Leery of Debt, Germany Shuns a Spending Spree

“The German approach is going to be ‘let’s wait on what we have already done,’ ” said Peter Bofinger, a professor of economics at the University of Würzburg.

Berlin has already spent 50 billion euros, ($63 billion). But the economic crisis has had few palpable effects on ordinary Germans so far. This, along with a deep-seated mistrust of debt, appears to be reinforcing the government’s opposition to spending more now, lest it stoke inflation, analysts said.