While US argues, Germany faces budget surplus

[bemildred]

Source: AP/Bloomberg

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — While politicians in the United States argue about spending cuts, deficits and the debt ceiling, Germany faces a different discussion: What to do with a looming budget surplus.

The country's strong economy means it will take in more in tax revenue than it will spend next year for a third straight year, a group of top economic institutes said in a twice-annual report Thursday.

The report urged the government to put the surplus to good use and suggested investing in education and scientific research. The government could also give taxpayers a break by eliminating so-called bracket creep, the institutes said. Bracket creep is when inflation pushes taxpayers into higher tax brackets.

The German government will run a surplus of 0.1 percent of economic output this year and 0.3 percent next year — or 7.7 billion euros ($10.5 billion) after taking in 1.257 trillion euros and spending 1.249 trillion euros. Germany also had a small surplus in 2012.

Read more: http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2013-10-17/germany-seen-enjoying-big-budget-surplus-next-year

[dotymed]

1. Don't the politicians think

that we could learn a lot from Germany? Are they fascist like America?

[bemildred]

2. They are very democratic. nt

[PatrynXX]

14. well sorta

They did like let Paul Watson skip town while they had him under arrest fearing for his life. Not entirely a country where I'd risk breaking a law including jaywalking and already had a long long argument with Klaus Schulze of Tangerine Dream Fame over allofmp3 back in the day. ouch. Didn't know it would turn out to be one since I consider allofmp3 etc legal. Still do. He compared allofmp3 to vendors on the street selling fake dvds. zzzzz fake dvds usually suck. allofmp3 offered higher quality music than itunes does. (yes they are still around) not by that name.

[bemildred]

20. No, it's not a good place to break the law. nt

[bemildred]

21. How serious is Germany about its democratic principles?

If there's a grand coalition between the CDU and the Social Democrats, current laws mean that Die Linke and the Greens wouldn't be able to challenge the government's legislation

In several respects Germany's general election has produced a historically remarkable outcome. Contrary to what it may first look like, it is a result that will have direct consequences for Europe too.

At first sight, it appears as if last Sunday produced a smash-and-grab triumph for Chancellor Angela Merkel, confirming her politics and her role in Germany and Europe. But once you look more closely, you realise that the CDU and CSU don't have a majority to continue their political pathway of old. Because with the Free Democratic party – and this is truly historic – we saw a party being voted out of parliament which has had a seat in the Bundestag since 1949. Merkel has lost the junior partner who used to give her a majority.

This is also the reason why we now have a majority to the left of the CDU/CSU in parliament, however slim it may be. The Social Democrats (SPD) and Greens managed to get a majority from 1998 to 2005, but since then, one thing has become clear: the SPD will only be able to get one of its people into the top seat if it forms a coalition with my party, Die Linke (The Left).

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/27/angel-merkel-german-election

[cosmicone]

3. Germany spends

0.0000001 cents on military for every dollar we spend. Our wars and the MIC are to blame or our surpluses would kick German surplus's ass.

(The amounts above are arbitrary just to make a point. I don't have a source for them.)

[bemildred]

4. Correct, we piss it all away on overseas delusions of grandeur and on corporations (both really). nt

[dipsydoodle]

7. I don't think there's any doubt what you said.

Actuals here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_military_expenditures

The US spends more than China, Russia , UK and Japan combined.

[lovuian]

17. They have socialized medicine also

but their military budget is nothing like ours

the reality is Americans want the military complex scaled down and out of war

[lebkuchen]

23. and 6 weeks of paid vacation per year, by law, and free higher education...

and kindergeld, or a child benefit, for children to the age of 18, the payment about $250/mo. per child. The American worker is getting screwed by comparison. No wonder the middle class is dwindling.

[Psephos]

28. the problem is that even if the US spent $0 on military, there would still be a huge deficit

Tax revenue basically covers entitlement spending and interest on the debt. The funds to run everything else are borrowed.

42 cents of every dollar the USG spends are borrowed.

[FailureToCommunicate]

5. "Looming budget surplus"

(Nothing to add, just wanted to type those words and see how it felt. Nation envy.)

[bemildred]

10. We had a "looming budget surplus" when Clinton left office.

And of course we can't have that, that means we have do something about poverty, besides babbling on about "free markets" and "job creators", like there was something magic about jobs so that only annointed (rich) people can make them.

