To help revive the economy, the Terra Nova think tank on Wednesday proposed the creation of a green check of 300 euros, paid to low-income households and dedicated to the purchase of goods and services beneficial to the environment.
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This device, which would be financed by the State and companies, would make it possible "
both to respond to the climate challenge, to serve the imperative of economic recovery and to support the most modest
", justify the authors of this note, whose Managing Director of Terra Nova Thierry Pech, also co-president of the Citizen's Climate Convention.
15 million beneficiaries?
Focused on people earning up to 1.6 Smic, this check would thus be distributed to around 15 million beneficiaries for a total cost of 4.5 billion euros.
It would be "
without consideration
" and "
usable for a limited period
" in order to play its role of contributor to the immediate recovery of the economy, details the note.
In detail, the state would fully fund the check for people whose income is less than 1.3 Smic, whether they are employees or beneficiaries of minimum social benefits.
Beyond that, and up to 1.6 Smic, "
the device would blend
" into the Macron bonus created in 2019. The goods and services would be selected according to their own characteristics respecting existing charters and / or labels, or according to the points of sale where they are sold (organic grocery store, local products, resourceries, etc.).
Since the start of the crisis, and despite the proposals of several economists, the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire has constantly opposed the creation of this type of measure to support consumption, believing that the government, in particular via the support of partial unemployment, had supported the purchasing power of the French.
In fact, it should only contract slightly this year (-0.5% according to Bercy forecasts).
After the increase in the back-to-school bonus in September, and the exceptional aid to the most modest announced in recent weeks, the government will thus "
probably not
give an
additional
boost
" to the minimum wage next year, beyond of the automatic evolution recommended by the expert group on the minimum wage, Prime Minister Jean Castex indicated last week.
Other measures are however being studied, in particular to support young people, announced Emmanuel Macron last week, referring to a strengthening of the scholarship system and "
new exceptional aid
" for young people in precarious situations.
