Show Blaming Germany Western Europe continues to suffer from the recession recovery is coming slowly Inflation continues high In England it is now 16 percent in France 9 percent and in Italy 22 percent West Germany is the strongest most stable economy on the continent Last year the West German trade surplus reached 14 billions and inflation there is only four percent annually As a result the United States has sought to solve the problem in part by putting pressure on Germany not to do doso doso doso so well We are asking the West Germans Germans Germans Ger Ger- mans to take steps to increase demand in their country which would increase foreign buying there and probably in in- fla tion The West Germans understandably dont don't think they should be asked to do less well because of the lack of discipline discipline discipline dis dis- dis- dis and will p power in other Euro Euro- capitals Why should they artificially artificially produce inflation They suggest a better solution is for other governments governments govern govern- ments to halt overspending Its It's a good point one Vice President Walter Mondale heard from German lips when he attempted to persuade the Germans to change their successful economic policies A better approach for Washington would be to take the necessary steps to stop overspending in this country but that is politically unpopular What it really boils down to is that the Germans their leaders and politicians have the intestinal fortitude to hold the theline theline theline line on spending the taxpayers' taxpayers money Our politicians and those of most other western democracies in dire economic straits have not One cant can't realistically expect the Germans to pull the West's economic chestnuts out of the fire by adopting a more mor risky economic policy |