Germany, whose welfare state model inspired the "progressive" movement of which Obama and the American Left are so enamored, is in deep economic trouble. The new "poverty atlas," reported yesterday by Time/CNN, reveals that Germany is an economic failure even by "social welfare" standards - poverty is deep and widespread and economic inequality is pervasive. What's more shocking, the reported is based on data taken before the recession hit.According to the report:... in eastern Germany, for example, the average poverty rate is around 20%, with up to 27% of people in one area, Vorpommern, living below the poverty line. By contrast, in southern Germany, in the states of Hesse, Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria, the poverty rate is around 11%. ... Chancellor Angela Merkel's home state, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, is the poorest region in Germany with a 24% poverty rate; one of the richest is the picture-postcard pretty Black Forest region, with a poverty rate...(Read Full Post)