Monika Schnitzer: The coalition is handing out soothing pills with a lot of empathy
With fuel discounts and energy aid, politics wants to relieve citizens. In reality, it only distributes losses and creates a new claim on the state from every crisis. A guest post.
The German government has created an expectation among citizens that it will provide financial support during crises. This year, it has already reduced the energy tax on petrol and diesel for two months at a cost of around 1.6 billion euros. A further fuel discount is planned for October to December at a cost of around 2.5 billion euros.
The government is already providing billions of euros in relief to households and businesses with gas and electricity costs. This support is in line with the promise of the social state to help those in existential need due to external shocks.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's report — not a translation of it. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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