Conquistador

Impulse, nation states are not the principal cause of terrorism (certainly not terrorism motivated by Islamic extremism) and refugees (who are people persecuted, not those merely displaced).    What's your definition of the long run?    The SPD was hurt by going along with Merkel's policies and ignoring their base's Primary concerns. The FDP's Implosion in 2013 was self-inflicted hyper-aggressiveness (which wasn't helped by Westerwelle's leaden touch). 

You generally don't want to get your NRA spouse involved with any of the stuff that we expat US citizens have to deal with. First take a look at the benefits of "Married filing jointly", and see if they outweigh the disadvantages. For most people, they don't.    Disclaimer: Nothing in this post should be construed as financial, accounting, tax, or legal advice. Consult licensed professionals in the appropriate jurisdictions for that. 

Very cogent analysis. You're right, it probably doesn't make sense for either the Greens or the FDP, but how desperate are they to get back into government? Could they be lured with particularly prestigious ministries? 

1. crusoe, 2. Patonki 3. rappy 4. jess 5. munichmom 6. Troubie 7. Chocoholic 8. lygeia 9. Zefy 10. Conq   

BradinBayern, someone who has been in Germany as long as you have obviously knows that Germany and Austria are both Schengen members, so the border between the two countries is supposed to be like that. As far as Schengen members are concerned, the border that matters is that between Schengen and non-Schengen states, which presumably someday will simply be the EU/non-EU border (with a few exceptions, e.g., the UK with Ireland, thanks to Brexit). That is the border that really matters in this context, since we want to preserve the benefits of Schengen.    As usual, the Impulse can't handle anything that dares to disagree with his open borders dream ("good faith" to him simply means full agreement/Submission, and most definitely no tough questions for the Communist Caliph)). Maybe he'll at least tell us how he'd keep out terrorists and criminals? Or are we completely helpless, Impulse? 

That remark alone (and it's but one of many) shows how far removed from reality you are. The problem remains not only your support for completely open borders, but your bizarre claim that it's necessary and we can't decide who enters and on what terms.  

cacilia, I suspect the OP is Hispanic rather than "non-Hispanic African-American", but your criticism is anyhow way out of line- he didn't bring race into the discussion, and it's understandable that he is less than happy about working a crappy job/having poor job prospects and having marital problems.. 

Unless the Job Center has mandated it, probably not, since he isn't available for work. 

engelchen, there's no guarantee that the children would be able or willing to fully top up pension payments, but, for argument's sake, let's say the OP's kids join the US military after finishing Realschule (you can do that at age 17 with parental permission). Even at the lowest rank, they'd earn over $1600 Brutto (with no housing expenses) from day one, plus it's possible to earn a bachelor's degree inexpensively while on active duty. I think that each kid could contribute $100-150 to their parents per month. My understanding is that the Bundeswehr pays even better at the lower ranks than the US military, but someone should confirm that.    By a large family, I meant at least 7 kids.      Future, I'm not sure what you mean by "work credits", but my inlaws pay health insurance premiums even though they're retired.     1572 EUR a month in a pension (which probably won't be the case in a decade or two), would be very tight for most couples. Now think about how much better that would be if it's topped off with 500-1000 EUR from the kids...not to mention you may be able to retire somewhere less expensive (cough Portugal or Spain).

Impulse, your message that the migrants will decide where they want to go, and not the people of the countries they want to go to, is the underlying fallacy on your part, and let's not forget that we live in an era of transnational terrorism (you definitely don't want IS terrorists deciding where they'll go).    Whether or not the migrants are themselves the poorest of the poor where they come from is irrelevant because they generally cannot support themselves and their families here in Germany, have extended families that expect to be supported by them, and have poor job prospects. There is no economic case for bringing in additional dependents on the welfare system who will at best work low- and semiskilled jobs when there are still numerous long-term unemployed in Germany, increasing numbers of children live in poverty or just a paycheck away from it, and there is no minimum old-age pension, meaning that there is significant old age poverty. The migrants already cost at least 20 billion a year (2016 figure), and the bills for their upkeep continue to rise as public Investment, e.g., in infrastructure, stalls.    Immigration should be primarily for high earners who will be net contributors. Refugee intake should be, as the international agreements defining refugees make clear, people who were actually persecuted in their home countries. 

The top-up depends on how much he makes, taking into account the number of dependents he has. I don't know if it's still tied to the Hartz IV benefits level or instead directly to the minimum wage. The OP would have to look into that.    Since the mother is German, we can assume she knows the system and what she's doing. What we don't know is what sort of skills/training/work experience she has (and she'll be expected to work once the youngest hits kindergarten age unless her husband makes enough to support the family with his salary alone. This is why I mentioned the top-up. He'd be working and at least be supporting his family to the best of his ability while getting some assistance from the state and, presumably, also charities. I think it would relieve some of the stresses his marriage has been facing. Don't forget that there are additional costs to having two households, e.g., housing, annual round trip flight, etc.    Given the parlous state of the public pension system, I wouldn't put too much hope on that. The OP may already have qualified for at least the minimum US Social Security check, and if, not his German earnings will put him over the top.    I get your point about the poverty trap (and it will affect the kids, but not as much as having an absent father), but I think that at some point in the future, a lot more parents will need some financial support from their kids when the former retire, and those will large families will usually be better placed to get that. If I had no chance of earning much money and thus enough to realistically live on in retirement, I'd seriously think about having a very large family and hope they'd support me in my old age.   

Futura, although he almost certainly would earn more money in the US, it's still not a good idea for him to do that. Even if she has a support system there in Prien, his wife is unlikely to accept him being in the US and thus almost never there to help her with their four kiids (she's also extremely unlikely to agree to a move back to the US). I have a hard time imagining that whatever work he would do in the US woud outweigh him hardly ever being around (and it will be hard for him to hardly ever see his kids). It's better for the family if he works a crap Job and gets a Hartz IV top-up. 

I think the Impulse can be entertaning at times, especially when he pretends that he actually believes the Quran and the nonsense he spouts here. 

That's a general observation from your extensive paper trail (you get hung by your own words). Your unstinting and delusional excuses for the Greek government (and many other postings demanding submission to favored groups of yours) and your ridiculous demands are explained by that pecking order. Or is the Greek government a client of yours?    You're showing some real narcissistic stripes, Impulse.     

Unsurprisingly, Impulse (given that Greeks are ranked higher in your pecking order than Germans), you still haven't come to terms with either the nature or the scale of the Greek government's fraud and its people's willingness to come anywhere near being able to fund their desired level of spending. Until you do that, you're going to be dazed and confused by your utter cluelessness.