Inspired by Miguel's wish list for what kind of candidate he would vote in the upcoming US election I want to say something about one of the issues he mentioned: social security.
I am not a fan of the German social security system (anymore). It is just too expensive. We are in the middle of a painful reform process.
Some people think we should abandon a federal system of social security altogether. Maybe we should leave it to the individual citizen to take care of building up his retirement funds, choosing med insurance, doctors, hospitals, schools,... whatever. I think, however that this is not as fair as it sounds.
Of course, I don't like the idea that a hard working tax payer finances a 24/7 vacation of others.
But being able to choose in the social security sector is a good thing only if you have equally good options to choose from.
I don't think that is the case in any country in the world. Therefore I think that some sort of government spending is required to ensure the constitutional rights, especially equal opportunities. The old German system was too expensive, had some loopholes, needed reform. I doubt that the new German system will be perfect, I hope it will be better than the old one but I am not sure.
But I am sure that a social security system that is not based on solidarity in the broadest sense violates the principles of democracy and can eventually lead to its downfall. It doesn't even need a revolution for that. Social peace is important to make sure that the state is supported by its people. Government systems that don't have the support of its people become powerless and will eventually vanish.
I am convinced that a solidarity-based social security system is a prerequisite for social peace. And social peace is a prerequisite for a democracy.
Showing posts with label National Politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label National Politics. Show all posts
Sunday, August 29, 2004
Monday, June 28, 2004
East Berlin, West Berlin
I was also asked to say something about cultural differences between East and West Berlin.
I am from the West, my girlfriend is from the East. I live in Reinickendorf, she lives in Hellersdorf. There are like 30 km between us.
Are there still differences?
Yes, while Berlin is definitely growing together, this is not happening with the speed most people hoped.
Many people in former West Berlin feel like they gave a lot of money to people who wouldn't work with enough effort, therefore the East appears to them as a money swallowing bottomless pit. This is - of course - doing East Berliners injustice. What is true, however is that many people in former East Berlin needed some time to adapt to West German way of life. Of course many of them don't want to. And that is totally fine. People in East Germany didn't revolt in order to become just like West Germans, they revolted in order to gain similar liberties and similar standard of living. While remaining with a different cultural identity is no big deal in one's spare time it was expected of them to assimilate in work life because (no matter whether it is sad or not) West Germans run the show economically.
On the other hand many people from former East Berlin are disappointed with what happened after reunification. They hoped to gain the standard of living of West Germans of their generation. Instead they lost their jobs because the East German industry couldn't compete well enough and many of them became welfare cases. They wanted to work and felt like 2nd tier citizens when they saw that they didn't get the chance to contribute. The problem wasn't always the bad state of East German industry. Often times Western companies received government money for transforming East German companies into a modern industry. The outcome was often the opposite: Managers bought the companies, took the money from the government and then let the East German economy die. It was an easy way to get rid of competition.
Again, there are two sides, however. Large parts of the economy are productive now after releasing like 90% of their work force.
When you look at Berlin today, yes it is growing together. There are parts where it is hard to determine whether they belonged to the East or to the West. On the other hand the differences can not be overlooked either. They also translate into election results. The socialist PDS party which had goverened the GDR under its original name SED for 40 years gets a large share of votes in East Germany. In Berlin it has enough votes to form a coalition government with the SPD.
It has been widely discussed in Germany whether the PDS would be a passing phenomenon or not. Well, I can't judge on that. My estimate is that it will remain influential as long as there are people who are not content with capitalism. This may be a long, long time.
Another thing to cultural differences is the phenomenon of "Ostalgie" a word play from Nostalgie, meaning a romantic image of what life was like in the GDR.
So special Ostprodukte are being bought again, movies are being made about how fun it was to be young in East-Berlin, and so on.
Famous movies of that sort are "Sonnenallee" (a comedy) and "Good Bye, Lenin" (a more serious comedy about the months of change in 1989/90).
While both movies made tons of money in Germany the second one is very successful internationally, as well. You can get it on amazon.com. (Btw, I recommend both.)
Finally, I would like to stress that I am not an expert in all of this. I am just reflecting some of the things I notice in everyday life. If you have questions or differing opinions, I 'll be glad to read and respond to them.
I am from the West, my girlfriend is from the East. I live in Reinickendorf, she lives in Hellersdorf. There are like 30 km between us.
Are there still differences?
Yes, while Berlin is definitely growing together, this is not happening with the speed most people hoped.
Many people in former West Berlin feel like they gave a lot of money to people who wouldn't work with enough effort, therefore the East appears to them as a money swallowing bottomless pit. This is - of course - doing East Berliners injustice. What is true, however is that many people in former East Berlin needed some time to adapt to West German way of life. Of course many of them don't want to. And that is totally fine. People in East Germany didn't revolt in order to become just like West Germans, they revolted in order to gain similar liberties and similar standard of living. While remaining with a different cultural identity is no big deal in one's spare time it was expected of them to assimilate in work life because (no matter whether it is sad or not) West Germans run the show economically.
