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Corona bridging aid extended again - "Nothing more to do with economic rationality"

2021-08-02T13:17:58.538Z


The Federal Government is holding out the prospect of further funding under Bridging Aid III. Experts take a critical look at the measure and see a bottomless pit.


The Federal Government is holding out the prospect of further funding under Bridging Aid III.

Experts take a critical look at the measure and see a bottomless pit.

Berlin - The corona crisis has kept the world in suspense since the beginning of 2020.

Companies that are economically affected by the Covid 19 pandemic are now receiving another positive stimulus from the federal government: As Federal Minister of Economics * Peter Altmaier explains, the corona aid for companies is to be extended beyond September.

"Minister Altmaier has long been campaigning for the bridging aid to be extended in order to support affected companies and their employees, who in many cases have to struggle with the consequences of the Corona for a longer period of time.

He (...) made it very clear that the Federal Government will continue to stand firmly by the side of companies in the future.

In this respect, we welcome the fact that Minister Scholz is now also positive about this proposal, ”said a spokeswoman.

Bridging aid 3 plus: Corona aid probably until 2022

Statements by Federal Finance Minister Olaf Scholz (SPD) to the

Funke media group

suggest that the state subsidies * for companies in crisis will burden the federal budget until next year.

“Nobody should stumble shortly before the rescue.

I want to extend both of these until the end of the year.

We may have to help one or the other company in the next year as well. "

The federal government's current aid package will run until September 2021 under the name "Bridging Aid 3 Plus".

What is new is a “restart bonus”, with which companies can apply for a higher subsidy for personnel costs - if they bring back staff from short-time work or hire new employees.

A few weeks ago, government politician Altmaier (CDU) announced that the German economy had survived the corona pandemic better than originally expected:

Corona aid: "Politics is flooding the market with liquidity"

If some economists have their way, however, the Corona bridging aid has left a reasonable level behind.

Quite a few experts suspect a connection between the rescue measures and the upcoming federal election * and predict that the bill will only be served to German taxpayers in the medium to long term.

In addition, continuous financial donations would paralyze the innovative strength in Germany: "There is a risk that we will keep companies alive that are actually no longer viable due to structural change," explains Timo Wollmershäuser from the Munich Ifo Institute to

faz.net

. According to him, the corona aid would prevent resources from being used in more sustainable areas.

The constant extension of the bridging aid undoubtedly means state interference in a supposedly free capital market.

The measures would artificially keep numerous companies alive that had problems before Corona.

“Politicians are flooding the market with liquidity.

It no longer has anything to do with economic rationality, ”explains Patrik-Ludwig Hantzsch, economic researcher at Creditreform.

German economy after Corona: Pampering with financial injections?

As the

FAZ

explains, since the beginning of the pandemic, the Federal Ministry of Economics, which is at the top of a bizarre rating *, has received over 114 billion euros in corona aid.

A third of this amount is a grant that does not have to be repaid.

As Hantzsch further explains, there is a risk that the next federal government would no longer dare to wean German companies off the financial injections.

He fears the scenario of a reorientation of economic policy, where the market is no longer decisive, but civil servants or government politicians.

The economy in neighboring Poland got through the Corona crisis particularly well - why actually?

(PF with dpa)

* Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2021-08-02

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