Bloomberg (didn’t I once promise not to have anything more to do with them, oh well, needs must) have obtained a copy of German Finance Minister Hans Eichel’s budget plans for 2006. The problem is a serious one since the big problems are structural not cyclical:
“Given the availability of financial resources, an adequate public infrastructure and a sound education system with everything that accounts for Germany’s future viability can no longer be guaranteed”
The room for manouevre - whoever is elected in the autumn - is extremely limited since “nearly two thirds of next year’s 256 billion-euro budget are slated for debt-servicing, state pensions and unemployment benefits as well as jobless-placement costs”…(while)..”Germany’s three-year economic slump and near-record joblessness have eroded tax revenue”.
Feed: A Fistful of Euros