3 ms·

I think Berlin is a dysfunctional city but it’s not just the government. It’s baked into the DNA of the city. So you find wild dysfunction in the civil service,

I think Berlin is a dysfunctional city but it’s not just the government. It’s baked into the DNA of the city. So you find wild dysfunction in the civil service, and resistance to making anything more efficient. The story of how the repeatedly delayed airport is a good example. The dysfunction was all the way down to the contractors. If you move district you may need to change your tax number because each district has its own tax office. If you want the tax office to communicate by email rather than letter you must send them the form to request this by mail. And then they still won’t really do it. Berliners are obsessed with organic produce, but there seems to be no demand to ban smoking in bars. Berliners don’t want shops to open on Sundays so workers can have the day off. But they do want restaurants to be open so they can go there with their own families. I could on and on.

tetris11 3y ago
> Berliners don’t want shops to open on Sundays so workers can have the day off. But they do want restaurants to be open so they can go there with their own families. That's pretty much any culturally christian country. UK and Poland for example. Thank god for migrant workers, to let us have our cake and eat it too.
- worklaptopacct 3y ago
  Poland is unique here in the matter that it has banned Sunday shopping only recently to pander to the religious voter base. Germany has modified their labor laws to give the states freedom to regulate opening hours on 6 days of the week, but never extended this to Sundays (as Sunday is a constitutionally protected day of rest).
  - voytec 3y ago
    > banned Sunday shopping only recently to pander to the religious voter base More like to the Catholic Church corporation, to ensure that before next elections, church goers will receive proper instructions during Sunday masses, on how to vote.
- rocketbop 3y ago
  But the shops do open on Sundays in the UK. And in most European countries now.
  - tetris11 3y ago
    Was it still the case 15 years ago? I recall tesco and sainsbury being closed on Sundays and other religious holidays, and the only place you could count to be open was the corner shop.
    - rocketbop 3y ago
      The change came 30 years ago in the UK.
ChuckNorris89 3y ago
That's not a Berlin thing, same thing in Austria which is completely different country.

tetris11 3y ago

> Berliners don’t want shops to open on Sundays so workers can have the day off. But they do want restaurants to be open so they can go there with their own families. That's pretty much any culturally christian country. UK and Poland for example. Thank god for migrant workers, to let us have our cake and eat it too.

worklaptopacct 3y ago
Poland is unique here in the matter that it has banned Sunday shopping only recently to pander to the religious voter base. Germany has modified their labor laws to give the states freedom to regulate opening hours on 6 days of the week, but never extended this to Sundays (as Sunday is a constitutionally protected day of rest).
- voytec 3y ago
  > banned Sunday shopping only recently to pander to the religious voter base More like to the Catholic Church corporation, to ensure that before next elections, church goers will receive proper instructions during Sunday masses, on how to vote.
rocketbop 3y ago
But the shops do open on Sundays in the UK. And in most European countries now.
- tetris11 3y ago
  Was it still the case 15 years ago? I recall tesco and sainsbury being closed on Sundays and other religious holidays, and the only place you could count to be open was the corner shop.
  - rocketbop 3y ago
    The change came 30 years ago in the UK.

ChuckNorris89 3y ago

That's not a Berlin thing, same thing in Austria which is completely different country.