As Washington continues to debate how much more to spend on attempts to stimulate the U.S. economy (see an earlier discussion between New York Times columnist Paul Krugman and former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan), for German chancellor Angela Merkel the question is not how much to spend. but how much to cut.

USA Today reports how European leaders are acting quickly on controlling deficit spending while the U.S sits idly.  “The Europeans are not waiting for a (fiscal) commission, or the next election, or some kind of alignment of stars. They don’t believe they have any time to waste and are pushing forward now.”

The Chicago Tribune pointed out that you know the U.S. has gone down the wrong road when spendaholic European governments are lecturing the country on fiscal responsibility.  The article stresses that the rest of the stimulus should be spent before pouring on even more deficit spending.

In reaction to the G-20 meetings, the LA Times reports that the G-20 conference reached a compromise to halve the budget deficits by 2013.  In response to the agreement, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper remarked, “We must recognize that our fiscal health tomorrow will rest in no small measure on our ability to create jobs and growth today.”

CBS News commented that President Obama stood alone at the G-20 conference in his push for continued stimulus spending.  However, this argument did not take hold as other countries put reducing the debt as their top priority.

Last week, Reuters reported that European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet commended Germany’s plant to cut their budget by $80 billion euros.  Trichet noted he did not believe the austerity measure would bring the country to stagnation.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Merkel argued that increased spending could exacerbate the country’s rising public debt.  She prefers that Germany continue to focus on export growth.

European Union officials supported Germany’s push for fiscal discipline, and in a letter to G-20 nations Wednesday, said the recovery was happening faster than expected and the time for stimulus spending is over.

The Hill newspaper recently called the U.S. “isolated” in its continued pursuit of deficit spending in attempt to spur economic growth, noting that Germany, France, Great Britain, Canada and Japan all have plans to reduce spending.