Tighten your belt – Union parliamentary group leader Frei prepares citizens for savings

According to Union parliamentary group leader Thorsten Frei, people in Germany will have to tighten their belts in the coming year given the strained budget situation. “Yes, I think that’s exactly how you have to say it,” said the CDU politician to “Bild” in response to a corresponding question.

"And if you look at the draft budget, you will of course also find some places where there are savings. This is also highly controversial because of course it is neither popular among the population nor does it meet with approval among those affected."

However, he could not promise complete compensation. This would cost another four billion euros. “About 1.8 billion euros of this would have to be raised by the federal government, an equal amount would go to the states and the difference would go to the municipalities.”

“Cold progression” is when wage increases that only compensate for inflation lead to a higher tax burden and as a result real purchasing power remains the same or even falls.