How to get a higher vaccination rate of the population? A left-wing financial politician has an idea: everyone who is fully vaccinated should receive a 500 euro bonus – also retroactively. He also sees this as an “economic program”.
A bonus for vaccination – even retroactively
The financial politician from the Left, Christian Görke, wants to significantly increase the vaccination rate with a program worth billions of euros. His idea: for every person vaccinated, the state should pay a bonus of 500 euros – 300 euros for the first full protection against coronavirus, 200 euros for the third dose, a booster. And all this is also retroactive, that is, in fact, for everyone who has been vaccinated or is about to be.
“The funds are”
Görke, who was finance minister in Brandenburg for five years, estimates the total funding at 37.5 billion euros – of which 22.5 billion euros for the bonus for the first two doses and another 15 billion for the bonus for the third dose, the so-called “booster”.
Much of the funding falls in the current fiscal year. The federal budget could handle it. “I was finance minister for a long time and I know how to manage money,” – Görke said in an interview with t-online adding: “The funds are.” In total, the approved supplementary budget of the federal government was 240 billion euros – but little was spent. In addition, tax revenues will be higher than expected.
“We see that the fourth wave of the pandemic is gaining momentum- everyone is talking about the 2G or 3G rule and it is clear to everyone: the only way out is vaccination,” said Görke. The aim of the bonus is therefore to increase the vaccination rate in Germany to 85 or 90 percent, which is what the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) is striving for. “The bonus would be a boost that helps people, but also the economy.” Experts confirm the politician in this opinion.
“A small economic program”
The Munich-based economic research institute Ifo has put the economic value of each vaccine dose at around 1,500 euros, since it is largely vaccination that can prevent lockdowns that cause major economic damage. Behavioral economist Nora Szech of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) had already advocated a €500 bonus over the summer to achieve the targeted vaccination rate.
In addition to the benefits of a high vaccination rate, Görke expects other positive effects. “The vaccination bonus will strengthen the wallet and the economy,” the financial politician argued in an interview with t-online. It is “a kind of small economic program” that initially reaches out to low-income, poorly educated groups and where vaccination rates are particularly low. In the end, however, the money will benefit the economy by increasing consumption, especially with the upcoming Christmas shopping season.
Görke wants to present his plan at Wednesday’s meeting of the Left in the Bundestag. From there he has already received positive signals. “It would be a contribution to the cohesion of this society,” Görke said. “500 euros is the right premium; the money for this is there and it is necessary.”
Source: www.t-online.de