So, when you move to Germany

Originally Blogged:  Friday, February 24, 2012

            After moving to Germany, it took me about a month to realize how absolutely asinine The New York Times’ coverage of Germany is.  We’re talking a – you wouldn’t pass Journalism 101 – level of idiocy.

            But let me first sing a love song to the New York Times.  I have read The New York Times every day since I was twelve.  Although we lived far way from New York, my parents had a paper copy delivered to the house every morning.  They still do.  And heaven help the person who tossed it in the recycling bin before everybody in the house got to read it.  The entire content is online, but there’s just nothing quite like the paper copy.  I went to a small liberal arts college far away from New York, but I paid the $33 to the college bookstore every semester to have the paper copy of The New York Times delivered to my mailbox.  Then I went to grad school in New York City.  I could only afford the weekend paper, but it was delivered right to my little studio apartment door on the 5^th floor.  Right to my apartment door!  I felt like a princess.  What’s not to love about The New York Times?  I love the Magazine, the Travel Section, the Review of Books!  The crosswords!  OOOh – the crosswords!!  Even the ads are amazing.  My idea of a wonderful weekend morning is a coffee and the paper copy of The New York Times. 

            But now I live in Germany and must read The New York Times online, which brings me to my original point – the coverage of Germany is all kinds of stupid.  The Euro is a new and fascinating currency, this is true.  The Great Recession has presented new challenges, most notably the fact that Greece was allowed to borrow more money than it could hope to repay.  Yet the Germans are weathering the storm fairly well and are poised to lead Europe out of the crisis.  Many have speculated as to why the hard working, frugal Germans would help the Euro zone countries who were not so good with money. 

            In one particularly idiotic rant in The New York Times’ Op-Ed section on September 25^th of last year, Todd G. Buchholz declared:

Germany’s real motivation to help Greece is not cash; it’s culture. Germans struggle with a national envy. For over 200 years, they have been searching for a missing part of their soul: passion. They find it in the south and covet the loosey-goosey, sun-filled days of their free-wheeling Mediterranean neighbors.

He goes on to defend this broad statement about millions of Germans with quotations from Freud (an Austrian), Nietzsche, and Goethe, among others.  Great.  Goethe.  You know what, Goethe, we will talk to you when we need an action update about the French Revolution, but I think we’ll talk to somebody a bit more contemporary when discussing issues with the Euro, shall we? 

            Mr. Buchholz does not interview a single living German or Greek person, but prefers to quote these long dead chaps.  But, my dear Herr Buchholz, does the concept of national envy really make sense to you?  Do you really think that fifty million Germans really want to be Greek?  Really?  Don’t you think they just want to go to work at the insurance office and then take their daughter to ballet practice and then go out for Thai food and then go to bed?  Do you really think they are focusing on a national envy more than they are thinking, you know I should really pick up the dry cleaning?  Don’t you think they know how lucky they are to live in a politically secure, safe, clean country with good education and health insurance?  Sure they have six weeks paid vacation and enjoy going to sunny beaches, but who doesn’t?  Lots of Americans go to Mexico for vacation and love going to Mexican restaurants, but that doesn’t mean that Americans have a national envy of Mexico.

            One more thing about this whole Euro zone bailout business.  It is well known that several rich states, such as New York, pay more money in taxes to the United States federal government than they receive in federal benefits.  Several poor states, such as Alabama, pay less money in taxes to the federal government than they receive in federal benefits.  Does that mean that New York is bailing out Alabama?  Or, do New Yorkers and the federal government understand that we rise and fall as one nation and one US Dollar?  Germany and Greece are certainly not in the same country like New York and Alabama – not by a long shot – but they do have the same currency.  So, let’s do a little thought experiment.  Let’s pretend that every state has its own currency.  New York, as a very rich state, would have a strong currency, could borrow money at low rates, could pay for infrastructure, and could attract top talent from around the country because it could pay workers in a very strong currency.  Alabama, as a relatively poor state, would have a weaker currency.  It could borrow money at high interest rates or not at all, and it would be hard to attract talent because nobody wants to get paid in weak Alabama dollars.  Worst of all, lots of talented, smart Alabamans would probably leave to work in states with stronger economies and currencies.  Alabama’s economy doesn’t really affect New York’s economy.  In fact, the New Yorkers like how strong the New York dollar is, because it helps them lure top talent from states with weaker currencies.  Now, in that case, do you think New York would be so happy to pay for Alabama’s benefits?  Of course, one can only speculate about an answer, but it’s definitely something to think about.

Please stay tuned for future installments of Has the Grey Lady Been Drinking?