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Discussion and Debate
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Do the Germans have a superiority complex?
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<blockquote data-quote="mindlight" data-source="post: 59788211" data-attributes="member: 21246"><p>That's not the real reason. Germany is facing a demographic time bomb due to its failure to have babies in recent years. A current account surplus is a a way of saving for the time when the current workforce starts retiring. However what is a worry for the Germans is that many of their external investments (290bn dollars) are in three southern european countries that are at risk at the moment e.g. Spain, Portugal and Greece.</p><p></p><p><a href="http://voxeu.org/index.php?q=node/4911" target="_blank">Germanyâs trade surplus and investments in southern Europe | vox - Research-based policy analysis and commentary from leading economists</a></p><p></p><p>Most countries behave in their national interest at the end of the day. Germany benefits from membership of the Euro as the weaker countries of Europe keep the price of their money low for them enabling them to sell their goods at more competitive prices all round the world. Their surplus with the rest of Europe is growing. German wages are not that low relative to the rest of Europe but they could be a lot higher given the relative prosperity of their companies.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>The biggest problem with Ireland was the property bubble. When the house bubble burst the foreign savers who had deposits in the Irish banks which relied on them to supply the necessary finance withdrew their deposits at the click of a mouse and the Irish banks were instantly insolvent. They were building empty properties and selling them at inflated prices- it was an unsustainable situation. German savers and banks that had lent moeny to Irish banks were lucky that Ireland decided against declaring bankruptcy but the housing bubble was not their fault.</p><p></p><p>But it does add to the German sense of smugness that they still have their savings accounts intact while those they lent to are struggling to make ends meet.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>We've discussed this before I think. Other countries e.g. Britain and Greece were also recipients of Marshall Aid and Greece was a beneficiary of Western military support that saved them from Communism also. Marshall Aid is something that is the USAs historical favour and marks it out as a true superpower. It was also the right thing for the US national interest as it ensured that Western Europe did not fall to communism and created new trade possibilities for American firms also.</p><p></p><p>German industrialists were very often naive about Hitler and thought at first they could control him. They could not and by the time they realised that it was too late. They are no more guilty of collusion than your average German footsoldier fighting Hitlers wars. Most of this class of people have long since died and Germany today is a different place.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>No this gold was long since repaid as previously discussed in reparations in 1960 and since then. And sorry but the cost to the German tax payer of Greeces most recent bailout is vastly in excess of any sums we are talking about. This is a grasping after straws and an attempt to evade responsibility I think. Greece is broken because of Greece - it cannot blame the Germans. The Germans know that and feel smug because of it. In this case maybe with good reason. But the Greeks don't like that.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="mindlight, post: 59788211, member: 21246"] That's not the real reason. Germany is facing a demographic time bomb due to its failure to have babies in recent years. A current account surplus is a a way of saving for the time when the current workforce starts retiring. However what is a worry for the Germans is that many of their external investments (290bn dollars) are in three southern european countries that are at risk at the moment e.g. Spain, Portugal and Greece. [url=http://voxeu.org/index.php?q=node/4911]Germanyâs trade surplus and investments in southern Europe | vox - Research-based policy analysis and commentary from leading economists[/url] Most countries behave in their national interest at the end of the day. Germany benefits from membership of the Euro as the weaker countries of Europe keep the price of their money low for them enabling them to sell their goods at more competitive prices all round the world. Their surplus with the rest of Europe is growing. German wages are not that low relative to the rest of Europe but they could be a lot higher given the relative prosperity of their companies. The biggest problem with Ireland was the property bubble. When the house bubble burst the foreign savers who had deposits in the Irish banks which relied on them to supply the necessary finance withdrew their deposits at the click of a mouse and the Irish banks were instantly insolvent. They were building empty properties and selling them at inflated prices- it was an unsustainable situation. German savers and banks that had lent moeny to Irish banks were lucky that Ireland decided against declaring bankruptcy but the housing bubble was not their fault. But it does add to the German sense of smugness that they still have their savings accounts intact while those they lent to are struggling to make ends meet. We've discussed this before I think. Other countries e.g. Britain and Greece were also recipients of Marshall Aid and Greece was a beneficiary of Western military support that saved them from Communism also. Marshall Aid is something that is the USAs historical favour and marks it out as a true superpower. It was also the right thing for the US national interest as it ensured that Western Europe did not fall to communism and created new trade possibilities for American firms also. German industrialists were very often naive about Hitler and thought at first they could control him. They could not and by the time they realised that it was too late. They are no more guilty of collusion than your average German footsoldier fighting Hitlers wars. Most of this class of people have long since died and Germany today is a different place. No this gold was long since repaid as previously discussed in reparations in 1960 and since then. And sorry but the cost to the German tax payer of Greeces most recent bailout is vastly in excess of any sums we are talking about. This is a grasping after straws and an attempt to evade responsibility I think. Greece is broken because of Greece - it cannot blame the Germans. The Germans know that and feel smug because of it. In this case maybe with good reason. But the Greeks don't like that. [/QUOTE]
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