11-05-2012, 01:38 PM
Quote: Unlike the US, Germany is a country with no debt problems, no budget deficit, no competitive problems, no current account deficit and no political gridlock issues.As a German, I don't agree to that at all. While I see that the deficit fell to about 1% of GDP in 2011, the total national debt is about 83% of GDP, more than in the US. Also in recent years most income rises were lower than inflation, so most working people have a lower buying power than a few years ago.
You could argue that all big economic players (US, China, Eurozone) have done their utmost to keep the value of their currency low, to keep their businesses competitive, China probably being the most extreme. Even the Swiss now couple their Franc to the Euro (at about 1,20 franc per Euro) to avoid skyrocketing exchange rates. Still, for most Swiss, going Shopping in Germany is like a low-price paradise, while eating out in Switzerland is $$$ for most Germans.
The rest of the quoted article sounds to me like cheap rhetorics, having little to do with German reality. But what do I know?
The most relevant literature regarding what happened since September 11, 2001 is George Orwell's "1984".