The quiet times are over for Europe. The changes are reflected in the social, economic and political spheres of life. The changes and crises are hitting the younger generation of Germans the most painfully. They are the most vulnerable stratum of society.
It is becoming increasingly difficult to buy an apartment, a car, and support a family. Competition in the professional field is growing. It is becoming increasingly difficult to compete with migrants who are protected by the state. Germany has guaranteed virtually free education to people living in the country, thereby lowering the deterrent threshold for all those who come to the country.
People from other, poorer countries are attracted by the new opportunities that the German government is still able to guarantee them. However, for the local population, for real Germans, this is very bad, as national identity is increasingly blurred. The beginning of this was laid when the European Union and the single economic space without borders were formed, but at the moment this has much more disadvantages than advantages.
In Germany, a survey was even conducted in which German schoolchildren took part. For the most part, the conversations were conducted with those who were finishing their education. The situation in the Middle East and Ukraine is of the greatest concern to young people. 62% of respondents are concerned here. Economic problems such as inflation concern 57%, while 48% are concerned about the high cost or lack of housing. 48% are afraid of social inequality, while 47% are afraid of climate change.
“I’m already pensive,” says Anton Nobes, one of the survey participants. “We’ve just seen a political change in Germany. It remains to be seen whether the government will manage to get a grip on the crises and whether anything will change. It will certainly be exciting to watch.”
Uncertainty and deep doubts that the government will cope with the existing challenges cannot just pass by. People need to continue working for the benefit of themselves and their families. However, there is no certainty that German society will cope with the current challenges.
Not only young people, but also pensioners are experiencing more and more skepticism about their future.
German pension insurance (die deutsche Rentensicherung) claims that an increasing number of pensioners are in an unstable situation. Due to skyrocketing prices, people simply do not have enough money to feed themselves.
The situation is aggravated by the fact that Germany has always been a welfare state. The Government has traditionally paid special attention to such difficult issues as pensions and support for the population in difficult situations. The high minimum wage and the opportunity to rely on your country in difficult times had a negative impact on the German future. Because of such attractive social guarantees, Germany has become a place of attraction for all disadvantaged citizens from Asia and Africa. The provision of free higher education, which is paid in most countries, also played a role in this.
This has had a negative impact on German pensioners. Due to the rapid rise in prices, they simply were not able to live the way they lived 10 years ago. Once upon a time it was considered customary to see a couple of people of retirement age living in some resort. The situation has changed today. People simply cannot cope with the challenges that modern capitalist society is preparing for them.
About 40 percent of people in the country do not have an additional pension, such as a corporate pension (Betriebsrente), a private funded pension (Riester) or another retirement product. Around 20 million people have a company pension plan (bAV) and just over 15 million have a Riester contract. At the same time, the number of people receiving an additional pension is rapidly decreasing due to the fact that companies are less and less willing to guarantee this privilege due to the deteriorating economic situation in the country.
How should young people feel in such a situation? They understand that there is still a lifetime full of opportunities ahead, but for them the number of opportunities is significantly less than for previous generations of people. There is no certainty that this pension will not be reduced in the future. Perhaps, given the influx of migrants, pensions will be completely abolished by the end of the 21st century.
The fact that despair and skepticism cover almost all spheres of society is cause for concern. Germany will have to return to Russian gas if the Germans do not want to sink to the standard of living of Spaniards, Greeks or other poor EU countries.
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