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Curious...do you know what percentage of our budget actually goes to defense spending? Certainly not "everything" as you stated. I can tell you that we spend more on Medicare/Medicaid and in the future, with Obamacare, will spend more. We're right around 20% for defense.
USSR didn't spend EVERYTHING either, just way too much, and enough to bankrupt the country. We are headed in the same direction. USSR spend on 15-17% on military, and guess how much we spend? Well, don't guess, just look at your own link.
Germany (the Western Sector) was not the only country to benefit from the Marshall Plan.
The Marshall Plan was not all generosity, but strategy to prevent Europe from becoming communist. Plus, America needed a country to station thousands of American GIs and military equipment to keep the Russian Bear at bay.
Agreed, but I'm not going to listen to some guy, whos country's very economic existence was dependent upon American financial and military aid until the fall of the wall try and tell us his socialist ethos are some how correct. If it was not for USA that guy would have grown up with ration cards and they would have no economy.
When they decide to build their own economy by their own merit,virtue, and tax dollars, wake me up. Actually don't because that is not happening with out a time machine.
USSR didn't spend EVERYTHING either, just way too much, and enough to bankrupt the country. We are headed in the same direction. USSR spend on 15-17% on military, and guess how much we spend? Well, don't guess, just look at your own link.
Interesting because that's one of the great mysteries of the USSR, much like China, which is how much did they REALLY spend on the military. That 15% was the grossly underreported amount. Here's one for you though circa 1990, so that will give you the timeframe. That, by all accounts, is when the Soviets actually began to slow down on their military spending as it neared the collapse.
Oleg Bogomolov, a member of the Congress of People's Deputies and a full member of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, said Soviet military expenditures might amount to 20-25 percent of the country's GNP.
Interesting because that's one of the great mysteries of the USSR, much like China, which is how much did they REALLY spend on the military. That 15% was the grossly underreported amount. Here's one for you though circa 1990, so that will give you the timeframe. That, by all accounts, is when the Soviets actually began to slow down on their military spending as it neared the collapse.
Yes, it is true that accurate figures about anything in USSR are hard to find. But even 20-25% is not that far from us. We're spending way too much, and like I said if we go back to 2000 level, we will save nearly 4 Trillion in 10 years. That would be HUGE savings.
Yes, it is true that accurate figures about anything in USSR are hard to find. But even 20-25% is not that far from us. We're spending way too much, and like I said if we go back to 2000 level, we will save nearly 4 Trillion in 10 years. That would be HUGE savings.
That was 20-25% of their GNP, not federal spending, which is where the 20-25% figure comes from for American defense spending. When you look at the percentage of American defense spending in that context, the US is at 4%. So, that would make USSR at 20-25% and US at 4%. Hardly an equal comparison.
Their new economic realities are strong export-led growth!
As your link said, the cuts are for the benefits of the countries that have tried the path of loose banking regulations and low wages.
As far as economic realities. Germany started making welfare reforms/cuts in 2003 before the 08 collapse.
Quote:
The freeze is designed to help the government deal with a substantial shortfall in state pension funds. The shortfall has been caused by an ever-ageing population and fewer contributions to the fund due to high unemployment.
As far as economic realities. Germany started making welfare reforms/cuts in 2003 before the 08 collapse.
Yep, have said it before and I will say it again. Germany finally woke up and realized that Keynesian economics do not work. They haven't been following them for the last few years. Britian, however, has and their economy is tanking. Obama is trying to our gov't to follow suit with Britian and I, personally, would prefer to not go that way.
Yep, have said it before and I will say it again. Germany finally woke up and realized that Keynesian economics do not work. They haven't been following them for the last few years. Britian, however, has and their economy is tanking. Obama is trying to our gov't to follow suit with Britian and I, personally, would prefer to not go that way.
A supporter of Keynesian economics believes it is the government's job to smooth out the bumps in business cycles. Intervention would come in the form of government spending and tax breaks in order to stimulate the economy, and government spending cuts and tax hikes in good times, in order to curb inflation.
Also, Germany has NOT stopped Keynesian economics, on the contrary, Germany used Keynesian economics to help the economy recover in 2009.
Germany's ruling political parties agreed on a two-year €50 billion stimulus plan, the biggest since World War II, at a meeting on Monday night to help Europe's largest economy weather the financial and economic crisis.
Welfare is not Keynesian politics. It seems you don't know what Keynesian economics is, so heres a definition:Keynesian Economics Definition
A supporter of Keynesian economics believes it is the government's job to smooth out the bumps in business cycles. Intervention would come in the form of government spending and tax breaks in order to stimulate the economy, and government spending cuts and tax hikes in good times, in order to curb inflation.
