1st Anaylsis Paper

Germany: Grappling with the Euro, and with Its Own Complicated History.

By Catherine Mayer

The author of the article, Catherine Mayer writes in this Time magazine article about how bad the economy is in Germany. The country of Germany is going through one its worst economical times since the end of World War II. This article further explains why Germany is in an economical crisis and how Germany plans using the Euro to help them. The article also goes into detail about how each city is using their money in these rough economical times. Mayer, first explains what Frankfurt, Germany is like to the rest world. She describes what the city looks like for people who have never been to Germany. “Most German cities are low-rise, fashioned from timber, stone and brick, though concrete and steel have been widely deployed to plug gaps left by Allied bombing raids. But the city on the Main didn't just repair and restore. It reached for the sky, and in the process helped to power the Wirtschaftswunder, Germany's postwar economic miracle.’’(Time) I think the author wants to give the reader a visual aspect of what Frankfurt is like on an everyday basis, but at the same time Germany has a lot of problems. Mayer is writing for Time magazine, so the audience is very wide spread around the world. Catherine Mayer has no problem of getting to the point about what Germany is going through at the current time.

“Now as then, Germany is at the epicenter.”The euro is much, much more than a currency. The euro is the guarantee of a united Europe. If the euro fails, then Europe fails," Chancellor Angela Merkel told her parliament on Sept. 7. But what Merkel has been more reluctant to acknowledge is that Germany, as the biggest player in the euro zone, has no choice but to determine the fate of the euro zone, whether by doing a lot or doing not very much at all. On Sept. 29, parliament will vote on expanding the bailout fund, raising Germany's contribution from $168 billion to $287 billion, almost half the total. The measure is expected to squeak through, but won't be enough to restore confidence and stability. That requires a fundamental change in the way the euro zone operates.’’ (Time)

Mayer goes into great detail on how much each estimate for the decade that Germany has spent. This shows how well the author has done her research. If people know what the statistics or status is on something economy it can draw in the reader’s attention. Mayer is not making up any numbers, and is placing the facts on how have increased or decreased since World War II to when the article was written for Time. Mayer also talk in-depth about Germany’s future economical troubles.

“And Germany is in the hot seat. After two world wars in the first half of the 20th century, the European project tamed German national ambitions. Saving the project appears to require Germany to do the very things the E.U.'s creators aimed to prevent: take a dominant role in Europe and stamp out many remaining national quirks. For the euro to survive, the thinking goes, the profligate peoples of the weaker euro zone countries have to be made to behave like sensible Germans. "It was expected with the start of European Monetary Union that peer pressure would work, but it has not worked," says Jürgen Stark, the ECB's former chief economist, who spoke to TIME just hours after abruptly resigning his post on Sept. 9, panicking already jittery markets. Stark, Germany's top representative at the bank, cited personal reasons but the move was widely interpreted as a protest against the bank's policy of buying sovereign debt to prop up ailing euro zone economies.’’(Time)

The author also goes onto interview people at these banks in Germany to get their opinion on what is going on in Germany. Mayer even quotes Martin Blessing from one of the major German banks. "The viewpoint from a German taxpayer's perspective is 'Why should I write a check to Greece if I don't know if the money will ever come back?'" says Martin Blessing, CEO of Commerzbank, Germany's second largest financial institution. "Germany underwent significant restructuring efforts over the last 10 years, which was tough. All our labor costs basically stayed the same, but in Greece they increased." Yet Blessing says this overlooks Germany's role as Greece's eager enabler. "We exported a lot of products to Greece. In effect we as an economy gave them a vendor loan. The exporter gives credit to the importer hoping that it will be repaid later." (Time) Mayer would also interview with Frankfurt tourists and locals on the economy. Most of the locals did not like the Greeks because Greece is in a more financial crisis than Germany. Greeks come over to other parts of Europe to be served, and maybe possibly looking for work outside of Greece. Along with interviews, Mayer had to do some research on previous financial problems in Europe.



Mayer also had to do some research for this article. It is mentioned at the very how the 2008 financial crisis would affect Europe in 2010. ‘’Stark, the ECB's outgoing Chief Economist, offers a deceptively simple prescription for breaking the logjam. "We have always made good progress in European integration when European politicians set targets and exact dates," he says. "This worked with the single market in 1993. There was a target to achieve the single market in 1993. And then with the single currency which started in 1999. So why not set new targets, be more ambitious?" His proposal: the 17 euro zone countries should "move ahead, leaving others behind" in the push for integration, perhaps appointing a joint finance minister.’’ (Time) The changing to the euro has affected Germany’s economy greatly. Some would say for the better or for the worst.

Donald M. Murray would talk in detail about the craft of Catherine Mayer. Mayer’s craft as a writer would be called a “broadcaster’’. Mayer is speaking to an international audience about what is happening in Germany and in Europe. The biggest challenge Catherine Mayer had had to explain what is going on in Europe for people who do not pay attention on what is happening in the economical world. Speaking to a global audience is a huge challenge for most people, but Murray would show any writer on how to make this article speak to one reader. This article can be depicted to anybody in the world.