Centre-right in Germany = Far left in America

[marmar]

from the Financial Times:



Merkel’s bold gamble
By Bertrand Benoit

Published: November 1 2009 18:20 | Last updated: November 1 2009 18:20



As the daughter of a Lutheran pastor, Angela Merkel makes an unlikely gambler. But as the German chancellor prepares to lead her country’s first centre-right coalition in more than a decade, she is staking her second term on a daring economic bet.

She admitted as much last Monday as she unveiled the coalition agreement, or policy road map, she has signed with the Free Democratic party that is her new ruling partner. “There is no guarantee it will work,” she said, “but there is a chance.”

Faced with the contradictory problems of rapidly emptying state coffers and an economy still reeling from this year’s recession, Ms Merkel has opted to fight the crisis with an injection of funds on an unprecedented scale. The new “black-yellow” coalition between her Christian Democrats and the FDP plans to cut income and corporate taxes by €24bn ($35bn, £21bn) a year up to 2013 – a boost equivalent to about 1 per cent of gross domestic product.

“Just saving, saving, saving will not do us any good,” she said when presenting her plan. “This is why we have decided to follow a path that concentrates on growth” rather than focus on fixing the federal budget.”

Though she has been careful not to call it a third fiscal stimulus, this is in effect what Ms Merkel is proposing for Europe’s largest economy. ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/8cdb9572-c70b-11de-bb6f-00144feab49a.html?nclick_check=1

[provis99]

1. cutting taxes for the rich and the corporations: that ain't "far left"

more like typical right wing nonsense to me.

[marmar]

2. By American standards, sadly, such an ambitious spending program is far left these days....

nt

[reggie the dog]

3. they are cutting taxes for everyone

not just the rich, the middle class get tax cuts too, it is true that the poor do not pay tax so they do not get a tax cut.