Germany Makes Twice as Many Cars as the U.S. Even though it Pays its Workers Twice as Much

You’re bombarded by the same message over and over again on the news and perhaps have even experienced it at your work as well: there is a global economic crisis, things are not going well, workers have to adapt and accept lower wages in order to keep their jobs.

It’s happening all over the world, from Europe to the United States. Even the current administration’s “car czar”, Steve Rattner, said that the government should have pushed the UAW to take wage cuts in order to enhance U.S. automakers’ competiveness.

It seems to make sense: cutting costs is a tried method of increasing a company’s profitability. But what if it’s all a lie created by profit-hungry, greedy mega corporations and perpetrated by the media – which, in some cases, are owned by the same people?

That’s the question posed by Kevin C. Brown on his article in Remapping Debate. The argument he makes is quite compelling: how are German car workers at companies like BMW, Mercedes-Benz and VW paid twice as much as their counterparts in the U.S., yet manufacture twice as many cars?

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