U.S., Europe disagree on spending

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Renita Jablonski: One of the biggest points of contention leading up to next month’s G20 summit is the size of Europe’s economic stimulus packages. European leaders continue to insist they will not spend to match the U.S. Christopher Werth reports.

Christopher Werth: In today’s Wall Street Journal, Jean-Claude Trichet, the president of the European Central Bank, says Europe has done its part to revive the global economy.

Washington disagrees. The Obama administration would like Europe to spend more money. Germany’s recent $68 billion package pales in comparison to the nearly $800 billion plan passed in the U.S.

But Philip White of the Center for European Reform says we can’t judge stimulus spending by one number alone:

Philip White: The stimulus packages in the E.U. have probably been larger than is widely appreciated in the United States.

He says, as an example, programs that pay unemployment benefits are more robust in Europe, making stimulus spending much larger than it appears.

Trichet says the U.S. and European governments should now focus on actually implementing the spending packages they’ve put in place.

In London, I’m Christopher Werth for Marketplace.