The traffic light coalition is not good for Germany as a business location

The German economy is driving with the handbrake on. Because there are now two million vacancies, companies have to turn down orders, hold off customers, shorten opening hours – or even close down if necessary. A skilled labor offensive is overdue.

But it takes much more than just a few corrections to immigration rules or an increase in further education. Germany needs an agenda for the future in order to develop into the top job market for hard-working people from Germany and abroad.

If you want to get older people, women and above all the unemployed and mini-jobbers to work more, you have to reduce the tax burden. Incidentally, this would also be an important signal to highly qualified employees and entrepreneurs abroad to consider Germany as a new home. Today such top talents prefer to move to Canada, Switzerland or the USA.

The local social system provides too many incentives to shift the burden onto the state instead of encouraging individual initiative. In view of the aging of the population, it is foreseeable that the public coffers will be overwhelmed. And the open borders for all accelerate this process.

After the turn of the millennium, Germany was once the sick man of Europe. This was followed by the “Agenda 2010” of the red-green government under Gerhard Schröder, the largest social and labor market reform since the war, combined with a massive tax cut. The success was resounding. Germany became Europe's powerhouse. Germany has developed into the most important destination country, especially for well-trained migrants from other EU countries.

An unprecedented job boom was the result, and the current record level of employment is an aftermath of this development. But during the Merkel era, Germany indulged in a future-blind feel-good policy. And the traffic light is unfortunately not good for location D either.

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