Baukindergeld 2.0: Well meant, badly done

Anyone who knows Hollywood knows that a film that did reasonably well gets a sequel. Federal politics sometimes works in a similar way, and so it is hardly surprising that Federal Building Minister Klara Geywitz is giving the child benefit with a new twist.

From June, families building or buying their own home should be able to get cheaper loans from the KfW development bank, for which the federal government provides 350 million euros a year.

Geywitz’ justification for why she doesn’t choose the same funding modalities again, 1,200 euros per child per year for ten years, seems conclusive: cheaper interest rates relieve more than a subsidy, which is often used up by the additional purchase costs. But real support looks different.