The consequences of unilateral deregulation
The decisive reforms which transformed the German health system into a profit oriented business enterprise were undertaken along with the deregulation of labour by the first red-green federal government. Heiner Flassbeck the German financial secretary from 1989 to 1999 points to the fact that these reforms and the lowering of labour costs in the newly created Euro currency union had catastrophic consequences, because originally, a synchronous development of economic and social policies had been agreed upon. “when I invite my friend (France) to sign a contract with me (the Euro), and then at the moment of signing kick him in the shin or otherwise hinder him from running or working with me, then that is fraud.”
the lowering of labour costs due to the reform of labour laws gave the German export industries competitive advantages. And today, pointing to the German successes, for all countries in trouble, Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal and France there is an absolute recommendation for a deregulation of the labour market with no other options and indeed for certain countries this solution is now being forced upon them.