There's no such thing as a free lunch; whether or not we're less productive, nobody's paying you for the hours you don't work. And, indeed, aren't Germany's wages, by sector, consistently lower than those in the US?
Quality of life is higher no matter what you earn. Germany is set up so you can enjoy your days and your life.
In the city, yes. In the suburbs most people consider a car a necessity to get to work.
Here in Indiana, without a car you don't work. Or buy groceries. Period. You are at the mercy of your friends who do have cars, and it's a real burden for the poor.
But that's orthogonal to my point. You could mandate 6 weeks vacation in the US, too. But wages would go down as a result.
Generally, if you're in our profession and you want more vacation, become a contractor. People have been doing contract work for decades for exactly this reason.
If Americans worked less, it's likely that the amount of goods and services produced would also go down. In that case, prices would remain the same, and we would all just have less stuff.
Housing appears to cost about as much as a major US metro area.
Housing in major cities in Germany is drastically cheaper than in the US.
The average cost of a newly built detached house in Germany in 2008 was $320,540USD. The average cost of same in the United States in 2008 was $292,600[1].
Yes, I did compare, but not aggressively. What's your source?
[1] Bulwien Gesa via "Global Property Guide", and the US Government, respectively.
And there are also much cheaper cities in Germany, I was comparing the most expensive in both countries since you talked about major US metro areas.
Pretty sure that even if you go down the ladder and compare Seattle/Miami/San Diego to Hamburg/Berlin/Cologne or whatever their German counterparts are German housing is still cheaper.
EDIT: I see you changed your comment while I was replying. You're right that if you compare suburban housing (detached houses) the US is cheaper. But if we are talking about metropolitan housing it's a different story. Also, relatively few people live in detached houses in Germany - these do not represent the average household like they do in the US.
I don't think we are at a disagreement, because I don't think we are comparing the same thing. I am talking about metropolitan life (apartment, central location in a big city) while you are talking about housing in general (which in the US mostly comprises houses in suburbs).
Honestly, it's not that hard to actually gather the statistics and muster an argument based on evidence. Every major metro area tracks these numbers.
Having just replied to another comment with 4 minutes of Google research to establish the rough parity between the cost of the Berlin rental market with that of Chicago, the third largest city in the US, I'm comfortable supposing right back at you that you're wrong, and that housing in Germany simply isn't significantly cheaper than it is in the US, despite the fact that it is the single largest component of the typical cost of living and the fact that on average Germans earn less than Americans.
And, sorry, no, I'm talking about major metro, not suburbs.
And, sorry, no, I'm talking about
major metro, not suburbs.
The average cost of a newly built
**detached house** in Germany
The few exceptions to that rule are extremely expensive. This is why the comparison is not 100% apt - detached houses are a common form of housing major US cities but very uncommon in major German cities.
You do live in disposable houses. Have you seen how a house in the US is built? The walls are made of what are called 2"x4"s [1], spaced 1.5' apart. If you've ever been to Lowes or one of those kinds of places and seen insulation you'll see why. Insulation comes in big rolls 1.5' wide. Once the insulation is in sheetrock is put on the inside and blackboard on the outside. If the home is a brick it will then have bricks laid in front of the blackboard with a strip of plastic in between because of the moisture, otherwise they just put siding on.
And that's it. When I explain this to people in Europe the reaction is always the same. First they look at me like they don't believe me, then they exclaim "so that's why they always fall over in high winds". There is a story over here about a German who build a German-style home on the east coast. When the inevitable hurricane came the only damage his home suffered was from the debris of the cheap American homes that fell apart hitting his house.
[1] It's actually 1.5"x3.5". I believe they are counting the eventual siding as part of the size.
I used to have a house built in the late 60's, in Bloomington IN. By no means was it atypical. It was a ranch on a slab, 2x4 stud construction, drywall inside, and Godawful cheap paperboard siding. The windows were aluminum frames and had what I can only assume was a negative R value.
In Europe, people just don't build that way. Well, out in the boondocks, people might build a shack like that - but not in actual cities. Certainly not in a city the size of Bloomington. It's not a stereotype that Americans live in disposable houses, you see: it's just reality.
Most of our workforce - including everybody who did plaster - was gone for several years. Then they all came back and had the GI Bill to buy cheap houses. The market spoke, and we're left with a lot of people who know how to build cheap houses.
Now, my house is built of three layers of brick, made right here in town in a factory long gone. Its interior walls are 2x4 studs that actually measure two inches by four inches, and are roughly the consistency of iron after their 130-year drying period. (They still smell nice when drilled for wiring, though - imagine that!) There is half an inch of real plaster on that. You cannot harm this house.
I should tell you, though, that drywall is gaining popularity in Europe as well. It's just so cheap and quick, you see.
What part of Europe? In the parts of Europe I'm familiar with people seem smarter about real savings. For example if you build a pile-of-sticks US style house, yes it will initially cost very little. But maintenance, heating, cooling, etc., etc. will cost a great deal more for the whole time you have the house. Perhaps if utility costs were so incredibly cheap like they are in the US people wouldn't think about it as much.
I'm not saying I've ever seen a studs-and-drywall approach in Europe, no. In Hungary things tend to just be concrete or block or brick construction, and wood is used for looks. This is partly because wood is really expensive in Europe, since the Phoenicians cut down their forests, mostly. We've got Canada.
I wouldn't be surprised to see a light steel interior frame wall with drywall and plaster on it, though.
That's not really answering your question, but for a gigantor metropolis berlin is a lot cheaper than manhattan...
The purpose of earning money is to enable you to live the lifestyle of your choice, that's axiomatic. If you can get everything you want for less money, are you more or less wealthy than someone who can't get what they want, for more?
Also, productivity is not linear with time. 30 hours of actual work beats 50 if half of those 50 is meetings and goofing off. That's the German and French secret, if any.
From the article: "In 2008 it was estimated that three vacation days were left unused for most American workers."
Since the average American doesn't use all the vacation he has, the answer is probably no.
"Standard of living" rankings tend to measure how much of the stuff that the study creators want that you can afford to have. A nation might have a low rank due simply to the fact that the people living there prefer different things than what the study creators think they should prefer. Measuring PPP-adjusted money doesn't have this problem.
Additionally, this article rings true for my experience both living in Germany & working with Germans in the US (especially here); They bust ass & are amazingly productive.
Of course, it's also the reason US companies are so eager to outsource programming jobs.
"Max Klein" sent me an e-mail essentially inviting me to 'take it outside', I am amused.