Germans are simply living way beyond their means. Government regulations tie industry's hands and make firing workers almost impossible. Firms that can't fire, don't hire. Taxes in Germany, like Canada, are crushing the life out of industry. Social benefits and unemployment payments in German are ridiculously high.
Government continues huge subsidies to zombie industries, such as coal and steel.
Multiple layers of local, state and federal government have turned once efficient Germany into a Sargasso Sea of red tape and bureaucracy. Punishing taxes and consequent capital flight threaten long-term economic decline. German's moral is poor. Once the world's leader in science and technology, Germany has fallen hopelessly behind. Most young Germans believe their nation offers no economic opportunity, and their nation is too hidebound and creaky.