Four German Economic Bits

 I often discuss the direction of the Germany economy, and how things are heading, so here are four bits:

1.  All this chatter recently about the approaching C02 tax on individual residences....where the idea is that the owner will pay 50-percent and the renter will pay 50-percent?  Well...the CDU-CSU are fighting this idea a great deal.

This tax would start sometime between 2022 to 2024 (no, it's not really finalized).  

Who really pushes for the 50-50 split?  The Greens and SPD Party.

What may happen?  I suspect that two possible scenarios will occur.  First, they might agree to dodge this decision until after the election (September).  Second, they might create a waiver deal where if you were the owner of the residence and had done something to improve heating or lessen cost.....you ought to be waivered out of the C02 tax.  

2.  Most all German companies engaged in renovation or construction....are experiencing a shortage of a lack of lumber, steel, insulation material, and some are even seeing a shortage of screws.

Stopping orders?  No....but you sense some slowdown is going on and will be a factor for the next couple of months.

3.  If you work in a butcher-operation.....your salary will be mandated at a minimum of 10.80 Euro an hour.  So as you'd expect....meat prices will be going up five to ten percent shortly.

4.  There's another basic income study starting up....in Berlin.  The basic plan?  122 Germans will receive 1,000 extra Euro a month, for three years....on top of their salary/government pay-out.

Government project?  No.....private donors and a college/university to study the entire situation for three years.

If you go back two years ago, Finland did an experiment on this, and came to the conclusion that nothing really 'super' or positive came out of the extra money handed out.  What they wrote as an agenda....that people would use the money to get certified, upgrade themselves, or start small businesses.  The end result was that they couldn't find any real evidence that people improved themselves.

The weakness to this idea is that you need a 'coach' in the middle and guiding people to life changes, and the intellectual crowd (the ones pushing this agenda) really don't want to admit that people can't make life changes on their own.  

I expect, when this is done in 2024, a 500-page report will be issued, and the public TV chat forum will spend weeks talking about the results.  

The odds out of the 122 folks....that five or six Germans just take the 1,000 Euro a month and deposit it into a savings account (like a typical German would do)?  It would be amusing to have the intellectual folks discuss this matter, or have the public TV moderators talk to these people (asking them why they saved the money).