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With Europe near collapse - why Germany is doing just fine?

By wolfman - Posted on January 8th, 2012
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The European Continent is quickly becoming a sinking ship - but for Germany it's full steam ahead. Here's a question for you - Why is it that with the European Continent in recession and on the verge of a catastrophic collapse - and with unemployment steadily above 8% in the United States and economic activity just creeping along - that GERMANY is doing JUST fine? Why is that amidst a tumultuous global economy - where Greece has an unemployment rate of 18% - and Spain a 23% unemployment rate - the German economy just marked its lowest level of unemployment in two decades? How are they doing it?

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Ask that question again in a
Submitted by G-Man on Sun, 2012-01-08 15:54.

Ask that question again in a few more years, when Greece and Spain are part of Greater Germania, formerly known as Europe. This time, a thousand years might be a conservative estimate. Germany recently finished paying the reparations from the First World War, and continues paying for the Second World War, so I guess wolfies' question is worth more thought and analysis.

...Possibly...
Submitted by Billy on Sun, 2012-01-08 19:15.

Because unlike the US they make autos that are worth a shit?

Always a little left out of Thomm's analysis.....
Submitted by fred on Sun, 2012-01-08 20:45.

From the New York Times....Still, Germany is at the center of various trends, some long in the making, that hint at notably higher productivity.

The percentage of capital spending devoted to information technology, which helps drive productivity growth, rose in the late 1990s to the point that it surpassed the percentages in neighbors like France and Britain, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. And the number of Germans employed either through temporary agencies or on contracts of limited duration has risen in the past decade to 40 percent of the work force from 30 percent.

Put another way, companies, rather than government policy, are driving productivity - exactly what happened in the United States in the 1990s.

"I don't want to minimize policy," Roach said. "But there is a tendency to overemphasize the political angle in delivering economic results in Germany."

In a similar vein, companies like Wittenstein have used new industrial processes to improve their own efficiency

Wittenstein, with sales of €133 million, or $175 million, last year, belongs to the group of medium-size German companies, known as the Mittelstand, that have tight ownership structures and manufacture specialized products. Wittenstein, which is family-controlled, has steadily expanded since the 1980s and now makes devices that lengthen bones without repeated surgery, steer factory laser welders and pull elevators.

Here's to the crazy ones, the rebels, the troublemakers, the ones who see things differently -- they're not fond of rules... You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can't do is ignore them.

Lets not forget...
Submitted by wolfman on Mon, 2012-01-09 00:17.

Lets not forget Germany spends very little on its own defense. Americans borrow from China to fund Germany's defense with some 50,000 American troops in country. This frees up countries such a Germany, Japan, and South Korea to spend heavily on their export economy to America. Thus stripping millions of Americans of a Middle class livelihood. We have a bloated military. Our U.S. military budget accounts for approximately 40% of global arms spending http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_budget_of_the_United_States

Statements made are the opinion of the writer who is exercising his first amendment right to freedom of speech. Freedom of speech in the United States is protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and are generally permitted.

Put another way, companies,
Submitted by payingmyway on Sun, 2012-01-08 23:40.

Put another way, companies, rather than government policy, are driving productivity - exactly what happened in the United States in the 1990s.

However, in this video Thomm never claims government policy to be driving productivity in Germany, just that government policy helps to protect German companies, their workers, and the German economy.

With all of the debt that the
Submitted by GuestZero on Wed, 2012-01-11 17:37.

With all of the debt that the PIIGS* owe to Germany, France and other financier nations, which is on the order of $4 trillion, then it is only by clearly fraudulent accounting that Germany can ever be considered "fine".

* PIIGS = Portugal Ireland Italy Greece Spain... the dog nations of Europe which aren't actually Slavic.

Germans behaving badly
Submitted by Pink Slip on Sun, 2012-01-15 16:55.

Clearly, Germany's leaders (Merkel) insist on ignoring the S&P downgrades and continuing to embrace the failed policies of austerity. Get a good look at the Euro, because it won't last with the people in charge over there.

Pink Slip

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