Saturday, September 21, 2013

The rise of poverty in Frau Merkel's Germany

The never-ending applause for the "economic miracle" that is Germany needs a reality check.

True enough, the relatively robust German economy may be "the strong man of Europe," but relative to what?

Relative to Greece and Spain?

Even a dwarf can be the tall man of Europe, provided he stands next to a fellow of even more diminutive stature.

Here's a story about the rapid growth of food banks in Germany. You will note in the graph that the number of food banks in Germany when Frau Merkel became Chancellor in 2005 stood at 480.

By 2012 that number had surpassed 900.

Selke's argument is actually far more interesting than the simple rise in the number of food banks would indicate. He claims that food banks allow us to ignore the structural problems that create poverty by applying band-aid solutions to treat the symptoms.

He may be right, but at least people get to eat.

No comments:

Post a Comment