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06-24-2010, 01:04 AM | #1 |
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This is what it's come to, folks. The (former) engine of Capitalism---the USA---is being schooled by Europeans on how to run a free economy.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-0...on-growth.html Merkel Tells Obama Spending Cuts to Boost Economy, Not Put Brake on Growth By Tony Czuczka - Jun 22, 2010 Chancellor Angela Merkel championed German export strength as “the right thing” for her country, spurning President Barack Obama’s call to boost private spending as both leaders prepare for Group of 20 talks. Merkel, addressing a business audience in Berlin today, said she told Obama in a phone call that cutting government debt is “absolutely important for us,” exposing a second point of contention ahead of the June 26-27 G-20 summit in Canada. Reducing the budget deficit by 10 billion euros ($12 billion) per year “won’t put a brake on the world’s economic growth,” Merkel said, relating what she told Obama yesterday. Germans are more likely to spend money if they feel the government “is taking precautions” to ensure solid finances, she said. Four days before world leaders meet in Toronto, Germany is heading for conflict with the rest of the G-20 over tighter financial regulation, a banking levy and U.S. calls to boost growth rather than cut debt. The G-20 must “safeguard and strengthen” the economic recovery and promote “global demand growth that avoids the imbalances of the past,” Obama said in a June 16 letter to fellow G-20 leaders. He expressed concern about “heavy reliance on exports by some countries,” which he didn’t name. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner called on June 5 for “stronger domestic demand growth” in European countries like Germany that have trade surpluses. |
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06-24-2010, 10:33 AM | #2 |
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This is what it's come to, folks. The (former) engine of Capitalism---the USA---is being schooled by Europeans on how to run a free economy. What the article doesn't state is that the German government is constitutionally obliged to cut the budget deficit. That being said, having a large foreign trade deficit doesn't work for every country, as it is hardly a universal remedy for every budget deficit problem... What ~might work for US, doesn't necessarily be adequate for countries with a completely different economic structure, polity, involvement in trade bloc regimes, etc. And in the long run outstanding debts need to be paid, which doesn't exactly get easier if your annual debt service spins out of control... #justsayin' |
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