This originally appeared in Investors Business Daily on November 8, 2009, under the title “20 Years After the Fall.” By Dan McGroarty, TES GeoPolicy Editor Twenty years ago, late on a Thursday evening in Berlin, the cement and concertina-wire symbol of the Cold War was breached, inadvertently opened by a botched answer of a […]
Tag: Germany
Minimum wage hike led to less working time, higher prices in Germany
“Four years statutory minimum wage – an overview of the most important research findings” Courtesy of IAB It was the most radical reform of the German labor market since Agenda 2010: the introduction of the statutory minimum wage in 2015. At that time, science and practice contradicted each other in partly diametrically opposed […]
Can the transatlantic relationship survive the age of Realpolitik?
By Martin Michelot, courtesy of Europeum Reports that US Ambassador to the EU, Gordon Sondland, was heard saying that his job “was to destroy the EU” call into question the reality of this desire for a “reset”, but it is clear that Europeans will need to come to the table. Their current level […]
Carbon tax would be incompatible with trading system
“CO2 pricing – Reformation or revolution?” By Dr. Malte Jahn, courtesy of HWWI The climate policy in Germany is probably more in question than it has been since the first Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) passed 20 years ago. The voices of the “Fridays for Future […]
ECB stimulus is on collision course with German constitution
“The euro and the German constitution” By Prince Michael of Liechtenstein, courtesy of GIS (Ed: revisiting in light of the fresh legal challenge in Germany to ECB bond-buying, filed October 8). Two legal challenges to the EU central bank’s most controversial policies have […]
Germany to hike taxes on air travel
The hot new virtue-signaling trend of “fly shaming” might not be enough to persuade people to fly less, but steep tax hikes might just do the trick. That’s what Germany is cooking up, with the ruling coalition’s new proposed budget featuring higher federal taxes on […]
Germany must finally spend more, very carefully and precisely
“Notorious” and “prudent” are not words often found together, but it is fair to say that Germany is notoriously prudent with its national finances, thanks to a longstanding rule requiring politicians to balance the federal budget — an unimaginable scenario in virtually any other country. The […]
Do as ve say, not as ve do: German climate hypocrisy
Germany talks a good game on climate change and environmental policies, but unfortunately it appears to be mostly quatsch, as the country’s actions are far more matching its words, according to the European Council on Foreign Relations, which delivers a polite but damning overview of […]
Is ECB stimulus too late?
While monetary “hawks” tend to reject any further monetary easing from the European Central Bank like the plague, doveish types are afraid that the ECB’s latest round of easing didn’t go far enough, and may have come too late anyway. The doves’ point […]
No-deal Brexit will slam German economy — but don’t expect a Teutonic Hail Mary
It has long been an article of faith among hardline Brexit backers that the threat of a no-deal Brexit will motivate European leaders, terrified of its likely economic impact at home, to compromise with the UK at the last second on thorny issues […]