So late last night, if you stay up and watch the news....the CDU/CSU parties, along with their coalition partner (the SPD Party)....sat down and agreed on a number of measures, which will get the 'pass' in the Bundestag, and have significant improvement in the economy of Germany.
First, short-time work went from 12 months, to 24 months. Short-time, if you aren't into the phrase....is where you the boss have x-number of workers who aren't fully producing because of the economy (Covid-19 issues). You admit that a number of your employees only need to work a quarter of their normal hours (or maybe half). So you send them home. The government makes up for the lesser hours by paying their pay up to a 65-percent (to go up to 80-percent shortly). It's not a perfect situation, but it's better than the guy or gal being unemployed.
So the one-year period would come to an end in March of 2021, if this had not been resolved. Now? It'll go through to March of 2022.
Curiously, the group agreed on a commission to meet and discuss election reform. Attached to this? The idea of extending voting rights to German youths....16 years old. The idea of flipping from a four-year voting situation....to five-years? That will be openly discussed as well. Reducing the size of the Bundestag (currently 709 members)? That will be part of the discussion as well.
Whether change actually does occur? Unknown. The youth vote thing will draw a lot of attention....both positive and negative.
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