Merkel Wins a Second Term [krakatoa]

Even better, she also wins a center-right majority to pursue conservative fiscal policies in Europe's largest economy.

Voters sent the nation's main left-wing party, the Social Democrats of Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, into opposition after 11 years as part of the government. It was the party's worst parliamentary election result since World War

Merkel campaigned on pledges of middle-class tax relief, finding that a winning message along with the pro-business Free Democrats who went further by including promises of tax breaks for the top and bottom brackets as well in the effort to stimulate growth in a revolutionary new strategy: Letting people spend their own money in the way they determine wisest.

Insanity, I know. You would think GWB and JFK and Ronald Reagan's disastrous economic policies would have served as a lesson against the concept that revenues could rise with lower taxes. Allowing the rabble to waste their money on non-government directed enterprise could never create wider growth.

Both argued that tax cuts would boost the economy, ultimately leading to higher tax revenue.

Yet Merkel has called for modest middle-income tax relief, while Westerwelle — who successfully portrayed his party as a champion of the middle class and small business — has called for far deeper tax cuts, with significant reductions in both the top and bottom rates.

The losers put them some knowledge, using the classic and irrefutable "You're wrong because I said so!" gambit so sublimely played by numerous savvy AoS trolls:

"That will be the Achilles' heel of the Free Democrats and the (new) coalition as a whole, because it will not be possible to cut taxes," predicted Heinrich Oberreuter, a political science professor at the University of Passau.

That's right. You can't cut taxes, because it is impossible to cut taxes. Why, that's be like trying to melt steel with fire!

No cheesecake on this news. It's Germany. It's almost Oktober. You know what that means...

Ve haf vays to raise your revenues.

Look at the size of those steins. What, you didn't notice they were holding beer?

Most excellent pic courtesy of eric b. at Beer Control Offense.

Guys, do yourselves a favor and go check out some more. It's safe for work, but just barely.

Oh, alright. One for the ladies below the fold.

Shooting with old dogs makes me look young, ja?

posted by xgenghisx at 09:26 AM

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