Performance has been solid for four years. Consumer confidence levels are at record highs, with greater job availability a major factor. The country s major frustration with high unemployment is declining. New job creation in 2000 is projected at 520,000 jobs, versus 380,000 last year. France s cumbersome government must be scaled back in coming decades.
Inflation is a concern, led by the weak euro and rising oil prices.
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder s program slashes both corporate and personal tax rates over the next few years. The program also eliminates a huge tax barrier against corporate mergers and break-ups. While Schroeder has pushed through powerful changes, he hasn t begun to tackle one of the worst German diseases the merciless rigidity of labor and housing markets. The Italians are proposing tax cuts actually exceeding those of France and Germany in coming years. Government spending is now in check, with a modest surplus expected this year.