Holiday gone? Economists demand more work for Germany!

Monika Schnitzer, head of the Economists, has suggested scrapping a public holiday in Germany to boost economic activity and improve government finances. The goal behind this controversial idea is to increase government revenue while promoting the country's competitiveness. According to Schnitzer, Germany could also benefit from fewer public holidays compared to Denmark, which abolished the “Store Bededag” holiday - which resulted in an additional 400 million euros to the state coffers.

Compared internationally, Germany has many public holidays, which Schnitzer sees as potentially reducing productivity. According to their estimates, an additional working day could bring in around 8 billion euros in payroll tax revenue and corporate taxes, which would have a positive impact on public finances. However, there is resistance from unions such as the DGB and VdA, which raise concerns about the increased workload on employees.

Political and economic dimensions

Schnitzer not only advocates for the abolition of a public holiday, but also sees this as a way to overcome the financial challenges that result from crises. She highlights that Denmark has declared the holiday in question as a regular working day to support defense spending. This argument could also be relevant for Germany, especially in view of the planned expansion of national debt by the CDU/CSU and the SPD, which they consider necessary.

In addition, Schnitzer expresses her concerns about the political situation in the USA and its possible influence on Germany, as well as the implementation of election gifts, such as increasing mothers' pensions or reducing VAT in the catering industry. These measures could not generate sustainable growth and create the wrong incentives, as she warns. She also fears that a new version of the grand coalition could lead to a standstill in the necessary reforms, particularly in the pension sector. Schnitzer is therefore calling for savings in the social sector in order to better cope with demographic change.

The discussion about the abolition of a public holiday shows how closely economic and social considerations are intertwined and what different views there are on this topic.