Be More Like Us

In this morning’s New York Times I read:

Wolfgang Schäuble, the German finance minister, speaking in Washington on Thursday, insisted that “writing checks” was no way for the eurozone to increase growth, according to Reuters. Mr. Schäuble urged France and Italy to do more to overhaul their economies instead.

Yes, the first priority is for the rest of the Eurozone to be more like Germany.  They can begin by requiring firms to belong to industry associations that tax their members to finance apprenticeship and other programs, putting worker representatives on firms’ supervisory bodies and transferring the majority of banking assets to noncommercial (public and cooperative) institutions.  That’s Schäuble’s plan, right?