Sick man of Europe

Telegraph :

Germany risks becoming the new sick man of Europe as the Continent's one-time economic giant sinks deeper into malaise and falls further behind the rest of the EU, experts warned yesterday. The country whose post-war recovery was hailed as an economic miracle is no longer basking in prosperity but increasingly languishing in poverty, especially when compared with rival nations. The turnaround is likely to prove a huge blow to a nation which prided itself on its high standards of living and looked down on the rest of Europe as workshy, inefficient and technologically backward.

This trend is especially disturbing for Germany because future demographic trends will only heighten this effect. While there are many factors to Germany's economic difficulties, I think it fair to say that too many social programs is a powerful contributer to this problem. That is one reason why I am cautious in regards to social spending here. (via Powerline)