West Germans fear inflation more than U.S. displeasure
Once again the U.S. has tried to persuade West Germany to help spur a worldwide economic recovery by dumping its slow-growth policies in favor of accelerated expansion—and once again the Germans have refused. At a tense three-hour meeting in Bonn, Treasury Secretary Michael Blumenthal was lectured last week by Chancellor Helmut Schmidt about the U.S.'s economic "sins." Among the most grievous cited by Schmidt: the absence of a coherent energy program; the U.S.'s huge foreign trade deficit, which stimulates international inflation; and Washington's unconscionable failure to support the sagging dollar.
Schmidt and his colleagues argue...
