[Economics] Regarding the Manufacturing of Consent on the Special Fund - Why the State is spending too little and not too much

Siehe auch:
[Wirtschaft] Anlässlich der Meinungsmache zum Sondervermögen - Warum der Staat nicht zu viel sondern zu wenig ausgibt

Currently publications by two economic research institutes and their subsequent coverage by the press are being used to argue against the special fund. The funds were allegedly misappropriated instead of being used for the intended investments. However upon closer examination, the arguments presented prove to be mere propaganda. Instead of being more frugal Germany should reconsider its opposition to budget deficits and take a cue from other countries.

The special fund for infrastructure and climate neutrality (SVIK/Sondervermögens für Infrastruktur und Klimaneutralität) established a year ago is allegedly being misappropriated. Originally the special fund was intended to finance additional investments. According to the IW (German Economic Institute Cologne/Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft Köln) 86% has been misappropriated to cover budget shortfalls. And according to the ifo Institute (Institute for Economic Research/Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung) 95% has been misappropriated to cover budget shortfalls. [2] [3]
And these days one can find numerous articles that uncritically repeat this narrative. The words "misappropriated" and "problem" are constantly repeated and adopted. [4] [5] [6]

In an economy one's expenditures are always another's revenues. Therefore every government deficit is always a surplus for the rest of the economy or a revenue surplus. And every government surplus is always a deficit for the rest of the economy or a spending surplus. Countries do not exist independently of their economies but complement them.

In an economy one's expenditures are always another's revenues.

And if a government deficit/surplus isn't used directly for economic investment but instead increases people's incomes, then these funds ultimately flow to businesses as revenue and to private households as goods and jobs. The higher a company's revenue, the more likely it is to hire new employees and invest in machinery and equipment. But the lower a company's revenue the more likely are layoffs and business closures. Furthermore investments in infrastructure always have a delayed effect due to planning and approval processes.
In Germany the real government deficit (% of GDP) is actually constant. Only the total real deficit is decisive regardless of how much is hidden under the guise of special funds.

The higher a company's revenue, the more likely it is to hire new employees and invest in machinery and equipment. But the lower a company's revenue the more likely are layoffs and business closures.

The idea that the state can simply go into debt may be worrying. And the claim that the state can generate economic growth with this debt may sound unbelievable. However there are actually several real-world examples of this approach.
As a result of the price shock and its causes the EU Commission temporarily relaxed the debt rules. Several euro-zone member states took advantage of this opportunity Germany however did not. From 2020 to 2024 it is clearly evident that France, Italy and Spain had large public deficits while Germany had the smallest one. And just as the budget deficits differed so did the growth rates. There is a clear correlation between the size of the budget deficit and economic growth. Furthermore the inflation rates of all the countries shown differ only slightly. There was no higher inflation rate resulting from higher budget deficits nor were there high inflation rates solely due to budget deficits.

There is a clear correlation between the size of the budget deficit and economic growth.

[1, UBLGE] [7]

Year	State Deficit / % ( Billion Euro )
	Germany, destatis	Germany	Spain	France	Italy
2018		1,88312 ( 64,667 )	-2,55247 ( -30,943 )	-2,3188 ( -54,6162 )	-2,19199 ( -38,968 )
2019		1,32726 ( 46,949 )	-3,06466 ( -38,422 )	-2,39394 ( -58,2255 )	-1,45011 ( -26,161 )
2020		-4,37969 ( -151,131 )	-9,90928 ( -111,897 )	-8,93269 ( -207,0844 )	-9,3788 ( -156,627 )
2021		-3,16728 ( -116,63 )	-6,65121 ( -82,174 )	-6,58463 ( -165,1493 )	-8,87568 ( -163,535 )
2022		-1,90851 ( -76,138 )	-4,58658 ( -63,105 )	-4,74363 ( -125,8958 )	-8,10076 ( -161,859 )
2023		-2,49446 ( -105,249 )	-3,34012 ( -50,027 )	-5,36729 ( -151,7087 )	-7,15509 ( -153,305 )
2024	2,7 ( 115,3 )	-2,66334 ( -115,295 )	-3,21558 ( -51,267 )	-5,81029 ( -169,6546 )	-3,36135 ( -73,937 )
2025	2,7 ( 119,1 )	-3,0615 ( -136,71345 )	-2,52138 ( -42,3822 )	-5,52024 ( -164,72114 )	-2,98225 ( -67,30682 )

[1, UBLGE] [7]

[1, OVGD]

There is no: Either costs for energy imports fall or Germany's recession will continue.

These figures also refute the apparent dichotomy between energy prices and economic growth. This has been proven to show that economies can grow even despite the price shock of 2020. Ultimately it wasn't just Germany that was affected by this price shock. There is no: Either costs for energy imports fall or Germany's recession will continue.
Germany is still making far too little use of demand-side policies. Germany is holding back itself and not is solely held back by increased costs for energy imports.

Src:
[1] AMECO database
https://economy-finance.ec.europa.eu/economic-research-and-databases/economic-databases/ameco-database_en
[2] 86 Prozent des Sondervermögens im Jahr 2025 zweckentfremdet 2026-03-17
https://www.iwkoeln.de/presse/iw-nachrichten/tobias-hentze-86-prozent-des-sondervermoegens-zweckentfremdet.html
[3] Regierung hat 95 Prozent der neuen Schulden für Infrastruktur im Jahr 2025 zweckentfremdet 2026-03-17
https://www.ifo.de/pressemitteilung/2026-03-17/regierung-95-prozent-neue-schulden-infrastruktur-2025-zweckentfremdet
[4] Berechnungen von IW und ifo-Institut - Sondervermögen wird laut Studien zweckentfremdet 2026-03-17
https://www.tagesschau.de/wirtschaft/konjunktur/sondervermoegen-zweckentfremdung-studien-100.html
[5] Studien: Bundesregierung zweckentfremdet "Sondervermögen" 2026-03-17
https://www.dw.com/de/sondervermoegen-deutschland-bundesregierung-zweckentfremdet-gelder-ifo-institut-iw-wirtschaft-gruene/a-76396387
[6] Investitionen - Großteil der Mittel des Sondervermögens zweckentfremdet 2026-03-18
https://www.wiwo.de/politik/deutschland/sondervermoegen-grossteil-der-mittel-wurde-laut-studien-zweckentfremdet/100209063.html
[7] Staatsdefizit erhöht sich im Jahr 2025 leicht auf 119,1 Milliarden Euro 2026-02-25
https://www.destatis.de/DE/Presse/Pressemitteilungen/2026/02/PD26_060_813.html