HOW DOES A SHRINKING, AGING NATION GROW ITS ECONOMY?:

Germany ‘cannot save its way out of deficit’ (Hugh Williamson, February 23 2006, Financial Times)

Germany must revive its economy and labour market if it is to resolve its crushing fiscal problems, the country’s finance minister said on Thursday, rejecting proposals to rely solely on budget cuts to reduce near-record borrowing.

In remarks seen as a harsh rebuttal of economists in the Bundesbank – Germany’s central bank – and elsewhere, Peer Steinbrück said: “We can’t save our way out of our budget problems. That’s a hopeless prospect. There will only be progress if there is also movement on the economy, in the labour market and regarding our social security system.”