May 11, 2010
That’s right, the Post wants the Germans to let out their belts. Its editorial board probably doesn’t realize this (they think that Mexico’ GDP quadrupled since NAFTA was passed — the actual growth was about 80 percent), but the statement: “the European Union’s more successful economies, especially Germany, must retool to depend less on exports for growth,” means that these countries should consume more.
As an accounting identity the trade surplus is equal to the the excess of national savings over national investment. As a practical matter, it is very difficult to change rates of investment. This means that the Post’s complaint about Germany’s trade surplus is a complaint about excessive savings and insufficient consumption. So, this sounds like the Post wants Germany to make its generous welfare state even more generous. It would be good if the Post’s editors could learn a little economics so that they could at least figure out what they are sternly lecturing people to do.
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