Household savings would be lower if governments take on more debt, but they insist on running surpluses. Germany in particular has kept wages for workers depressed as part of their "economic model". Germany should be cutting taxes for workers significantly and investing in infrastructure, defense, and social programs.

In fact a lot of the rich EU members should be doing that, but they all have a misguided notion of "fiscal prudence". As if the government's budget is the same as a household's budget.