United Liberty

When President Obama arrives in London this week he will meet with the leader of Germany, a nation where his election has brought newfound goodwill towards America; but will the goodwill be enough to force the hands of Germany to conform to Washington’s desires for additional stimulus and bailouts? If the latest media reports, which point towards an Administration attempting to dial down expectations, are any indication, then the answer is most likely a soft no.

The NYT is reporting that little ground is expected to be made in regards to additional German stimulus, with Chancellor Angela Merkel expected to cite fiscal discipline as a reason for German non-cooperation with President Obama’s Administration on the issue-

Mrs. Merkel made clear that she was not wavering in her response to the economic crisis, by loosening the German checkbook or encouraging the European Central Bank to follow the Federal Reserve in pumping money into the system. She also said she expected Mr. Obama to keep his word to gradually rein in imbalances that would cause American indebtedness to grow sharply as a result of his domestic stimulus plans.

The Dow Jones wire is reporting that we should expect no deal in regards to a plan for the carmaker Opel, a subsidiary of General Motors to receive additional help from the German Government-

It is unlikely that Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.S. President Barack Obama will reach an agreement on the future of General Motors Corp. (GM) German car unit Opel when they meet in Germany next week, German Economy Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg told Dow Jones Newswires Thursday.

The anti-bailout, anti-stimulus, “anti-radical monetary policy” (in relative to US terms), is being confirmed by the European Central Bank.

Less than a month after lambasting European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet for failing to keep up with Ben S. Bernanke’s efforts to stem the recession, foreign-exchange traders are glad he’s behind the curve. - Bloomberg

With this desire to restrain itself from expensive forays into the private markets, is it possible the German government, one which is supposedly more socialistic than their counterparts across the pond, is looking back at its past to see the consequences of poor fiscal policy? There are even some Germans still living today that have seen the disastrous effects quantitative easing can have on an economy (and ultimately every civilization that interacts with it). It is fortunate Americans have not had to experience the destructive powers of the printing press, but it is unfortunate they may have to learn the hard way.