Austria can borrow billions for 100 years for a yearly coupon of 0.88%.
Imagine the Republic would borrow, say, €9 billion and then put €1,000 for each of its citizens into a fund that invests like Norway’s National Fund.
Fanciful but fascinating.
ft.com/content/d55687…
Imagine the Republic would borrow, say, €9 billion and then put €1,000 for each of its citizens into a fund that invests like Norway’s National Fund.
Fanciful but fascinating.
ft.com/content/d55687…
A small, stable country could probably even get away with that. It would raise some eyebrows, but in the end, nobody would mind much. And you could repeat it for a couple years. Then you wait until global growth does its miracles.
In a decade or two, the Republic could have a veritable National Fund on behalf of its citizens which it could use to give them a “baby bond” like payout when they turn 18 or use for a number of other cool projects.
It is a pity that there are few to no creative politicians out there who would just try it. I’m almost certain this would work out pretty well. And it is the kind of blue-sky political project that politicians used to like in the past. Only now it would really make sense.
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