Conley
11-16-2011, 09:56 AM
BERLIN — Throughout the crisis in the euro zone, as governments have fallen, debt burdens have mounted and economies have stagnated or shrunk, Germany has floated above the fray. While its economy has hummed along nicely, its leaders have steadfastly insisted that the path to redemption for the debtors lies in austerity and suffering.
When Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday described the debt crisis as Europe’s “most difficult hours since World War II,” she was describing something most Germans had only read about in newspapers or watched on television. The German economy once again surprised experts on Tuesday, growing an unexpectedly healthy 0.5 percent in the third quarter and 2.5 percent higher than the year before.
While there were ominous signs that Europe’s slowdown would also strike Germany, its biggest economy — particularly worrisome was a sharp drop in industrial production in September — the pain that euro zone partners have been feeling has yet to arrive here.
Greeks in particular have been outraged at demands for change dictated by Berlin that impinge on their sovereignty. Some Greek protesters have even carried blue European Union flags with yellow swastikas in the middle and compare the debt deals to the occupation of Greece during World War II.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/16/world/europe/germanys-success-and-advice-anger-european-partners.html
Unbelievable how these Greeks are demanding concessions after buying German goods with money they didn't own. It's a good thing Germany hasn't yet felt the pain the rest of the economies have, if they go along with the bailouts then they will collapse like everyone else. The Greek people need to take responsibility for their own spending mess and also hold their government accountable.
When Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday described the debt crisis as Europe’s “most difficult hours since World War II,” she was describing something most Germans had only read about in newspapers or watched on television. The German economy once again surprised experts on Tuesday, growing an unexpectedly healthy 0.5 percent in the third quarter and 2.5 percent higher than the year before.
While there were ominous signs that Europe’s slowdown would also strike Germany, its biggest economy — particularly worrisome was a sharp drop in industrial production in September — the pain that euro zone partners have been feeling has yet to arrive here.
Greeks in particular have been outraged at demands for change dictated by Berlin that impinge on their sovereignty. Some Greek protesters have even carried blue European Union flags with yellow swastikas in the middle and compare the debt deals to the occupation of Greece during World War II.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/16/world/europe/germanys-success-and-advice-anger-european-partners.html
Unbelievable how these Greeks are demanding concessions after buying German goods with money they didn't own. It's a good thing Germany hasn't yet felt the pain the rest of the economies have, if they go along with the bailouts then they will collapse like everyone else. The Greek people need to take responsibility for their own spending mess and also hold their government accountable.