German coalition squabbles over EU immigration

German Chancellor Angela Merkel skiing in St Moritz with bodyguards during a Christmas break 22 Dec 13

Hey, if not even the coalition is getting along...

Kabuki.

The consequences of eastern European countries (all of them, not just BG and RO - never mind ES, PT and GR years earlier) joining the EU were painfully obvious years before the fact...and willfully anticipated - the goal is some sort of pipe-dream beneficial-to-all EUSSR. Which no one but the politicos wants. Tensions are mounting, and the result won’t be pretty (again).

Germany’s had many thousands of guest workers from Turkey for many years, and also has (as someone pointed out in the “UK to overtake Germany” thread) factories galore that require labor.

Having grown up in Michigan where the auto industry used to be ubiquitous (even here in western Mich) I’ve known plenty of people whose plans after high school were to follow in the footsteps of their parents (or more often, their dads) into one of the parts plants, or into furniture, and even one who talked incessantly during breaks (in a small factory where I used to work) of sweeping floors at Story & Clark (the piano factory in Grand Haven, which is now condos) factory.

But a great many wanted something allegedly better for their kids, involving going to college as they were never able to do themselves (kids of my parents’ generation were only required to finish 8th grade, a good many left for their adult jobs at age 14, which was also old enough to drive back then), in order to get white collar (or pink collar) jobs of some sort or other.

German kids have been steered toward their occupation by a mandatory system inside the public education — testing done every two years I think it is, which puts the kids into tracks based on their scores for aptitudes for various things. This leads to some heading off to factories, and a great many more off to accounting, law, chemistry, whatever, and on the way getting tracked through the courses of studies required. There’s a real need for guest workers from the down-at-the-heels former Warsaw Pact countries. Romania has seen something of an egress of factories into Bulgaria, which has been more aggressive at recruiting manufacturers.

The richer OPEC countries have tried the same approach with interesting variants, knowing that ultimately the only resources available to any nation are its people. Most successful has been Kuwait and the UAE; the Saudis have managed to produce a couple generations of management trainees who won’t do the work that’s needed in any society, and wind up on the dole and too much time on their hands, while the jobs wind up filled by some five million guest workers from southern Asia and various muzzie countries. Kuwait has loads of guest workers from Syria and other places.

Germany’s had many thousands of guest workers from Turkey for many years,...

Alas, many millions by now (few actually "workers")...and the whole history of Turks migrating to Germany, the why and how, would take many paragraphs to explore. I don't know if you can read German, but this is a historical documentation of how that catastrophe was initiated (a WW-II/cold war consequence in the end).

Having grown up in Michigan where the auto industry used to be ubiquitous (even here in western Mich) I’ve known plenty of people whose plans after high school were to follow in the footsteps of their parents (or more often, their dads) into one of the parts plants, or into furniture, and even one who talked incessantly during breaks (in a small factory where I used to work) of sweeping floors at Story & Clark (the piano factory in Grand Haven, which is now condos) factory.

I work for - or rather provide services for - two top-tier Michigan auto industry companies (BorgWarner and TI Auto). Not that that may matter much in the context of this thread. At least I get to hear some of the chatter through "back channels." Not to be shared here.

But a great many wanted something allegedly better for their kids, involving going to college as they were never able to do themselves (kids of my parents’ generation were only required to finish 8th grade, a good many left for their adult jobs at age 14, which was also old enough to drive back then), in order to get white collar (or pink collar) jobs of some sort or other.

OK, nothing wrong with that.

German kids have been steered toward their occupation by a mandatory system inside the public education — testing done every two years I think it is, which puts the kids into tracks based on their scores for aptitudes for various things. This leads to some heading off to factories, and a great many more off to accounting, law, chemistry, whatever, and on the way getting tracked through the courses of studies required.

Not quite, but close enough. The German education system has been diluted so much (at least regionally) from what it used to be ("ditch digger", "skilled worker", "professional/scientist") that I don't know for certain what's what anymore (motivated by the left spectrum to accomodate the naturally incapable and "migrants"). Note that there are ample paths in the system to provide for "late bloomers" et al.

There’s a real need for guest workers from the down-at-the-heels former Warsaw Pact countries.

No, there's plenty enough local population to fill that need - except these "don't feel like doing that kind of work." Petulant youth "activists" etc. Think "Occupy Wall Street"-types.

Romania has seen something of an egress of factories into Bulgaria, which has been more aggressive at recruiting manufacturers.

Which says a lot about Romania...or Romanians...who are now headed where to scam off the welfare systems? Yep.