Germany votes to bring in voluntary military service programme for 18-year-olds

I think if you want the benefits of living in a country then you should be willing to defend it. This attitude of entitlement without responsibility is exactly what gives migrants a bad name.

I'm not getting any benefits. I was raised and educated elsewhere. I have no access to most social services. I have no kids. I'm here to pay taxes and get the bare minimum back. The services I've been getting were really nothing to write home about.

Ever since I moved here, the law made it very clear that this was a transactional relationship. That cuts both ways.

I uphold German values in my everyday behaviour. Killing for Germany was never on the table.

So why are you there then?

> I'm here to pay taxes and get the bare minimum back

I find this point of view to be profoundly sad and I hope it’s not shared by the majority of immigrants to germany

Not just immigrants, most Germans pay taxes for very little in return while bureaucracy keeps growing.

You are getting downvoted, but it is true that young people are getting a very rough deal, and a lot of the people in my circle are looking to emgirate. Friends from other countries and students (mostly know them through academia), are also not looking for long-term opportunities here anymore, which was different 15 years ago.

I would be far less annoyed with paying very high taxes and social contributions (around 50% of my income), if the services provided worked. But this just hasn't been the case for me. The healthcare system is close to breaking apart, and after moving to a new city 6 months ago I have been unable to find doctors willing to take me in. Childcare is constantly closing down due to staff shortages, buying a house is unrealistic unless both partners have good jobs or you inherit, and the jobs market is incredibly rigid and inflexible.

Every single one of these points are worse for young people then for older ones, and the only thing the government seems to get done is giving weapons training to young people and gifting pensioners 180b$/year extra.

To add to what nicbou said, I would like to question the idea that the best way to defend a country is to enlist and fight a war. At the contrary, many are of the opinion that to defend Europe we have to oppose this recent trend of spending billions into the unproductive war machine.

When was the last time germans lined up to enlist in the army? How much good was it for their country?

I can only explain the downvotes by people who assume I'm somehow against immigrants since I used the term or who actually think that Germany is still worth living in. I have long given up on HN culture anyways.

If that makes you feel any better, this is also very much the case in France, actually, it's probably worse.

But I think it's a general trend in Europe and much of the western world who went all in for socialized everything/government control.

Yes, the problem is the boomers who keep getting richer for no good reason, under the premise that they are entitled to massive pensions because they have been promised that much by politicians.

Of course, logically it makes no sense, since the whole point of a socialized system is to adjust the wealth of everybody depending on current situation (economic output).

But it was obviously a lie and our social democracy are deeply flawed because they allow anyone to vote regardless of stakes.

Sending young people to military service/war make for a nice distraction because meanwhile they don't get to think about taking the stuff of the elders by force.

>At the contrary, many are of the opinion that to defend Europe we have to oppose this recent trend of spending billions into the unproductive war machine.

We've tried that after the end of the cold war, now there is an active war in Europe. You can not unilaterally stop military spending if there are other countries ready to take advantage of it.

>When was the last time germans lined up to enlist in the army?

That would have been during the height of the Cold War, the resulting Reunification does have its drawbacks, but certainly beats getting overrun by the Soviet Union.