Financial expert and ARZT & WIRTSCHAFT guest author Matthias Weik* has launched a new work: The 1st edition of “The Accounting – The only book that saves your savings from redistribution” was already available before the official start of sales on April 29. March sold out. We spoke to the bestselling author and are giving away 5 copies of his new guide.
Why did you write a book now after a long time?
Because our country is going in a completely wrong direction. Contrary to what the Federal President claimed in 2020, unfortunately we do not live in the best Germany that has ever been. Whether it’s inflation, the energy crisis and the energy transition, a shortage of skilled workers, migration or educational misery: Reality has caught up with Germany.
A reality that politicians have so far ignored?
Ideological ways of thinking have often supplanted rational thinking and a sense of reality in politics. As a result, our prosperity is declining and Germany as a business location is at stake. Some of our politicians are trying to convert the world with a moral finger raised. They are obviously not aware that Germany does not play a significant role either politically or in terms of population – this also applies to CO₂ emissions with a total share of 1.85% of global emissions. The world will not be converted by German politicians, nor will Germany be able to save the world. The world will not follow German energy, tax, digitization and migration policies either, because they are no longer perceived as trend-setting in the international context.
In your opinion, what else is going wrong in Germany?
Unfortunately very, very much. Today, Germany is a country in which more than 2 million people have to go to the “Tafel” because of constantly rising rent costs, exploding energy costs and food that is becoming ever more expensive. A country that has none of the 49 best universities in the world and in which, despite 2.4 million unemployed, there is an acute shortage of skilled workers across all sectors. We are threatened with a nursing collapse not only in hospitals, but also in old people’s homes. Millions of unskilled and low-skilled people immigrate, while hundreds of thousands of highly-skilled people emigrate (read more about this in this article).
The political elite first made their citizens and the economy dependent on Russia and ultimately led to an energy policy disaster. For years, its “energy transition” has given the citizens and the economy some of the highest electricity prices in the world and damaged Germany as a business location. Unfortunately, ideological ways of thinking have often supplanted rational thinking and a sense of reality in politics – and this trend can also be observed in Germany at the moment.
In your book you also criticize the double standards of politics. What do you mean by that?
By this I mean a policy that bans fracking but imports fracked gas in vast quantities. Which is against gas and oil drilling in the North and Baltic Seas, but imports North Sea oil from Norway. Shuts down nuclear power plants while economic competitors build new ones and also intends to import nuclear power from neighboring countries in the future.
What do you think of Germany as a business location overall?
Not very well. The fat years are undoubtedly over. Today, Germany no longer has a single company among the 100 most valuable listed companies in the world and the country is steadily losing its attractiveness in an international comparison.
Due to the much too high energy prices, the high taxes and levies, the rampant bureaucratic madness and the poor infrastructure, Germany is no longer considered particularly attractive today. In short: In an international comparison, workers are significantly more expensive for employers in Germany, without the employee benefiting even remotely. Consequently, both parties are confronted with a so-called lose-lose situation.
In your book you also write about the topic of redistribution. What does this redistribution look like in concrete terms?
A good example of this is the EU. In 2021, the federal budget comprised around 498.6 billion euros. Almost 13.7% of this flowed abroad in the same year – most of it to the European Union (EU). At around 47%, almost half of all European net payments came from Germany. In the past 21 years, 212 billion euros more were transferred from the high-tax country Germany to the EU – and thus indirectly also to numerous low-tax countries – than flowed back. In Bulgaria and Romania, for example, there is a flat rate of 10% for income tax, in Hungary it is 15% and in Estonia it is 20%.
Another major topic in your book is the shortage of skilled workers. What can Germany do to become attractive for well-trained specialists?
Germany has one of the highest taxes and duties in the world. When people leave their homeland, family, friends and culture, they do so to earn money and enable their children to have a top education system. For example, why should an IT expert from India come to Germany of all places if he earns more in the USA, Australia or Switzerland and pays significantly less tax? These people will never come to Germany in the required numbers as long as Germany does not have a competitive tax system and an anti-business bureaucracy.
That doesn’t sound all that positive.
Unfortunately yes. That’s why I show the grievances in my book and give concrete suggestions for solutions for everyone who wants to stay in Germany in the future – but also for those who are thinking of emigrating.
What will happen if nothing changes in the current development?
Now there’s still time to turn things around. If this is not achieved, then the world will not end either. She will only be different. In some countries the future is getting worse and in some countries it is looking better. In this case, the motto is: “Germany, save yourself if you can still afford it!” It is neither time for optimism nor for pessimism, let alone for shrill alarmism, phantasies of the end of the world or a system crash – it is time for realism.
*The author Matthew Weik has been involved in finance for over two decades. With five bestsellers in a row, he has been one of the most reliable bestselling authors in the field of economics and finance for years. On March 29th, 2023, his sixth book “The Reckoning” will be published. Matthias Weik does not describe himself as a pessimist or optimist, but as a realist. More information at: www.matthias-weik.com
Join now and win “The Reckoning”!
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Would you like to win a copy of “The Reckoning – The Only Book That Saves Your Savings From Redistribution”? Then take part in our raffle now! We are giving away 5 copies of Matthias Weik’s new guide. To take part in the raffle, all you have to do is fill out the form below (keyword “Matthias Weik”), the deadline for entries is May 15, 2023.
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