Research Paper on:
Economic Problems of Germany

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
2003, p. 44. The rebuilt avenue rivals Paris Champs-Elysees as Europes most magnificent thoroughfare. The Berlin Wall is fading memory and the Brandenburg Gate is newly cleansed and polished (The  decline of Germany, 2003). This is how Germany leaders want to the world to perceive their country, but the economic reality of Germany is that in Berlin, financial strapped  school systems are firing teachers and the city is closing municipal swimming pools (The decline of Germany, 2003). Germany is entering her second decade of stagnation and seriously ill  economy. It often happens that countries have bad decades. Usually countries climb out of these slumps, as the US overcame such a decade  in the 1970s (Germany, 2003). However, sometimes, a country gets "stuck" and experts worry that this is happening to Germany. Sometime during the past decade, the aging German population  went from "creating wealth" to "defending" wealth, as people became afraid of risk, inwardly directed and isolationist (Germany, 2003). The implications of this trend have been substantial, as Germany  is not experiencing 11 percent unemployment, which means that many people are on government dole (Germany, 2003). Furthermore, it is putting serious strains on the euro, the European Central  Bank and the European Union (Germany, 2003). Experts assert that there is still time to reverse Germanys decline, but it must be done soon. Business Week recommends that  Germany should "sharply cut all subsidies and tax breaks to "fading Old Economy industries," such as shipping and coal (Germany, 2003, p. 100. This would free money for an  across the board tax cut that would benefit both individuals and corporations (Germany, 2003). Consumption would naturally rise and businesses would have profits to invest (Germany, 2003).