Photo: Time Magazine

(RC)2, also known as Mein Mann and StripedCat, have just released their version of the economic stimulus package. We were never fond of shopping at Christmas, but this year we even went further, by cancelling even moderately indulgent micro-purchases.

So, zero consumption.

But plenty of investment!

We never spent so much in our lives! I was in Berlin over the past 3 days and oh boy, did I stimulate the economy on behalf of (RC)2!

So we did our bit of Keynesian policy…John Maynard, the come-back!

Pay the builders, the plumber, the painters, the carpenters from Poland. So for the Multiplier Effect.

Pay the materials, the wood, the parquet, the tiles. So for capital expenditure, investment in infrastructure and expansive fiscal policy!

Our micro Marshall Plan is up and running…yet we did not splurge on deficit spending.

So now we feel better. We put a bit of our savings in a safe place…Berlin’s brick and mortar excellent value for money!

Stores of building materials were packed. Berliners do not indulge in discretionary spending, but are busy checking showers, taps, bathtubes, kitchens. Fitting bathrooms, bedrooms and Wohnzimmers. They pay cash or with debit cards, most of them dropped the credit cards years ago.

So we did our share of stimulating the Economy. The German and Polish ones, at least.

The italian economy? We’ve been stimulating it and we keep on doing it by paying the highest taxes in the world on our salaries. By getting ripped-off every day by paying the highest prices for goods and services. Frankly, we never understood where that money went. Or rather, the problem is that we know where it did not go.

So please, let us at least protect our hard-earned savings…and put them somewhere safe. ROI matters.