Lies, damned lies and statistics...

[statman]

German unemployment hits a 20-year low (?)...

http://www.cnbc.com/id/39885973

7% unemployment? LOL!

Germany currently has ~9% of workers in a new classification - "Hartz IV" - chronically unemployed with no hope of employment or justification for retraining.

Since 2005 Germany has had four different kinds of unemployment.

Hartz I are underemployed - ex-full-time employees now working part-time.

Hartz II are your classical "unemployed" - the official unemployment numbers report only this group.

Hartz III are people currently making ~500 Euros a month while they're in a "retraining program"

Hartz IV are chronically unemployed, not trainable, and no longer reported as unemployed.

EACH of these groups but Hartz II is at record highs. And yet the German government says that unemployment is at an all-time low. And apparently, the German Sheeple believe them. Actually, I kinda doubt your average German buys it for a second.

Germany's ACTUAL unemployment rate is somewhere around 20% - counting groups 2, 3, & 4 - not the under-employed...

[Uncle Ted]

Hmm... Maybe Obama and congress should of spent $787 billion on doing this instead of the stimulus. This might have worked.

[wuapinmon]

I prefer the Oxford comma.

[Moliere]

I remember reading that Germans get something like two years of guaranteed unemployment benefits when they lose their job. These benefits include health care and a salary pretty much close to what they got when they were employed.

The problem they are having stems from people who don't want to work because they are getting government benefits for two years without raising a finger.

[il Padrino Ute]

I prefer the Oxford comma.

Screw the Oxford comma. I don't use it, have never used it and will never use it.

[wuapinmon]

Screw the Oxford comma. I don't use it, have never used it and will never use it.

"Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy; its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." - Winston Churchill

You use it in your signature quote, sciocco.

[il Padrino Ute]

You use it in your signature quote, sciocco.

I do my best to not take a quote out of context.

Besides, I meant that I refuse to use it in my own writings. But I think you knew that.

(For future use, sciocco is an adjective, not a noun. Just trying to help.)

[wuapinmon]

I do my best to not take a quote out of context.

Besides, I meant that I refuse to use it in my own writings. But I think you knew that.

(For future use, sciocco is an adjective, not a noun. Just trying to help.)

Au contraire. Plus, I never miss a chance to tease a friend. Also, chew on this!

Concise Oxford Paravia Italian Dictionary © 2003 Oxford University Press:
sciocco pl. -chi , -che /ˈʃɔkko, ki, ke/
aggettivo
foolish, silly
sostantivo maschile
(f. -a )
fool.

[il Padrino Ute]

Au contraire. Plus, I never miss a chance to tease a friend. Also, chew on this!

Concise Oxford Paravia Italian Dictionary © 2003 Oxford University Press:
sciocco pl. -chi , -che /ˈʃɔkko, ki, ke/
aggettivo
foolish, silly
sostantivo maschile
(f. -a )
fool.

I refuse to accept a dictionary that is similar in name to a fake comma.

[Blueintheface]

Which is why Germans love David Hasselhoff.

[il Padrino Ute]

Which is why Germans love David Hasselhoff.

What does Hasselhoff have to do with the lame Oxford comma?

[MarkGrace]

I prefer the Oxford comma.

Who gives a fuck about an Oxford comma? I've seen those English dramas too, they're cruel. So if there's any other way to spell the word it's fine with me.

[wuapinmon]

I refuse to accept a dictionary that is similar in name to a fake comma.

The Oxford Dictionary insists upon itself.

Who gives a fuck about an Oxford comma? I've seen those English dramas too, they're cruel. So if there's any other way to spell the word it's fine with me.

[MarkGrace]

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_i1xk07o4g"]YouTube - Vampire Weekend - Oxford Comma[/nomedia]

[TripletDaddy]

YouTube - Vampire Weekend - Oxford Comma

that was the first thing I thought of, but figured it would get the same response. you took one for the team.