> that's the proposed, pie-in-the-sky, fat chance they'll be able "to
> enter into a coalition with any other party" because the demands are
> so "left" according to der Spiegel's interviewer's comments. The other
> parties are advocating the minimum wages advocated in the u.s. ~10/hr:
Shag, what minimum wage would you propose? Personally, I've always wanted to live in a townhouse in the Village, so I would say at least ~$50. Thoughts?
> As Angelus Novus wrote me off-list:
>
> "I just wanted to note that Germany doesn't even have a legally
> mandated minimum wage, except for branches of industry where a
> sufficient percentage of the branch is subsumed to a collective
> bargaining agreement. The idea of actually implementing one is
> current among various currents, the Greens and the DGB (the trade
> union confederation) are both advocating 7,50 an hour, Die Linke is
> advocating 8,00 (if my memory serves me correctly)."
Yes, I know. Minimum wages are generally found in countries with weak unions and unequal labor markets. Countries with strong, centralized union wage bargaining generally don't have minimum wages. The German debate about introducing a minimum wage is a symptom of the ongoing decentralization - i.e., the Americanization - of the wage bargaining process. Whoops! there I go again, romanticizing Europe because I want to fuck Jean Seberg. Sorry.
SA