The pandemic has not only fundamentally changed the present, it will also have a significant impact in the future.
(Photo: dpa)
In the event of a major fire, the fire brigade must be called out. It’s the same in the economy, where the state has to intervene in an emergency. Major fires occur there in two cases: When companies and citizens harm bystanders through their actions. That is why the state must promote climate protection, for example. Or when an event occurs that no one could have foreseen. A global pandemic, for example.
Since the spring of 2020, the federal government has rightly secured the survival of companies with economic aid on an unprecedented scale. On Wednesday, those in government decided to part with the corona measures, probably on March 20th. In the same breath, economic aid was extended until the end of June.
This is a mistake. With the end of the measures, politicians admit that the corona pandemic has turned from a major fire into a blazing fire. And those affected can either put out such fires themselves, or they have to ask themselves whether it is their fault if they cannot.
The pandemic has not only fundamentally changed the present, it will also have a significant impact in the future. Many events will continue to take place digitally. Online trading will continue to grow. This can certainly lead to a drop in sales of more than 30 percent, from which point the aid is paid out.
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Crises always bring an opportunity: the “cleansing effect”. Unproductive companies have to go. Of course, this will cost jobs.
The market creates efficiency
But politicians have to see it from a different perspective. The market produces the most efficient result. If the market result is permanently distorted by state intervention and the cleansing effect cannot set in, this will not help anyone in the long term. No, that is not a plea for sending people into unemployment. On the contrary: A sustainable economy with many more jobs can only come about if good companies prevail. Good politics differs from populism in that it does not focus on individual interests but on the whole.
The truth is that the corona pandemic is still a major fire for some industries. These companies do not block structural change, but continue to need help. Social hardship must therefore be further cushioned. However, the state cannot permanently act as the fire brigade for the entire economy.
More: Corona funding programs must be phased out in order to push structural change, writes Achim Wambach