German Economy

As leaders of the seven major industrialized countries gather in Lyon, France for the annual G-7 economic summit, they'll have one eye cast on the problem of slow economic growth in Europe, especially in Germany...the country that has long been the continent's economic powerhouse. German unemployment is near eleven percent, and economic growth has been stagnant for at least six months. NPR's John Ydstie (ID-stee) talks with businesspeople and workers about the growing debate in Germany over how to create new jobs. While many economists say the country's labor costs are too high and that Germany's social welfare state is too generous, German workers fear they're being blamed for a problem that's really the fault of a government intent on pleasing each special interest group with its own social program.