Germany Continues to Fiddle as Europe Stagnates

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Unemployment in the euro area hit 12.2 percent in September, up from 11.5 percent a year ago. The inflation rate hit 0.7 percent, down from 2.5 percent a year ago. This suggests that Europe could tolerate a wee bit more stimulus in its economic policy, especially from its biggest and most powerful country.

So what was the response of Europe’s biggest and most powerful country? Dismissing as “incomprehensible” U.S. criticism of Germany’s continuing dedication to running trade surpluses, and then taking a shot at high U.S. debt levels.

I think that perhaps “incomprehensible” does not mean what they think it means.

DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

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DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do things differently in the aftermath of a political crisis: Watergate. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after, and go deep on, stories others don’t. And we’re a nonprofit newsroom because we knew corporations and billionaires would never fund the journalism we do. Our reporting makes a difference in policies and people’s lives changed.

And we need your support like never before to vigorously fight back against the existential threats American democracy and journalism face. We’re running behind our online fundraising targets and urgently need all hands on deck right now. We can’t afford to come up short—we have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

Please help with a donation today if you can—even just a few bucks helps. Not ready to donate but interested in our work? Sign up for our Daily newsletter to stay well-informed—and see what makes our people-powered, not profit-driven, journalism special.

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