“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. The largest item in the federal budget is the social budget, which accounts for almost 40 percent of government spending. Finance Minister Christian Lindner is calling for a multi-year moratorium on social spending and subsidies in order to meet the desired defense budget. But Clemens Fuest, President of the Ifo economic research institute, makes a clear announcement to Lang and Lindner.