I recently spent a week in Berlin, where the entire city seemed under construction. In every direction, cranes and other heavy equipment dominated the landscape. Although many projects are in the private sector, innumerable others â?? including bridge and highway repairs, new subway stations and other infrastructure work â?? are financed by taxpayers.
But wait. Hasnâ??t Germany been one of the most outspoken advocates of fiscal austerity after the financial crisis? Yes, and thatâ??s not a contradiction. Fiscally responsible businesses routinely borrow to invest, and so, until recently, did most governments.
Lately, however, fears about growing public debt have caused wholesale cuts in American public investment.
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