A Lesson for America: Green Policies Crush German Economy

A Lesson for America: Green Policies Crush German Economy
A banner on a tractor reads "You are feeding others and you want to chase us away" as German farmers protest against the cut of vehicle tax subsidies of the so-called German Ampel coalition government in Berlin on Jan. 8, 2024. Nadja Wohlleben/Reuters
Diana Furchtgott-Roth
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Commentary
Germany’s gross domestic product (GDP) has been falling since the third quarter of 2022, causing fears of the first two-year-long recession since the early 2000s. German farmers are openly protesting new climate regulations that would raise the price of diesel fuel, vital for tractors and farm machinery. This discontent is mirrored by the general public, which is opposed to higher energy costs that drag down the economy. Recent polls show a significant shift in public opinion that’s increasingly opposed to the coalition government.
Diana Furchtgott-Roth
Diana Furchtgott-Roth
Author
Diana Furchtgott-Roth is an economist who is adjunct professor of economics at George Washington University, where she teaches Transportation Economics. From 2019 to 2021, she was Deputy Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology at the U.S. Department of Transportation. Prior to joining USDOT, Furchtgott was Acting Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy at the U.S. Department of Treasury. She has been a senior fellow and director of Economics21 at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. She previously served as chief economist of the U.S. Department of Labor; chief of staff of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers; and deputy executive director of the Domestic Policy Council. She is the director of the Center for Energy, Climate and Environment and the Herbert and Joyce Morgan Fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Furchtgott is also president of Furchtgott International and the author or coauthor of six books and hundreds of articles on economic policy, most recently “United States Income, Consumption, Wealth, and Inequality” (2020). She received her BA in economics from Swarthmore College and her M.Phil. in economics from Oxford University.
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