German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Friday he would not advise young people in his country to move to the United States for study or work, in the latest sign of cooling ties between Berlin and Washington.
With all due hate for Merz (Leck Eier!), can we acknowledge what an insane break from usual German-US relations this is?
Especially coming from the conservative CDU, and especially especially from this guy.A German chancellor advising against going to the US to study would have been unthinkable in the past.
Rule of thumb: if you want to do something that Trump considers advisable, think twice. Guess that’s what Merz did.
Even that old fuckhead isn’t always wrong
As someone who’s lived in the US for years: he’s right
As a German who studied in the US before 9/11, he’s right NOW. And that’s sad.
As someone who’s lived in Germany for years: that’s a first for him.
Your enemy is right and that’s terrible
He is right but very likely for the wrong reasons. He doesn’t want young people fleeing the country in response to whatever the fuck he is doing to it.
I dont think anyone sane enough to move away from germany because of Merz would move to the US?
I don’t know if the US is the right place to advertise against following that logic. Other EU members seem to be the more obvious choice.
Well, it is an easy target to advocate against right now.
The thing is that despite Germany’s slow economy they still have higher wages compared to
allmost of their neighbours and any of the large ones, and most of the EU or EEC. In the US salaries for professional jobs are often almost double what they are in Germany so it’s attractive from that point of view, while in Europe the only real option for that is Switzerland, maybe Luxembourg. They probably also already speak English quite well and the language barrier is higher in other EU countries.The thing is that despite Germany’s slow economy they still have higher wages compared to any of their neighbours
Except for Denmark, Switzerland, and Luxembourg. Germany has lower real wages than 1/3 of its neighbors, and it gets worse if you compare median wage instead of the average, which gets pushed up artificially by the super-rich.
Yes, you’re right. I did mention those. Denmark is not much higher though, Luxembourg is only an option for people in specific fields really, and all three are tiny compared to Germany whereas the US is an enormous labour market. If you adjust those neighbours for their population size compared to France, Poland, Netherlands, Czechia etc. then it’s still higher than the overwhelming majority though. Real wages in Austria are pretty good for academics but otherwise not great either. But yes.
He needs young people to pay for the German boomers retirement.
US citizens don’t advise it, either.
I also wouldn’t advise old people to move to the US. Or middle-aged people. Or people.
I absolutely would advise Friedrich Merz to move to the US. Preferably permanently.
