@sandertordoir.bsky.social gets it right: The problem of the German economy is not that social security contributions are one or two percentage points too high.
The problem is aggressive industrial and trade policy from China and the US - and a government which seems to misdiagnose the situation.
I hope the German Chancellor catches up - a 1990s deregulation agenda isn’t going to cut it against a wildly undervalued Chinese exchange rate.
I think Europe should consider broader China tariffs - either to slow down the shock directly or as a tool to pressure China to revalue.
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