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Home Publications Blogs Beat the Press Germany's Neighbors Were Not More Profligate

Germany's Neighbors Were Not More Profligate

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Sunday, 03 June 2012 11:35

The Washington Post still can't figure out who is on first in the euro crisis. It once again referred to debt-troubled countries as "profligate." Of course, the debt-burdened countries were not especially profligate. Italy's debt to GDP ratio had been falling before the crisis. Ireland and Spain had large budget surpluses. So the issue is not these countries were profligate, the issue is that these countries got hit badly by the collapse of housing bubbles across Europe.

This piece also misrepresents German unemployment, telling readers that it is 6.7 percent. This is the official German rate. This rate includes people who are working part-time as unemployed. The OECD harmonized unemployment rate for Germany, which is calculated using methodology comparable to the U.S. methodology, is 5.6 percent.

Comments (2)Add Comment
Changes while you were gone.
written by fairleft, June 04, 2012 1:33
Good to have you back! Most of the Dem Party establishment enlisted in the Bain Capital defense corps while you were gone.
In One Sense, the WaPo is Correct
written by Paul, June 04, 2012 8:26
Because of Germany's massive trade surpluses and its people's extreme saving, its neighbors are more profligate which is exactly what is required in this terrible recession. Germany is the cause of the problem because its consumption is so low, as Keynes would point out.

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About Beat the Press

Dean Baker is co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, D.C. He is the author of several books, his latest being The End of Loser Liberalism: Making Markets Progressive. Read more about Dean.

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