How Europe sees America

A reporter by the name of Holger Zschapitz wrote in Germany's Welt am Sonntag, "Europeans are aghast at America's reckless spending and refusal to raise taxes. Yet what we see as a moral failing is really the consequence of a very different historical experience. Europeans have bitter memories of the hyperinflation that followed both world wars, so we have made monetary stability the primary goal of our central bank. Americans, by contrast, were traumatized by the Great Depression, so to avoid unemployment they pursue 'growth at any cost,' which means running up ever greater debts. Fortunately, the U.S. also has a strong tradition of  'inventiveness and entrepreneurship.' So far, it has always been able to grow its way out of debt. Let's hope it hasn't lost that 'spirit of innovation.' "