Photo Gallery The German Model
Steven Rattner, a former economic advisor to President Bill Clinton, argues that "Germany is a model for the United States." He praises the country for labor market and social welfare reforms that have made it far more competitive in recent years.
Here, US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner can be seen touring a factory that belongs to German engineering giant Siemens in Charlotte, North Carolina. Since the early 1980s, America has lost of average of over 200,000 jobs each year in the manufacturing industries and, today, only a little less than 9 percent of working Americans are employed in factories. Siemens is currently expanding in the United States, but it is having trouble finding highly skilled workers.
US President Barack Obama would like to see this change. Obama has set a target of doubling US exports by 2015, arguing that "Made in the USA" needs to become a major player again, and more industrial production has to be brought back into the country.
Graphic: German and American economic vital statistics
