The Berlin Wall Is Still Standing

The Berlin Wall divided the city for 28 years, two months and 28 days starting Aug. 13, 1961. It ended on Nov. 9, 1989, when Guenter Schabowski, a top East German official, erroneously announced that crossing into West Berlin was now permitted. Now that the same amount of time -- 28 years, two months and 28 days -- has passed, it's fitting that the next German government is expected to end the solidarity tax created to even out economic differences between both sides.

While there's little sign of the physical wall these days, an economic one remains tall indeed. Last year's government report on the state of German unity showed that the eastern part of the country still suffers from unemployment rates that are about 50 percent higher than the west. Per capita economic output in the east stands at about 73 percent of the western level, which is a great improvement on the 42 percent reported in 1991, but growth has stalled in the last decade. The government blames a lack of large enterprises in the east: No company represented on the DAX stock index is headquartered there. The impact on workers is striking: Easterners make about 82 percent as much on average as westerners while enjoying less coverage by labor unions' tariff agreements.