Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris
German politics has become defined by its leaders' attitude to debt and investment, just as British politics has become defined by its leaders' attitude to the NHS.
The German commitment to prudence and the British commitment to universal healthcare, free at point of delivery, are both laudable, but have become politically untouchable, even when change is manifestly necessary.
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Well, the former is completely, demonstrably nonsense.
This German commitment only started in 2009 with their amended Basic Law that says they cannot have a deficit of more than 0.35% of GDP. That doesn't even apply until 2016!
Until then, they have ran a budget deficit in 14 of the last 18 years and 6 years ran more than 3%, which is the EU limit. (Data here:
http://www.tradingeconomics.com/germ...ernment-budget)
Germany could easily invest their way out of deflation, they don't want to. It's a political decision and is a policy of the CDU, not an untouchable policy like the commitment to the NHS here.