[geek tragedy]

6. Germany has been Austerity Central since 2008.

If deficit reduction is your thing, Germany's the ideal.

[dipsydoodle]

8. Germany today knows what austerity is

largely as a result of the absorption of East Germany following the wall coming down.

As such they simply don't understand outsiders harping, whinging , whining and moaning about the subject.

In fact most of Europe knows what austerity is following WW2.

[Ash_F]

11. Somehow, I don't think everything has gone to crap as a badly as in the US. /nt

Last edited Thu Oct 17, 2013, 10:59 AM - Edit history (1)

[geek tragedy]

13. In Europe, it's worse. Spain, Italy, Greece are part of the EU nt

[Ash_F]

15. OK, but the article is about Germany. /nt

[geek tragedy]

16. That would seem to be an argument that austerity works, not one I'm willing

to accept

[Ash_F]

18. That's an oversimplification of Germany's success

Likewise, I don't think there is any one problem that is wrecking this country(even if most of them have to do with Republicans).

[geek tragedy]

19. Compared to non-Germany Europe, the US is doing very, very well, odd as it seems nt

[bemildred]

22. Austerity in Germany is an entirely different thing than austerity in Greece or Spain.

There are better ways to cut the deficit than throwing people out of work or onto the streets, always. Or shutting the government down, either, for example. Austerity, to the extent it is not dishonest, is stupid.

[geek tragedy]

25. Partly because Germany has always been fundamentally a lot

stronger economically than those countries.

Greece was essentially one big bubble.

[bemildred]

26. Well, since they recovered from WWII.

It's amazing how staying out of wars lets you build yourself up.

But I think a lot of Germany's success comes from the democratic political system we gave them.

And an economy and a politics in which nobody gets to cheat very much is bound to be more robust than where, as here, everybody is gaming the system, or trying to work a gimmick.

[toby jo]

9. Canada's done well, too.

Don't have the article handy, it was in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette about how they've turned their downturn into a surplus.

Both countries have what I want - gun control, healthcare, no MIC. Not sure on their corp. welfare, imagine it's not as bloated as ours.

Good on them both.

[Crowman1979]

27. The MIC is the main reason we have a deficit.

[Crowman1979]

12. But...but..they is smocialist!

[melody]

24. Germany is a small country -- the US is a big one

Can we please stop comparing oranges and apples in these international pissing contests? Europe as one political entity has as many problems as the US. They're simply different.

[CJCRANE]

29. It's not that small: 80 million people is fairly large as countries go.

The Scandinavian countries are small in comparison.

[melody]

31. Well, I'm from California. We have 40 million by ourselves. It's all relative.

And isn't it funny when I just suggest some reason to be fair to the US, it's a problem? lol

[CJCRANE]

36. I take your point.

Plus comparing the US to Germany, is like comparing the EU to California. It's not a like for like match.

However, I think that America's size is a strength, not a liability. America prospered in the 20th century because of its size and it can do again.

[melody]

38. It's a strength, but it's also a complication n/t

[pampango]

35. The US is 4 times the size of Germany. China is 4 times the size of the US.

Germany is 8 times the size of Sweden yet what works in Sweden (strong unions, good safety net) works in Germany. What works in a country of 10 million works in one of 80 million, but won't work in one of 300 million? Is there a magic population number where determining progressive policies has to be adapted?

How do you define "big" and "small" and what difference it makes it in adopting progressive policies? It's a good thing Germans did not say "What works in Sweden cannot work here because we are much bigger than Sweden."

[melody]

37. We're not only big, we are politically and culturally highly varied

Look, if you need to believe the US is evil, go right ahead. I was just attempting to suggest reasons ... not excuses.

[DeSwiss]

30. K&R

[Nye Bevan]

32. Universal health care, low unemployment, and lots of free trade.

I guess capitalism can work.

[bemildred]

33. Workplace democracy, a robust social safety net, and high taxes, Capitalism can work.

Free trade is good. But you don't have to treat it like some mystic deity, and the people who get the rich that way are not some sort of wizards, they are mostly lucky fools. Look at them.

[quadrature]

34. Germany has no internation responsibilities...

and its annual defense budget
is probably a hundred Euros or so.
and all of its defense budget is
spent in Germany.


god gig if you can get it

[Evasporque]

39. Yeah but...