“Guns and butter’: Ifo boss believes cuts in social benefits are inevitable. Ifo president assumes a narrower welfare state.
There is no avoiding savings when it comes to financing the Bundeswehr. If you want to double defense spending and at the same time comply with the debt brake, you have to make savings elsewhere. The largest item in the federal budget is the social budget, which accounts for almost 40 percent of government spending. A further 47 billion euros are earmarked for social benefits.