To their enormous credit west Germans voted to impose on themselves a 7p tax rise - a "solidarity" tax - not for one year but for more than a generation.

BBC: Simpson: Bonfire of insanities

It is one big reason why 2011 saw the largest one-year decline in income inequality in a generation.

BBC: Fairness and the welfare bill

One of her customers was a 34-year-old IT guy, so maybe they bridged a generation gap.

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