good about the country and the future, all volunteer their negative opinions and unhappiness, and all blame the present political leaders for the mess, it seems to me that the times are achanging in Germany.

Edited by Tony427 on Friday 23 September 11:12

Maybe they were telling you what they thought you wanted to hear.

We are raking it in hand-over-fist and we cannot hire employees fast enough. No increase in the taxes on my, frankly exhorbitant salary.

I haven't seen refugees getting anthing other than temporary shelter.

There will always be a certain type who would have been keen to be "only following orders" so take what you hear with a pinch of salt.

[del mar]

Hugo a Gogo said:

not really the same with medical care in Germany as with the NHS

some (not all) refugees have got a medical insurance card, so their treatment is paid just like anyone elses

i'm no tax expert, but I've never heard of a table-tax on pubs and restaurants either

Who issues the medical insurance card and who pays for it ?

Is it like a BUPA style health insurance ?

thanks

[Hugo a Gogo]

the city or area pay for it in that case, through an insurer

would usually be the AOK, the basic minimum insurer

but not the hospitals anyway

[jshell]

Is any of it worse than Edinburgh City Council paying for selected Refugee children to attend some of the city's top private schools - whilst the others attend state school?

[Digga]

del mar said:

Hugo a Gogo said:

not really the same with medical care in Germany as with the NHS

some (not all) refugees have got a medical insurance card, so their treatment is paid just like anyone elses

i'm no tax expert, but I've never heard of a table-tax on pubs and restaurants either

Who issues the medical insurance card and who pays for it ?

Is it like a BUPA style health insurance ?

thanks

Misses the point that, irrespective of where the cost burden lies, the delivery burden rests within the system of the host nation.

[Hugo a Gogo]

Digga said:

Misses the point that, irrespective of where the cost burden lies, the delivery burden rests within the system of the host nation.

maybe

still, young men of fighting age, as we're told they all are, happily don't need much hospital treatment anyway

[Muntu]

Hugo a Gogo said:

maybe

still, young men of fighting age, as we're told they all are, happily don't need much hospital treatment anyway

Maybe

The people they interact with generally do.

[TheLordJohn]

Muntu said:

Maybe

The people they interact with generally do.

Until they all start breeding, anyway.
Never takes long. And they never just replace themselves, it's always 2 fold, or more.

[Hugo a Gogo]

well I've got 4 kids, so I can say nowt

[Bodo]

Tony427 said:

Adenauer said:

Tony427 said:

We came off the stand thinking " Bloomin heck we only really went on for a free carrier bag."

Tony427 said:

The owner started chatting with us, and he turned the conversation to the economy. " Its tough" he said " we are all getting squeezed to pay for all the refugees,

Sorry but I don't get that bit, my take home pay, tax contributions etc. haven't changed one iota in the last few years, where is this 'we are all getting squeezed to pay for them' thing coming from?

Perhaps you don't own a restaurant in Frankfurt?

It may not even be true for the guy, but its his perception of the situation which is important.

And if enough people share the same perception?

To the hotel owner it was the local council applying the squeeze who were increasing their taxes for the outside tables which meant that he would be reducing the number of outside tables as they were becoming uneconomic. We were on a table that wifi couldnt reach and an innocent enquiry as to the wifi coverage led to him bemoaning the local council increasing table taxes. He explained he could have put in a wifi booster but he was taking the two tables farthest away from the hotel out of commission at the end of the season so it wasn't worth the added expenditure.

His perception was that the local council was increasing table taxes( the tables are on his own land btw) because they were short of money, because of ...... you get the drift.

Cheers,

Tony

I do believe that landlord Tony mentions is getting squeezed, as there is no tax or contributions per table in Frankfurt's Gastronomie.
http://www.frankfurt.de/sixcms/detail.php?id=2935
http://www.frankfurt-main.ihk.de/branchen/gastrono...

So either that, or the landlord was manipulating Tony.

[danllama]

What are things like in Munich at the moment? And how is Munich in general, for somebody that's never been?

I've been offered a job there, very different to what i'm doing now, but similar money. Change of scenery would be nice.

I like the proximity to Austria, a country I really love.

[Tony427]

Bodo said:

Tony427 said:

Adenauer said:

Tony427 said:

We came off the stand thinking " Bloomin heck we only really went on for a free carrier bag."

Tony427 said:

The owner started chatting with us, and he turned the conversation to the economy. " Its tough" he said " we are all getting squeezed to pay for all the refugees,

Sorry but I don't get that bit, my take home pay, tax contributions etc. haven't changed one iota in the last few years, where is this 'we are all getting squeezed to pay for them' thing coming from?

Perhaps you don't own a restaurant in Frankfurt?

It may not even be true for the guy, but its his perception of the situation which is important.

