Greek Referendum Poll

[Razgovory]

If only you had a Hamilton.

[Valmy]

And the parralells with the Treaty of Brest Litovsk are uncanny (other than of course it was in the middle of a war). Germany and radical leftists try and make a peace deal which are harsh. Leftists walk away but situation only gets worse. They are then forced to sign a deal which is even more harsh than the previous one.

Though at least Brest Litovsk left the Russians independent. What the Greeks are facing is effectively an unequal treaty between them and the EU.

Well at least the Germans have progressed from Nazis to the Kaiserreich. Next this will be compared to Charlemagne's treatment of the Saxons.

[Valmy]

That sort of is the point of the Eurozone, isn't it?  The adoption of the Euro is more about binding the constitute states together rather than enjoying economic benefits.  It might have even worked if they had a real federal government.

Yep. They need a real federal government for this to work.

[PJL]

Looks like Germany may have overplayed their hand. I expect some sort of compromise deal now.

[grumbler]

Yep. They need a real federal government for this to work.

That, and mobility of labor.  If there is high unemployment in Greece and worker shortages in Germany, Greeks need to move to Germany, like Michiganders moved to Tennessee when the auto industry relocated there.

That's not so easy when language and customs barriers are so strong.  I don't think even a federal government would resolve the basic problems with the Euro.

[Razgovory]

A lot of Greeks and Germans can speak English, so it's not a deal breaker.

[Iormlund]

Yep. They need a real federal government for this to work.

That, and mobility of labor.  If there is high unemployment in Greece and worker shortages in Germany, Greeks need to move to Germany, like Michiganders moved to Tennessee when the auto industry relocated there.

That's not so easy when language and customs barriers are so strong.  I don't think even a federal government would resolve the basic problems with the Euro.

There are not that many jobs for unemployed Greeks in Germany. Germany lacks qualified workers, but there's plenty of under-worked unskilled locals.

[Iormlund]

A lot of Greeks and Germans can speak English, so it's not a deal breaker.

Greeks, maybe. If they worked in the tourism industry.

Germans? Definitely not. In my experience very, VERY few people speak it as well as Zanza or Syt. Many don't speak it at all. My doc, fortunately, does. You can get by in English but, in a typical workplace, you're going to be pretty lost at meetings and will need support for stuff like finding a place, opening a bank account, filling a medical history, buying insurance, etc.

[grumbler]

There are not that many jobs for unemployed Greeks in Germany. Germany lacks qualified workers, but there's plenty of under-worked unskilled locals.

I was talking in a more general sense.  Eurozone labor is not very mobile, for very understandable reasons, and that's what makes a single currency problematic, IMO.

[MadImmortalMan]

Well, Germany could always set up special camps for Greek workers where they can speak Greek and be, you know, concentrated. For efficiency.

[crazy canuck]

Looks like Germany may have overplayed their hand. I expect some sort of compromise deal now.

Perhaps they will say their earlier comments should not have been taken seriously

[Monoriu]

My experience is that Germans speak very good English.  At least the ones I saw.  Actually it is seldom a problem in Europe, with the notable exception of France.  I am sure they speak good English.  The problem is they expect me to speak French 

[Razgovory]

All people are born with knowledge of English but speak other languages out of spite.

[grumbler]

My experience is that Germans speak very good English.  At least the ones I saw.  Actually it is seldom a problem in Europe, with the notable exception of France.  I am sure they speak good English.  The problem is they expect me to speak French 

My experience two years ago in France is that they are delighted if you try to use French, but are happy to deal with you in English (or a mix) if your French isn't up to the purpose.  That was quite a change from my experience 15 years ago.

I haven't been to Germany in more than a decade, but a good friend is German and he argues that the Germans are among the least cosmopolitan of the big European countries; they learn some English in school, but have forgotten it because they don't use it, and don't consume English-language media like other countries do.

Online, I find that the Germans I encounter have good English, so maybe my friend is over-stating the parochialism of Germans.

[Admiral Yi]

My experience is Krauts all speak English unless they're pretty old.