Why Germany’s Stimulus Works and Obama’s Doesn’t

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re "socialism is a failed economic system" exactly how are we, USA as a country, socialist? because we offer govt assisted private health care assistance via managed govt funding programs?
Via extended unemployment benefits to those unemployed fo 52+ weeks/ Othe developed economies, that you, I am sure becuase of your support for this column, are not socialist, Germany, France, England, Italy; are not socialist, but they have government run health care, not private health care funded by govt dollars. There is a significant difference.
In addition, Govt intervention fo Business in almost all countries in EU, provide govt mandated extended periods of holidays and vacation periods for industry, which is very intrusive to a free market enterprise. All of France prety much takes the month August off. The supposed third world, (Brazil) which is the fastest growing economy and over past six years has proved the fastest growing currency against the dollar, has government run health care, one month mandated holiday for all workers, and yet they still have on of he fastest growing markets for foreign investment in terms of manufacturing and the Bovespa stock market.
The benefits of all of these countries is they BUILD THINGS. It has been the policy of the International Business Manufacturing Oligarchy that has run our economy to export all manufacturing labor to other points of the world, from Eastern Europe to to Asia and Latin America.
These former middle class Americans extended their status by receiving second and third mortgages to do as their president GW requested after 9/11 attacks go out and spend, They spent their way into the ground, while European banking giants and investment firms wrapped those bad loans and defaulting mortgages into funds and re sold them until they destroyed our economy,
Now our country is left in shambles and everyone expects a two year fix. We have little to no manufacturing base, we have a country reeling from high interest rates on mortgages they can barely afford. We have no factory in the United States that can make a television set if a foreign country refuses to import them to us. We created the technology. As one of the richest countries with soil ripe for production of cotton crops, we have the smallest clothing manufacturing base of any developed economy, Our largest retailer WalMart, imports 70% of its products on store shelves from Dictatorships that do not support our free democracy ideals

d.S> of NY 9:16AM October 30, 2010

Why is this garbage being posted with the newsletter? This article is complete nonsense for the reasons stated by other commentators before me.

Josh Bowers of MD 11:01AM October 29, 2010

First, let's deal with the fundamental problem of comparing the effect of turning on a space heater in Mars versus my office. Germany already has much more generous unemployment benefits than the US. Germany was also an export economy. So for them, reviving the economy was easy - allow their producers to start consuming. And since even displaced workers knew they were able to pay their bills, they didn't start hoarding cash like we saw in the US. I won't even begin to discuss the impact of the US housing bubble, but a casual reader should understand how that influenced the US economy's lag.
Second, let's dispel one idiotic point: "If those results aren’t enough to make you wonder whether they know something we don’t, consider that the German economy grew nearly four times faster than the United States’ in the second quarter. That’s about twice as fast as the United States economy grew under the boom years of the Clinton presidency!"
The author clearly doesn't understand the concept of statistical sampling, variance, and the fact that short run variations will ALWAYS (by mathematical definition) be larger than long-run trends. It makes my heart sad to see what is either blatant ignorance or intellectual laziness given a column in what was once a prestigous publication.
I can't find anything about Brandon Greiffe's expertise on the website, but I suspect the author is an undereductated journalism school grad, or similarly undereducated economist, who thinks he's well educated. But in fact he doesn't know the first thing about research or good statistical inference.

Erasmus Funderburke of DC 10:16AM October 29, 2010

Did you read the article? Are you unable to understand the premise under which it was written? Germany has reduced government spending in an effort to stimulate their economy. It is working. The US is still trying to spend our way out of economic trouble. It is not working. Confidence in Germany's stability is increasing, it is dropping in the US.
Socialism is a failed economic system. Keynesian models have proven to exacerbate depressions or recessions. Free markets have always produced better standards of living and wealth than any other system although as in anything there are cycles of peaks and valleys.

B Ritchie of PA 5:29PM September 02, 2010

Just like the education gestapo in this country. Just throw money at it with no accountability and the problem will go away. What, that won't work? Then throw more money at it with no accountability and...................................

Anthony Sammartino of LA 12:44PM September 02, 2010

Bill, wake up. Your way clearly failed. We're in this mess after thirty years of free market capitalism not Keynesianism.

steve of IL 7:22PM September 01, 2010

German makes good cars. The U.S. has pretty much abandoned technology and manufacturing, supplanting top R&D teams with cheap third rate techs from the third world and replacing incentives for innovation with "hired to invent."
When you have a services and import economy, stimulus merely stimulates imports from China and export of jobs and wealth.

Luther of IL 2:13PM September 01, 2010

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