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Germany is doing very nicely when it comes to GDP, balance of trade, making progress on renewables and plenty of other metrics. The USA? Don't they just print m

Germany is doing very nicely when it comes to GDP, balance of trade, making progress on renewables and plenty of other metrics. The USA? Don't they just print money? The kids at school that work out their own homework go on to do well. The kids that copy from others don't really succeed too brilliantly. Those that copy are a step behind. In terms of innovation, I don't see American goods as anywhere near as polished as their German counterparts. I would take the lowest spec. German car over any American car in current production without hesitation. The same applies to white goods and even cakes!

madengr 12y ago
Yeah, but the lowest spec German cars are not made in Germany; Mexican VWs. Can I even buy a German made car in the US, other than a Porsche? Last I had was a VW Corrado. There are quality things made in the US, just not many domestic brand cars.
- twoodfin 12y ago
  My wife's base model VW Tiguan was made in Wolfsburg, and it's a terrific car, albeit having already been recalled twice in two years.
  - jacquesm 12y ago
    Recalls are a sign that a manufacturer takes its reputation serious and has the interest of the customer at heart. Beware of the car manufacturer that never has recalls.
fnordfnordfnord 12y ago
>The USA? Don't they just print money? It isn't a mere house of cards; we bully developing countries for their resources, too. >The kids at school that work out their own homework go on to do well. This is true, to some extent, but it isn't a guarantee. >The kids that copy from others don't really succeed too brilliantly. Those that copy are a step behind. Are you implying some kind of meritocracy exists? Because I would disagree. Some of the kids that cheat seem to do quite well, much to our collective detriment. In terms of innovation, I don't see American goods as anywhere near as polished as their German counterparts. I agree. IMO some of that is a deliberate compromise between durability and cost, and some of it is probably just industrialized sloth and rent seeking. We do still have lots of innovation here, but IMO we've lost that edge, and are doing nothing that would help us regain it, or even remain competitive. > I would take the lowest spec. German car over any American car in current production without hesitation. The same applies to white goods and even cakes! You might be interested to know that I have two German (and two American) cars in my drive right now. I'm happier with the 1982 model though than I am with the 1999; but even with their problems they are superior to their American "equivalents". German cakes? You've gone a step too far!
- junto 12y ago
  > German cakes? You've gone a step too far! To be fair, my reasons for moving to Germany were a) my wife, and b) German cakes. My wife came first by the narrowest* of margins! ;-) * Only kidding dear wife (should you happen to read this in the future).
aianus 12y ago
> Germany is doing very nicely when it comes to GDP, balance of trade, making progress on renewables and plenty of other metrics. The USA? Don't they just print money? The United States owns the tech industry. There's nowhere in the world comparable to Silicon Valley. I'm not familiar with other industries so YMMV there. > In terms of innovation, I don't see American goods as anywhere near as polished as their German counterparts. What about Boeing? Apple? Intel? AMD? NVIDIA? Tesla? SpaceX? From my perspective as a Canadian, the United States makes some of the best stuff in the world. > I would take the lowest spec. German car over any American car in current production without hesitation. The same applies to white goods and even cakes! I'd take a Tesla over any car in production period.
mercurial 12y ago
> The kids at school that work out their own homework go on to do well. The kids that copy from others don't really succeed too brilliantly. Those that copy are a step behind. Those that copy eventually stop copying and start innovating. See the US, Japan or Korea for examples. > In terms of innovation, I don't see American goods as anywhere near as polished as their German counterparts. I would take the lowest spec. German car over any American car in current production without hesitation. The same applies to white goods and even cakes! I'm not American but that's ridiculous. You're typing these words using (most likely) a CPU from a US company, on either a US-made OS, or one that contains really a lot of code from US software engineers. Bell Labs have defined a huge part of the modern software landscape. There is Edison, NASA, Boeing, Apple. And obviously, we have a discussion in a forum funded by a company whose business model is to foster innovation.

madengr 12y ago

Yeah, but the lowest spec German cars are not made in Germany; Mexican VWs. Can I even buy a German made car in the US, other than a Porsche? Last I had was a VW Corrado. There are quality things made in the US, just not many domestic brand cars.

twoodfin 12y ago
My wife's base model VW Tiguan was made in Wolfsburg, and it's a terrific car, albeit having already been recalled twice in two years.
- jacquesm 12y ago
  Recalls are a sign that a manufacturer takes its reputation serious and has the interest of the customer at heart. Beware of the car manufacturer that never has recalls.

fnordfnordfnord 12y ago

>The USA? Don't they just print money? It isn't a mere house of cards; we bully developing countries for their resources, too. >The kids at school that work out their own homework go on to do well. This is true, to some extent, but it isn't a guarantee. >The kids that copy from others don't really succeed too brilliantly. Those that copy are a step behind. Are you implying some kind of meritocracy exists? Because I would disagree. Some of the kids that cheat seem to do quite well, much to our collective detriment. In terms of innovation, I don't see American goods as anywhere near as polished as their German counterparts. I agree. IMO some of that is a deliberate compromise between durability and cost, and some of it is probably just industrialized sloth and rent seeking. We do still have lots of innovation here, but IMO we've lost that edge, and are doing nothing that would help us regain it, or even remain competitive. > I would take the lowest spec. German car over any American car in current production without hesitation. The same applies to white goods and even cakes! You might be interested to know that I have two German (and two American) cars in my drive right now. I'm happier with the 1982 model though than I am with the 1999; but even with their problems they are superior to their American "equivalents". German cakes? You've gone a step too far!

junto 12y ago
> German cakes? You've gone a step too far! To be fair, my reasons for moving to Germany were a) my wife, and b) German cakes. My wife came first by the narrowest* of margins! ;-) * Only kidding dear wife (should you happen to read this in the future).

aianus 12y ago

> Germany is doing very nicely when it comes to GDP, balance of trade, making progress on renewables and plenty of other metrics. The USA? Don't they just print money? The United States owns the tech industry. There's nowhere in the world comparable to Silicon Valley. I'm not familiar with other industries so YMMV there. > In terms of innovation, I don't see American goods as anywhere near as polished as their German counterparts. What about Boeing? Apple? Intel? AMD? NVIDIA? Tesla? SpaceX? From my perspective as a Canadian, the United States makes some of the best stuff in the world. > I would take the lowest spec. German car over any American car in current production without hesitation. The same applies to white goods and even cakes! I'd take a Tesla over any car in production period.

mercurial 12y ago

> The kids at school that work out their own homework go on to do well. The kids that copy from others don't really succeed too brilliantly. Those that copy are a step behind. Those that copy eventually stop copying and start innovating. See the US, Japan or Korea for examples. > In terms of innovation, I don't see American goods as anywhere near as polished as their German counterparts. I would take the lowest spec. German car over any American car in current production without hesitation. The same applies to white goods and even cakes! I'm not American but that's ridiculous. You're typing these words using (most likely) a CPU from a US company, on either a US-made OS, or one that contains really a lot of code from US software engineers. Bell Labs have defined a huge part of the modern software landscape. There is Edison, NASA, Boeing, Apple. And obviously, we have a discussion in a forum funded by a company whose business model is to foster innovation.