Courtesy of Mish.
In response to Brexit is a Religious Battle (And You Can’t Negotiate Religion), a number of commenters missed a key point: the blatant hypocrisy of Germany on the freedom of movement of goods and services.
Here is a key snip from the above article.
EU Hypocrites on Free Movement of Services and Freedom of Establishment
To understand the hypocrisy inherent in free movement of services, look no further than French rules on nearly everything. Businesses cannot fire workers, move elsewhere, shut plants, etc.
Worse yet are totally arcane rules and regulations in Germany.
A prime case in point is Germany’s Apprenticeship System.
After 18 months of study, $2,200 in tuition and three exams, Ewa Feix is now permitted by German law to bake two variations of cupcakes.
“Not pretzels, not Black Forest gâteau, not bread,” said Ms. Feix, a Canadian who moved to Germany in 2009. Becoming a professional bread baker entails a three-year apprenticeship and more exams.
Germany’s thicket of rules and standards shields roughly 150 professions from competition, from ski instructors to well-diggers. Stiff fines await uncertified practitioners. German authorities conduct thousands of enforcement raids each year.
Strong middle-class support, particularly among Chancellor Angela Merkel’s supporters, means the German system has defied repeated attempts at reform.
EU Hypocrites on Free Movement of Persons
The EU “Dublin” rule requires an asylum seeker to register in the first country the refugee landed. How did that work out? And how many cascading walls in how many countries came about as a result? Is bribing a country with payments as Germany did Turkey in the spirit of the rule? What about the positions of Austria, Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic?
US Regulations Irrelevant
In response, one reader pointed out varying regulations between states in the US.
So what? Two wrongs don’t make a right. Second, no one is going to kick Illinois out of the US because of silliness in Chicago.
I also heard “Mish’s rhetoric sounds like he is against the apprenticeship rules.”
Let’s discuss that topic.
Apprenticeship Rules
