Comments for The Post Wants Germany to Consume More as Part of Austerity at http://www.cepr.net , comment 1 to 4 out of 4 comments http://www.cepr.net Sat, 25 May 2013 15:01:29 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/the-post-wants-germany-to-consume-more-as-part-of-austerity/#comment-593 The eventual objective of the European union must be to do away with trade balances entirely. An economically united Europe would then have the comparative advantages of the different countries without having to deal with trade balances through counter-productive measures such as duties, etc. The US enjoys such advantages, as did the former Soviet Union. A number of things which have been proposed to deal with the current crisis, including the remedy demanded by the Post for Germany but also some of the monetary remedies, would move in the opposite direction and will probably be rejected by European authorities. - skeptonomist Wed, 12 May 2010 04:59:43 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/the-post-wants-germany-to-consume-more-as-part-of-austerity/#comment-585 I agree with the Post. Germany must do something to end its persistent trade surplus. As Michael Pettis said...." As I see it, domestic German policies, perhaps aimed at absorbing East German unemployment, forced a structural trade surplus. The strong euro, along with the automatic recycling of Germany’s large trade surplus within Europe, ensured the corresponding trade deficits in the rest of Europe – unless Europeans were willing to enact policies that raised unemployment in order to counter the deficits. As long as the ECB refused to raise interest rates, southern Europe had to accept asset bubbles and rapidly rising debt-fueled consumption. This couldn’t go on forever, or even for very long. Now southern Europe is paying the inevitable price, and of course the moralists are accusing the south of being shiftless and lazy, confusing the automatic balancing mechanisms in the balance of payments with moral weakness." http://mpettis.com/2010/05/are-you-ready-for-the-united-states-of-germany/ - Glen Tue, 11 May 2010 16:28:01 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/the-post-wants-germany-to-consume-more-as-part-of-austerity/#comment-578 After extensive study of North Korea's Spirit of Self-Reliant ideology, also known as the Axis of Juche or the Beast That Starved, the Republican Party has decided to adopt this practice as an austerity platform for the upcoming elections based on consuming less, exporting less and saving more. Anyone caught making grass soup from nice gated lawns will be arrested immediately. - izzatzo Tue, 11 May 2010 11:24:39 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/the-post-wants-germany-to-consume-more-as-part-of-austerity/#comment-577 I think that the Post's editors must be members of Congress. My personal plan says that we should buy up all the European debt and use that to pay back China. - SMU Cox MBA Tue, 11 May 2010 09:09:46 +0100