Also, Germany has NOT stopped Keynesian economics, on the contrary, Germany used Keynesian economics to help the economy recover in 2009.
Germany's ruling political parties agreed on a two-year €50 billion stimulus plan, the biggest since World War II, at a meeting on Monday night to help Europe's largest economy weather the financial and economic crisis.
Please stop posting stuff you know nothing about.
Ah, same argument, different thread. Please, welfare has everything to do with Keynesian economics, as did the New Deal here in the US. Now, what does welfare have to do with government intervention into the marketplace? It has to do with the belief that some hold that you can grow the economy from the ground up and that welfare is one such method of injecting capital into the economy via the government. Sound familiar? It should...it's Keynesian economics.
In addition, Keynesian economics does indeed include stimulus payments, more government funded work that leads to high deficits, and nationalizing certain institutions. Yes, Germany has used Keynesian economics in the past as have most European countries. However, Germany's ability to perform in this economic recession was largely based upon export strength vice welfare and government intervention. As I've said before, the very best example of Keynesian economics, which was and is an abject failure, is Britian.
Mayhap I used a bit of hyperbole when saying they "dumped" Keynesian economics but there is a definitive shift away from this economic stance to the betterment of Germany. It was indeed for brevity. Nonetheless, I do not think government intervention in injecting capital into programs like welfare are the path to economic success. But again you have your opinion and I have mine. Apparently, there are others agree with me.
Rejecting Keynesianism in favor of fiscal restraint, France and Germany saw economic growth return in the second quarter this year. India, Brazil and even communist China are enjoying growth as well. Canada enjoyed job growth last month.
Last September, the German electorate decided that even Steinbruck was too socialist, and so elected a coalition between Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats and the Free Democrats, a free-market party that is even more opposed to public spending than Merkel. The effect of this has been to push Germany even more firmly into the fiscal-retrenchment camp - the German parliament lopped an extra 5.8 billion euros ($8 billion) off public spending before finalizing the 2010 budget - no pork barrel waste there!
The result has been a very brisk economic recovery, with no inflation and no significant risk of "crowding out" the private sector. Manufacturing orders were up a strong 4.3% in January, far more than had been expected, and are now 19.6% ahead of where they were a year ago. Unemployment is 8.2%, well below the U.S. level, while Germany's current-account surplus is a massive 5.2% of GDP.
Ah, same argument, different thread. Please, welfare has everything to do with Keynesian economics, as did the New Deal here in the US. Now, what does welfare have to do with government intervention into the marketplace? It has to do with the belief that some hold that you can grow the economy from the ground up and that welfare is one such method of injecting capital into the economy via the government. Sound familiar? It should...it's Keynesian economics.
In addition, Keynesian economics does indeed include stimulus payments, more government funded work that leads to high deficits, and nationalizing certain institutions. Yes, Germany has used Keynesian economics in the past as have most European countries. However, Germany's ability to perform in this economic recession was largely based upon export strength vice welfare and government intervention. As I've said before, the very best example of Keynesian economics, which was and is an abject failure, is Britian.
Mayhap I used a bit of hyperbole when saying they "dumped" Keynesian economics but there is a definitive shift away from this economic stance to the betterment of Germany. It was indeed for brevity. Nonetheless, I do not think government intervention in injecting capital into programs like welfare are the path to economic success. But again you have your opinion and I have mine. Apparently, there are others agree with me.
Again, welfare or social security is NOT Keynesian economics. From your own article:
From the beginning, our representatives in Washington have approached this economic downturn with old-fashioned, Keynesian economics. Keynesianism—named after the British economist John Maynard Keynes—is the theory that you fight an economic downturn by pumping money into the economy to "encourage demand" and "create jobs."
Social security is NOT used to stimulate markets. It is guarenteed at all times (in Germany) whereas stimulus is used when the economy is down. There are cuts at one point (Hartz4) but raises in other areas (payments for students went up in the last years).
Social security in Germany started way before the financial crisis. It goes back to the 19th century and was partly a result of unions that fought for their rights.
Your whole argument is based on a false premise.
Germany is a social democracy with a UHC system, free education (schools and universities!) and unemployment payments, and no one is trying to get rid of this. It is stated in the German Constitution that German is a "social" and a "democratic" state. By Law Germany has to provide a social security net.
If you really believe that welfare is Keynesian economics, and Germany is getting away from it, you'd need to prove that Germany is trying to get rid of its social security.
Also, you are totally ignoring the fact, that Germany used Keynesian economics (still is) in 2009(!!!).
This was the biggest stimulus package since the second world war. How anyone can ignore it is beyond me. Your statement wasn't a hyperbole, it was completly not true.
Edit: And by the way, I live in Germany and I wasn't happy about interventions in some markets by the German government in the last years, SO I know there were big interventions.
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