by Clifford F. Thies

According to the Obama administration, this was supposed to be the summer of recovery. And it is, for Germany. With spending under control and lowered tax rates, the German economy posted a respectable growth rate of 2.2 percent for the 2nd quarter of the year, highest among highly advanced economies.

But in America, it's been the summer of slowth: 0.6 percent, down from 0.9 last quarter and 1.2 the quarter before that. Germany famously avoided recourse to fiscal stimulus to deal with the global recession. Accordingly, it's budget deficit remains modest, at 3 percent of GDP, as compared to a budget deficit of 11 percent of GDP in the U.S. Furthermore, Germany has moved to moderate some of its tax rates (which remain quite high in support of its social insurance programs); while, in the U.S., tax rates have been rising and the talk is only of further increases.

Accordiong to the Wall Street Journal/Heritage Foundation index of economic freedom, during the past year, the first year of the Obama administration, the index has dopped by 2.7 points in the U.S. and has risen by 0.6 points in Germany, although it is still higher in the U.S.

The image is of a German uber-grinder, capable of grinding up and re-cycleing the materials in roads, small buildings vehicles and other things, in a single operation.