As for spending vouchers, that's a better idea, as long as they have some investment aspect. The Süddeutsche had a nice idea in that context which I wholly favour:
The World From Berlin: Merkel Puts on the Bailout Brakes - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International
The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes: "The level of the discussion in this country about the wisdom or folly of a stimulus program has been meagre. Instead of first considering what the criteria for such a program ought to be, all parties are contenting themselves with taking old ideas and presenting them as new. What we're getting is a hodgepodge of proposals which in the best case won't damage growth, but which will also certainly do no good to reverse the current trend." "If we really want to put people in a buying mood, than we simply have to give them some money. If every citizen were given a climate-voucher worth €250, which could be used until Jun. 30, 2009 to buy energy-saving household and garden appliances, it would not only boost consumption, it would also promote climate protection... In order to stimulate corporate investment, they should be allowed as an exception to deduct the cost of new machine purchases in 2009 from their taxes."
The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes:
"The level of the discussion in this country about the wisdom or folly of a stimulus program has been meagre. Instead of first considering what the criteria for such a program ought to be, all parties are contenting themselves with taking old ideas and presenting them as new. What we're getting is a hodgepodge of proposals which in the best case won't damage growth, but which will also certainly do no good to reverse the current trend."
"If we really want to put people in a buying mood, than we simply have to give them some money. If every citizen were given a climate-voucher worth €250, which could be used until Jun. 30, 2009 to buy energy-saving household and garden appliances, it would not only boost consumption, it would also promote climate protection... In order to stimulate corporate investment, they should be allowed as an exception to deduct the cost of new machine purchases in 2009 from their taxes."
