> Sadly there was no successful run. Depends how you look at it - they certainly had an impressive account surplus, for 4 consecutive years (currently world le

> Sadly there was no successful run. Depends how you look at it - they certainly had an impressive account surplus, for 4 consecutive years (currently world leading $293b). > 1 good job became 2 bad jobs, which meant less contributions into welfare and pension funds This means lower contributions but also much lower payout for welfare. > this lack of domestic demand partly explains why Germany has so many problems recovering from the crisis. AFAICT domestic demand in Germany is still strong, but clearly attempting to boost it through welfare proved to be an inferior strategy.