NUREMBERG: Seated before the tram's control panel, Benedikt Hanne, 24, deftly steered the red and white wagons, hours before heading to his Nuremberg university to study for a social work degree. As an apprentice, Hanne was watched closely by a trainer, and the tram he drove had no passengers. Bu
    • FiniteBanjo@lemmy.todayEnglish
      39·
      8 months ago

      The ruling class of Germany…? The fuck? On every democracy index Germany places 14th or higher.

        • FiniteBanjo@lemmy.todayEnglish
          12·
          8 months ago

          Germany on-budget allocation is 477 Bn Euros and their off-budget special funds are 869 Bn Euros, as long as people vote for who is in power then German Billionaires are far below them on the food chain.

          Do I think backroom deals occur? Yeah, enough to put them at #14 in the democracy index instead of #1. That’s what that number means, how compromised they are on a scale. The German ruling class are the average people.

            • FiniteBanjo@lemmy.todayEnglish
              13·
              8 months ago

              That’s because Australia is lower than Germany on that particular list. Australia has a massive corruption ring particularly in NSW, but they also have housing projects, single-payer medical, and full subsidized higher education degrees.

              TBH I agree they should be ranked lower, they’ve been declining in the score given by Economist Intelligence Unit since 2012, I expect their score will continue to decline in 2024’s rankings.