> Even when registering with the government they have what floor number you live, but not the apartment number.
The local (German) government knows exactly where I live. My apartment doesn't have apartment numbers - as far as I can tell, this is common. Instead I live on the "second floor, right side" (2-R). This is what it says in my lease and on my registration with the local government, and, along with the street address, it uniquely identifies my apartment.
Besides, the very fact that one must register one's residential address with the government is contrary to the point you are trying to make. Even more bizarre, in my opinion, is the fact that I must also register my religion with the local government. (That is so that the government can collect "church tax.")
My experience living as a foreigner in Germany is that Germans trust the local government but not private companies.
I feel exactly the same way. The government has quite a bit of authority over its citizens that other first world governments do not. Free speech protection is really poor (see low-violence video games and the suppression the NDP is facing), and there appear to be no restrictions on search and seizure.
Private businesses, however, have a lot of requirements put upon them. They must, for example, delete all personal data they have on you upon request. Transactions are still very much cash based, as cards aren't trusted. Even online shopping can be handled by a simple invoice, where a customer doesn't have to provide any banking details at all in order to pay.
> Free speech protection is really poor (see low-violence video games
low-violence, yeah, right.
> and the suppression the NDP is facing),
Srsly? The "suppression" is mainly through initiatives of privat citizens who want nothing of that Neo-Nazi bullshit, and efforts to prove that despite attempts to disguise it, the NPD's goal is to abolish the very constitution that grants a right to free speech and thus has no right to claim protection under it.
> and there appear to be no restrictions on search and seizure.
The local (German) government knows exactly where I live. My apartment doesn't have apartment numbers - as far as I can tell, this is common. Instead I live on the "second floor, right side" (2-R). This is what it says in my lease and on my registration with the local government, and, along with the street address, it uniquely identifies my apartment.
Besides, the very fact that one must register one's residential address with the government is contrary to the point you are trying to make. Even more bizarre, in my opinion, is the fact that I must also register my religion with the local government. (That is so that the government can collect "church tax.")
My experience living as a foreigner in Germany is that Germans trust the local government but not private companies.