May 21, 2012
Published: 15 Mar 10 14:17 CET
Updated: 15 Mar 10 17:37 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/money/20100315-25893.html
France on Monday accused Germany of trying to boost trade at the expense of Berlin's eurozone partners by squeezing salaries and pushing exports, as Europe seeks to emerge from the global economic crisis.
AFP/The Local (news@thelocal.de)
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Your comments about this article:
Goldman Sach can blow me! What a group of asswholes. They are wanting the German consumer to buy things that can't afford, on credit of course. Once Germans and the rest of Europe are as indebted as Americans. Then Goldman Sach will make billions trading some type of "credit default" swaps and betting they will go broke.
That group should be disbanded, their management jailed.
If France is net importer from de and workers and companies can go either place is it really leakage (trade deficit)? Time think like in a unified way. EU all the way or go home.
And what do the Spaniards do? Even the Italian can boost their economy with their Maserati and Ferraris...Has the Greeks finally woken up from their siestas?
Is there hope for Eurozone?
The comments about the EU needing to be all in or not at all is rubbish. Why should the hard working carry the lazy? The EU can promote prosperity through coooperation but that doesn't mean it is a given. It has to be earned.
I don't complain about my neighbour earning more if he has studied harder or works longer for it. good for him !
This ideaology of getting something for nothing is becoming far too prevelant in society.
What bullsheit! The German worker is being squeezed by what is essentially a wage freeze. They don't have the disposable income to increase domestic demand. You want them to act like Brits and Americans and buy on credit? Who does that benefit, not the workers. And this myth of "tax cuts" stimulating the economy is more BS, it leads to massive government deficits. The government is providing "domestic stimulus" by paying social benefits to the unemployed.
The problem here is the Chinese! The German manufactures have chosen to compete with them, but the only way to do that successfully is to freeze wages. At least they¦#39;re trying to compete unlike the American and Brits who have thrown in the towel and joined the "outsourcing" party.
As for the disposable income question I do not think that there is not enough to go around. The mentality of the average German I have met (and I'm married to one) is to save for something they want or to just save period. In the UK loans and credit are far more common as people go after the things they want. Maybe it's a quality of life question. In the UK there is far less "activity" form the average Joe. More staying at home with consumer goods. In Germany there's far more outdoor activities that are undertaken so the consumer goods are less important.
Repeat as necessary. ; )
It is not so much that the opposers now sees the euro as defunct, it¦#39;s more that an assessment of the euro is shifting from the belief that it was a straightjacket for Germany to the belief that it is Germany¦#39;s springboard. In the first assessment, the euro would have broken as Germany was denied the right to chart its own destiny. Now, it might well break because Germany is becoming a bit too successful at charting its own destiny. And as it dawns on one European country after another that there was more to the euro than cheap credit, the ties that bind are almost certainly going to weaken.
The paradigm that created the European Union — that Germany would be harnessed and contained — is shifting. Germany now has not only found its voice, it is beginning to express, and hold to, its own national interest. A political consensus has emerged in Germany against bailing out Greece. Moreover, a political consensus has emerged in Germany that the rules of the eurozone are Germany¦#39;s to refashion. As the European Union¦#39;s anchor member, Germany has a very good point. But this was not the ¦quot;union¦quot; the rest of Europe signed up for — it is the Mitteleuropa that the rest of Europe will remember well.
This is what I mean when i stated that Berlin is actively pursuing currency reform to return to the Deustsche Mark...Its in their own interests to do so...
Concerning the EU, this is Bullsheit! But if true, how is this different than the US China relationship?
The Chinese have linked to the dollar, the result for trade purposes is the same as if there is a common currency.
To quote back to you some of the the Shiet that you are spreading continually. "The US is screwed, you "pechvogel" need to prepare for the coming collapse of the USA. You have no idea what is coming!"
All major German companies have manufacturing in other EU countries, particularly in Eastern Europe. They are actively raising the standard of living for the rest of the EU, who then buy more products with the increased wages that they are earning. Unfortunately this has been at the expense of German workers. Since the EU is in global terms a small club, they will eventually be an equalization of wages.
On the other hand, the time required to raise 1.5 billion Chinese to a western level of income required for equalization of wages is not in 2 lifetimes. The US worker is screwed! The US continue to morgage itself to Chinese.
At whatever point that China is no longer a wage bargain, those same fine American companies that are using China is an off-shore production paradise will simply shift production to Africa as they did once Mexico's dirt poor wages became too expensive.
Jealous or pity? You decide. Schade...
Now, if we can all return to reality for a minute:
Germany is the largest economy in Europe. The end.
The German manufacturing division of Airbus has been known to be the most efficent. And the problems regarding the A380 mostly stem from a lack of "techical harmony" between the French and Germans.
If business partners aren't willing to commit to the exact same standards and goals, then obviously there will be problems.
As an artist, I'm grateful for what the French have given to the world. However, they and other EU nations really should look at Germany's efficiency model.
The wars ended many years ago. Germany will always be a leading force. The world has no reason to fear it. And yes, if there were stronger leadership from Berlin, then the EU would be much more efficient and therefore more successful.
http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/20100315_germany_mitteleuropa_redux