Krautonomicsthreadi

[BeBMan]

Never been an economic expert myself, but this article feels somewhat right, so I just declare it the universal truth for the time being

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/may/12/german-economy-trump-surplus-exchange-rate-trade

If anyone cares to read and to tell how this is all wrong and how it _r e a l l y_ is or what should be done or not.....Discuss.

[Proteus_MST]

On an individual level I guess that is certainly true ... that germans are more saving than citizens of other countries.

I mean look at the USA ... I read about a Spiegel-correspondent who moved to Washington ... and had big problems to find an appartment or rent, because he had neither a credit card (which, after all is rather the norm than the exception here in germany, i.e. to have no credit card) nor had he ever gone into debt (which obviously made him financially less thrutstworthy in the yes of the american landlords/-ladies).

Whereas here in germany most people are gettting taught, already as kids, that going into debt is a bad thing and that having a well filled account savings book (Sparbuch) is a good thing.
(dunno if this individual culture also transpires into german business culture (where making debts, after all, can be a good thing, if the gain due to the investments (that are made with the borrowwed money) offsset the interests one has to pay for the borrowed money)

[Bereta_Eder]

I only read the title of the article (it's enough)
I think in german debt also means sin?

Those that are in debt are sinful?


Personally I have zero debt and I'm very uncomfortable with having debt in general. I only did one exception when paying mortage for the house I own.


As someone wrote there was a influx of cheap money in the last decade and different countries made different things of it. It was obvious that something was going very wrongly here because everyone was living the high life and banks were busting your balls with precleared loans, cheap money, credit cards. Money was never so easy. THere was a big splur on consumption and zero attempts to balance the budget or normalizing industries or the public sector.


But that's normal. That's the cyrcle of Greece. We had 7 international wars, 4 civil wars and 7 bankrupcies since emerging in the international stage in the 1800's.
The current crisis is nada.


Now from the point of the geometrical imbalances of the euro about how it does benefit certain large countries, wether the surpluses of the north are the deficits of the south and what reforms can be done, it is in the process of evolving