Germany is in a financial pickle of its own making. The coalition government’s attempt to repurpose €60 billion ($65.5 billion) in unused pandemic funds for climate spending was ruled unconstitutional in November, forcing ministers to agree on emergency budgetary cuts, including to electric-vehicle subsidies. The economy is set to more or less stagnate for a second year while the court ruling has triggered weeks of handwringing over how to reconcile the country’s fetish for balanced budgets with the need to transform its physical and digital infrastructure.

Yet there’s a way for Berlin to fund modernization without completely ditching fiscal responsibility, at least in the long term: Enact a “golden rule” to allow more borrowing for public investment.

QOSHE - Germany Has Forgotten the Golden Rule of Finance - Chris Bryant
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Germany Has Forgotten the Golden Rule of Finance

9 0
08.01.2024

Germany is in a financial pickle of its own making. The coalition government’s attempt to repurpose €60 billion ($65.5 billion) in unused pandemic funds for climate spending was........

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