I dont see anything new in the Spiegel article which has not been seen in every other recession. The article is just a series of meaningless anecdotes by a writer with pre-conceived notions.
I have a lot of anecdotes also if that is what you are looking for.
Over the past decades, I have seen many Canadians, friends and acquaintances I know, move to the states to seek their fortune, armed with nothing more than a university degree. Very few came back.
Right now, I know many canadian businesses which are investing in the USA, getting into position for the recovery and the next boom.
Pre-2008, I met many ex-pat canadians, now living in the USA, all earning more money then they would have made here, paying less in taxes and enjoying a higher standard of living because everything costs less in America. yes, many have had to change jobs or downsize because of the recession, but that is the price you pay to be an american.
The USA has always had a boom or bust, radical free enterprise ethos. You make more money and enjoy the good life in bullish times, but don't expect to have much of a social safety net when the bear rolls in.
It's not good or bad, it is just the way they choose to live. If you want the government to take care of you from the cradle to the grave, to have your life mapped out from the moment you are born, you don't live in the U.S.A., you move to Sweden...or maybe Germany..
