The green transformation of the economy is a great challenge and will cost the state a lot. According to a new study by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, the German state must invest around 40 billion euros annually in the green transformation of the economy and another 40 billion euros per year in its social systems if the climate change is not to lead to losses of prosperity and to a further split in society.

80 billion euros annually! An amount that can’t be paid out of the petty cash. You are probably also wondering: Where will the money come from?

In this context, the rules around the debt brake are often discussed, as this would be the most obvious option at first glance: New debts are simply taken on to have additional funds available. Since the introduction of the debt brake in 2009, however, taking on debt has been linked to rules.

What the debt brake stands for The federal budget may only take on loans up to 0.35 percent of gross domestic product. The Federal Constitutional Court recently prohibited side roads past the debt brake.

The debt brake was introduced in the middle of the financial crisis in order to limit expenditures for the rescue of banks, because: With too high debts, interest and repayment payments will eventually become too great a burden. At that time, the introduction of the debt brake had been accepted with a broad majority. About three quarters of the members of the Bundestag voted for the constitutional amendment and thus for the debt brake, only a two-thirds majority was necessary.

Since ideas are lacking on how to finance the transformation of the economy, it is currently being openly discussed whether it makes sense to continue to adhere to the debt brake. What do economists say?

What economists say about the debt brake Basically, it applies: Left-wing economists are more in favor of softening the debt brake than conservative or liberal representatives. According to tagesschau.de, a survey of economics professors conducted by the Munich ifo Institute and the „Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung“ came to the following result: Of 187 economists, only six percent said that the debt brake should be abolished, 48 percent wanted to keep it, but 44 percent were in favor of changes to the rule. Two percent said: „don’t know“.

The Bundesbank had already prepared a study on the subject last year. According to tagesschau.de, the officials wrote abstractly about a sensible softening of the debt brake. How this vague formulation could find a two-thirds opinion in the Bundesbank remained open. A dozen times „could,“ „had,“ and „was“ were mentioned on just one page.

Whether the debt brake will remain and, if so, in its original or in an amended form, is completely unclear.

What you should do now However, one thing is certain: The transformation of the economy must be financed somehow. If debt-making is eliminated… how will Father State then raise the money? Will there be tax increases? It is possible.

To secure your private well-being, you should therefore definitely set up a well thought-out investment strategy. Recommendations for this can be found in „Secure Money,“ a consulting service for critical investors who want active asset protection. Readers who trust the consulting service are satisfied because they were able to protect and increase their assets despite the crisis in the past two years.