And if enough people share the same perception?

To the hotel owner it was the local council applying the squeeze who were increasing their taxes for the outside tables which meant that he would be reducing the number of outside tables as they were becoming uneconomic. We were on a table that wifi couldnt reach and an innocent enquiry as to the wifi coverage led to him bemoaning the local council increasing table taxes. He explained he could have put in a wifi booster but he was taking the two tables farthest away from the hotel out of commission at the end of the season so it wasn't worth the added expenditure.

His perception was that the local council was increasing table taxes( the tables are on his own land btw) because they were short of money, because of ...... you get the drift.

Cheers,

Tony

I do believe that landlord Tony mentions is getting squeezed, as there is no tax or contributions per table in Frankfurt's Gastronomie.
http://www.frankfurt.de/sixcms/detail.php?id=2935
http://www.frankfurt-main.ihk.de/branchen/gastrono...

So either that, or the landlord was manipulating Tony.

FFS.

If you are going to play Sherlock Holmes it would pay to actually read what I posted in my initial post.

The hotel owner and the Restaurant owner are two different people.

The Hotel owner owns a hotel in Rudesheim am Rhein. It is this guy who says the council are increasing his charges for outside tables.

The Restaurant owner is in Frankfurt not far from the Frankfurt Messe.

Moreover it doesn't matter that the guys are telling me porkies or not.

Their perception and the perception of other Germans is that the govt is squeezing them unfairly. and my experience, limited as it is, is that this perception is widely held amongst the German middle class.

Whether it is true is irrelevant.

Its the perception that will bring down Merkel imho.

Cheers,

Tony

[Trabi601]

After spending 10 of the last 14 days in Germany, I can honestly say that not a single person commented to me on the subject of immigration or Brexit.

You had to be fishing for it!

[Wobbegong]

Trabi601 said:

After spending 10 of the last 14 days in Germany, I can honestly say that not a single person commented to me on the subject of immigration or Brexit.

You had to be fishing for it!

I've found most people don't really care. Aside from a French chap moaning about losing his funding due to Brexit and declaring that all those who do not agree with him are retards (he is a researcher for a university group), I've not read or heard much comment on it.

[Liokault]

Trabi601 said:

After spending 10 of the last 14 days in Germany, I can honestly say that not a single person commented to me on the subject of immigration or Brexit.

You had to be fishing for it!

Really, that's all they wanted to talk about in Munich last week.

Monday a German friend came back from paternity leave, all he wanted to do was talk Brexit, even strangers lifts want to talk Brexit with me.

[dandarez]

Liokault said:

Trabi601 said:

After spending 10 of the last 14 days in Germany, I can honestly say that not a single person commented to me on the subject of immigration or Brexit.

You had to be fishing for it!

Really, that's all they wanted to talk about in Munich last week.

Monday a German friend came back from paternity leave, all he wanted to do was talk Brexit, even strangers lifts want to talk Brexit with me.

That's because Trabi was probably in the high migrant areas. He forgets Germany is a big country. You have to speak to people to find out their opinions. Wonder if he's fluent in German? (I realise plenty of Germans speak good English).

Even a YouGov poll just before the referendum, taken in Germany, showed 1 in 3 Germans when asked would vote to Leave the EU if given the chance.

Yeah, I know, pollsters... how can you trust them?

I agree, probably be nearer 2 in 3 Germans voting Leave.

[Trabi601]

dandarez said:

That's because Trabi was probably in the high migrant areas. He forgets Germany is a big country. You have to speak to people to find out their opinions. Wonder if he's fluent in German? (I realise plenty of Germans speak good English).

Even a YouGov poll just before the referendum, taken in Germany, showed 1 in 3 Germans when asked would vote to Leave the EU if given the chance.

Yeah, I know, pollsters... how can you trust them?

I agree, probably be nearer 2 in 3 Germans voting Leave.

Bad Harzburg, Dresden, Garmisch-Partenkirchen and St. Goar / Ruedesheim.

I'm not fluent in German, I can get by, but nobody at all who I spoke with (bar staff, hotel owners) even mentioned Brexit. A couple of people asked why Schweinsteiger had been dumped into the reserves by Manchester United, I also had a few conversations about my Trabi ownership, but not a single person offered a conversation about Brexit or immigration.

[Hugo a Gogo]

Hardly anyone has mentioned it to me either

[Hugo a Gogo]

Re tables: probably in Rudesheim it's not his land, it's the pedestrianised area and he's paying for a Sondergenehmigung for using the public area.

[Trabi601]

Hugo a Gogo said:

Re tables: probably in Rudesheim it's not his land, it's the pedestrianised area and he's paying for a Sondergenehmigung for using the public area.

I love the way the German language works!

Sommerrodelbahn is my current favourite.