On the other hand many people from former East Berlin are disappointed with what happened after reunification. They hoped to gain the standard of living of West Germans of their generation. Instead they lost their jobs because the East German industry couldn't compete well enough and many of them became welfare cases. They wanted to work and felt like 2nd tier citizens when they saw that they didn't get the chance to contribute. The problem wasn't always the bad state of East German industry. Often times Western companies received government money for transforming East German companies into a modern industry. The outcome was often the opposite: Managers bought the companies, took the money from the government and then let the East German economy die. It was an easy way to get rid of competition.
Again, there are two sides, however. Large parts of the economy are productive now after releasing like 90% of their work force.
When you look at Berlin today, yes it is growing together. There are parts where it is hard to determine whether they belonged to the East or to the West. On the other hand the differences can not be overlooked either. They also translate into election results. The socialist PDS party which had goverened the GDR under its original name SED for 40 years gets a large share of votes in East Germany. In Berlin it has enough votes to form a coalition government with the SPD.
It has been widely discussed in Germany whether the PDS would be a passing phenomenon or not. Well, I can't judge on that. My estimate is that it will remain influential as long as there are people who are not content with capitalism. This may be a long, long time.
Another thing to cultural differences is the phenomenon of "Ostalgie" a word play from Nostalgie, meaning a romantic image of what life was like in the GDR.
So special Ostprodukte are being bought again, movies are being made about how fun it was to be young in East-Berlin, and so on.
Famous movies of that sort are "Sonnenallee" (a comedy) and "Good Bye, Lenin" (a more serious comedy about the months of change in 1989/90).
While both movies made tons of money in Germany the second one is very successful internationally, as well. You can get it on amazon.com. (Btw, I recommend both.)
Finally, I would like to stress that I am not an expert in all of this. I am just reflecting some of the things I notice in everyday life. If you have questions or differing opinions, I 'll be glad to read and respond to them.
Turkish people in Berlin
I have been asked to say something about Turkish people in Berlin (in response to my comment on May 1st riots and that they have nothing to do with the Turkish community)
So I thought about Turkish people in Berlin. The first answer is quite striking, I don't know that many.
Most of them live in other parts of Berlin: Kreuzberg, Schöneberg, Wedding, Neukölln (all parts of former West Berlin). I live in Reinickendorf. (Northern part of former West Berlin) When the Turkish people came as foreign workers during the 60s they came into neighborhoods with more affordable rents. To a large extent they still live there.
So the few Turkish people I know, don't live in these areas:
1. A colleague of my mom. I played with his kids (same age as me) when we where young
2. My doctor. He graduated from medical school in Istanbul before coming to Germany. He lives around the corner.
3. A classmate. In my graduation year from highschool we were 128 graduates. One of them was Turkish.
On the other hand, there are areas in Berlin where turkish people are the majority. However, I would not see those areas as ghettos or slums. I have accidentally come through a slum in Chicago and have been through some less nice neighborhoods of LA, I don't see any areas in Berlin that could compare.
These days talking about people who pray to Allah is often connected to radical Islamism. There are many mosques in Berlin and Islamism is an issue. However, Berlin has worse problems than Islamism. While some German girls are afraid to walk through Wedding by night, I am not. I actually feel more threatened in other areas of Berlin like Marzahn or Hellersdorf. These areas in former East Berlin are notorious for skinheads and neo-nazis.
In summary,
a lot is left to do to integrate foreign people better into our community while not making them abandon their cultural identity. It is tough and both sides need to increase their efforts. However, the Turkish community in Berlin always has been and still is a valuable part of Berlin culture.
Even the Nazis eat Döner Kebab. (famous Turkish fast food, first made in Berlin and nowhere else to be found cheaper or better than here)
So I thought about Turkish people in Berlin. The first answer is quite striking, I don't know that many.
Most of them live in other parts of Berlin: Kreuzberg, Schöneberg, Wedding, Neukölln (all parts of former West Berlin). I live in Reinickendorf. (Northern part of former West Berlin) When the Turkish people came as foreign workers during the 60s they came into neighborhoods with more affordable rents. To a large extent they still live there.
So the few Turkish people I know, don't live in these areas:
1. A colleague of my mom. I played with his kids (same age as me) when we where young
2. My doctor. He graduated from medical school in Istanbul before coming to Germany. He lives around the corner.
3. A classmate. In my graduation year from highschool we were 128 graduates. One of them was Turkish.
On the other hand, there are areas in Berlin where turkish people are the majority. However, I would not see those areas as ghettos or slums. I have accidentally come through a slum in Chicago and have been through some less nice neighborhoods of LA, I don't see any areas in Berlin that could compare.
These days talking about people who pray to Allah is often connected to radical Islamism. There are many mosques in Berlin and Islamism is an issue. However, Berlin has worse problems than Islamism. While some German girls are afraid to walk through Wedding by night, I am not. I actually feel more threatened in other areas of Berlin like Marzahn or Hellersdorf. These areas in former East Berlin are notorious for skinheads and neo-nazis.
In summary,
a lot is left to do to integrate foreign people better into our community while not making them abandon their cultural identity. It is tough and both sides need to increase their efforts. However, the Turkish community in Berlin always has been and still is a valuable part of Berlin culture.
Even the Nazis eat Döner Kebab. (famous Turkish fast food, first made in Berlin and nowhere else to be found cheaper or better than here)
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