[Farm93]

Many rules and norms in Germany are just different than USA.
Angela Merkel has been very open about the situation.   She has consistently utilized science and statistics to defend her actions.
The population there has a lot of safe guards for health care and employment security.   Those benefits have consequences in good times, but look mighty helpful when fighting a global pandemic.

Here in CA, my wife had a co-worker that went to work yesterday with what I will describe as "Flu-like" symptoms.   This co-worker appeared at work because she is in her third trimester and does not want to deplete her sick days as she wants them to get some pay during leave.   As most of you know, the USA has awful paid maternity leave policies, so that was not a crazy idea.  However that would NEVER happen in Germany for so many reasons.

Then that company's CEO decided last night's CA stay at home order does not apply to his business.   So even today an employee from Long Beach, which had its own stay at home policy, and the sick pregnant co-worker and dozens of others are there offering administrative support services to the manufacturing team making items that are not exactly on the essential services list.

In the USA that fear of termination, losing health care and relatively limited personal savings will make a lot of people do things that would seem crazy to any other industrialized country. 

I informed my wife that she's done.   Work from home, save messages that imply anything else, and we will manage.   It will only add to the accelerating destruction of 20+ years of retirement planning, but following civic orders should be done by all. 

USA will be #1 in both cases and fatalities before end of April.  Just sitting at home hoping the "flu-like" co-worker JUST had a normal flu.   In Korea or Japan my family would probably be tested with that type of direct exposure, but here in the USA....:(

[Farm93]

Many rules and norms in Germany are just different than USA.
Angela Merkel has been very open about the situation.   She has consistently utilized science and statistics to defend her actions.
The population there has a lot of safe guards for health care and employment security.   Those benefits have consequences in good times, but look mighty helpful when fighting a global pandemic.

Here in CA, my wife had a co-worker that went to work yesterday with what I will describe as "Flu-like" symptoms.   This co-worker appeared at work because she is in her third trimester and does not want to deplete her sick days as she wants them to get some pay during leave.   As most of you know, the USA has awful paid maternity leave policies, so that was not a crazy idea.  However that would NEVER happen in Germany for so many reasons.

Then that company's CEO decided last night's CA stay at home order does not apply to his business.   So even today an employee from Long Beach, which had its own stay at home policy, and the sick pregnant co-worker and dozens of others are there offering administrative support services to the manufacturing team making items that are not exactly on the essential services list.

In the USA that fear of termination, losing health care and relatively limited personal savings will make a lot of people do things that would seem crazy to any other industrialized country. 

I informed my wife that she's done.   Work from home, save messages that imply anything else, and we will manage.   It will only add to the accelerating destruction of 20+ years of retirement planning, but following civic orders should be done by all. 

USA will be #1 in both cases and fatalities before end of April.  Just sitting at home hoping the "flu-like" co-worker JUST had a normal flu.   In Korea or Japan my family would probably be tested with that type of direct exposure, but here in the USA....:(