The Good News -- We are finally going to really see how many people were truly unemployed in Germany's welfare state as these "labor reform" measures start kicking in.

The even Better News -- The German economy is likely to get a jump start from these measures and grow more productive. This can not hurt us: it will strengthen a trading counterparty and it will help continue discrediting the economic Loony Left here and abroad.

The More Even Better News--Dramatically increasing German unemployment will result in protests by the Loony Left looking for even more handouts. Like all German protests this will descend into violence. The violence will shock the German Mittelstand out of its torpor and force them to pick sides between the Nihilists and the people who want the place to be more like America.

Link posted by Steve Antler

And then there's this:

Long-term unemployed
(12 months or more)
as % of total unemployed, 2002

U.S.=======9%
UK=======23%
Japan=====31%
France====34%
Germany===48%
Italy======59%

OK, so the first step is play "hide the pea" and recast welfare recipients as unemployment recipients. Makes the welfare stats look great but really trashes the unemployment stats. What's the next blue-smoke move? Isn't one. Just ugly reality.

Remember those political economists from years gone by who wanted us to be more like them? Private/Public sector partnerships, central planning and the welfare state might not be such good ideas after all.Old Europe is a basket case altough I have a feeling that the 'public sector'is doing just fine. Intellectuals and their abstractions are a danger to humanity.