Borbarad
Advocatus Diaboli
Originally posted by Dr McBeefington
Well once again, my view of philosophy has been tainted by liberal arts and philosophy majors. Other than that, if it helps you sleep better at night or figure something out, go for it. Although I do have a problem with people who understand philosophy well, but can't seem to comprehend how financial and monetary institutions work on this planet.
I think you could have much fun with Frithjof Bergmann. Quite funny guy and, as somebody interested in philosophy, he's also quite interested in economy. That aside: One can't understand how financial and monetary insitutions work without understanding philosophy first. Economy is not a science built on charts and some numbers. It involves a nice deal of ideologies and - yes - philosophies, that one has to understand before the ability to understand the system. I, as a typical member of the "liberal arts and philosophy majors" you dislike so much, have a better overview on economic topics than most people studying economy I know. And, just to add that - I don't like economy majors, who can tell you how every financial and monetary insitution works, but can't tell you how people work.
Which brings me back to the question you had asked. First concering German economy. Yes. We had a decline of exports in the first quater but it has (albeit only a little bit) risen in the second quater (0.3 %). Yet, I don't think we will be affected by the crises as much as China. Why?
a) Unlike China, Germany is producing (and exporting) high-quality products only. So why people might stop buying the cheap stuff exported from there, they won't stop buying stuff with a "Made in Germany" placed on it somewhere so fast.
b) Germany is the market-leader for technology (and that by far) for everything related to renewable energy. Considering the fact that this is about to become a big market (also thanks to Obama), guess who will make the cash there...The related branches have constantly grown with a ration of more than 10 % in the last years over here.
c) Over here, we have a - compared to the USA - rather conservative economic system. At least from what I can judge. Most people over here don't have credit cards and, generally, don't spent more than they actually have. So a crisis in the financial market doesn't hit Germany as hard as it would hit the USA or England.
Then, regarding to your question about the German health care system (about rich people). In general, every German who has work pays 15 % of his anual income to the health insurance system, with another 15 % of that income being paid by the employers. Those 15 % are capped at an anual income of 50,000 Euro per year. For that money, everything that has to be done (based on a catalogue that is updated recently) is covered by the health insurance.
Now: If you earn more than that, you're free to change into the private health ensurance. In general, they will take more money, but also cover additional stuff, that the general health insurance doesn't pay for. For example: Laser-based operations at the dentist.
In both cases, you're free to spent money for additional treatment that your health insurance doesn't cover. Just as example: Professional Tooth Cleaning.