Why Germany's Economy is Crumbling

The ongoing economic crisis in Germany has gotten so bad that a nationwide paper shortage may delay new elections.
Here's why Europe's economic engine fell apart.
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Got a "why" you want answered? Give us your questions here:

[FalconFastest]

Paper shortage my ass. Worst excuse since the dog ate my homework.

[caravanlifenz]

Germany spent well over 20 billion euros trying to assimilate refugees who were largely illiterate, uneducated, unskilled and too old to adapt to such a drastically different culture. This meant young taxpayers were stuck footing the bill, while the extra people pushed up the cost of housing. As a result, a lot of skilled Germans have been abandoning Germany. I hear German accents all the time in New Zealand now.

[Aarrenrhonda]

The germany economy relies heavily on continuous credit and debt creation to function. As a result, the Federal Reserve will likely continue to print more money, increasing the average germany's debt burden. Meanwhile, foreign economies, which are struggling even more than the germany, remain eager to hold US dollars. Ultimately, someone will be left to bear the consequences of this unsustainable economic cycle.

[christo]

Pretty sure russia didnt "cut off" the gas.

[tlow]

Somewhat right, somewhat off. Energy prices are too high, correct. But even if they were zero, VW still wouldn’t sell their cars and still wouldn’t create enough profits.
The problem goes deeper. For decades every government no matter the color spended every surplus on stupid gifts for their respective voter group. Money was thrown on everything, but where it counts: infrastructure, education and military are underfunded since reunification. We forgot to invest in the future and rested on the laurels.
Greetings from Germany!

[jense.]

russia did not cut off the gas deliveries.
our government did not want to take this gas any longer (even russia says if the want it, they get it).

[TyeDPod]

Hey, I remember when Trump warned Germany about depending on Russian gas, and they laughed at him.

[overtonpendulum]

Giving millions of asylum seekers who don't work welfare probably didn't help either.

[DerLidt]

Actually, Russia didn’t cut the gas. Germany didn’t want it anymore because they wanted to sanction Russia.

[FarFromFake]

As a German myself. I'm planning to finish my studies and leave my country. It saddens me, but it is what it is

[PS-qnoz]

Thumbs up when you said "ideological hubris."

[janofb]

Get woke, go broke. Same story, different victim. Until voters start holding the "rulers" accountable, it'll never change. The self-serving and self enriching politicians should lose everything for their incompetence.

[mineolahome]

Importing millions of free loaders under Angela surely helped.

[DracThaMac]

Pretty accurate, overall, but it was Germany who decided to stop gas imports from Russia, not the other way round. Also, an important piece of the puzzle is uncontrolled migration that became a key aspect in coalition building, stopping the majority of technically possible conservative liberal coalitions. Migration totally divides the political landscape and makes the whole system very rigid and stagnant.

[riffmondo]

Blackrock, Vanguard, State Street and their ESG Scores.

[marcussver]

It is in crisis, perhaps because, aside from relying on cheap energy they no longer have, they failed to focus on innovation, progress, and diversification. In the automotive sector, they have fallen behind China, the USA, and South Korea, and they lack other sources of income.

[Abusemtex]

As a german I have to correct some points mentioned here:

1. paper shortage is a hoax made up by politicians to cling on to power a little longer
2. Volkswagen struggles due to chinese subsidised cars on the international market and the german governement struggles to decide on duties vs. China
3. inflation is by far not as strong as f.e. in the US and energy costs throughout Europe have stabilized/gone down since the end of 2023
4. biggest obstacle for the free market and economy is overwhelming bureaucracy and regulation

[mornefouche]

One correction - Germany cut off its own gas supply from Russia via sanctions. And then the US blew up Nord stream, sealing the deal.

[InfinityBlue]

Russia cut off Germany's gas supply? That's a laugh 😂. Weren't sanctions imposed on Russia? So it wasn't Uncle Sam who blew up the Nortstream pipelines? The pathetic thing about the whole thing is that Germany still thanked Uncle Sam.

[capnkraken]

Great video. Can you explain why the UK is losing its free speech? Also just what the heck is going on there in general?