CRITICAL LEVEL IN THE ECONOMY.When the alpha experts from the leading research institutes presented their report on the alpha economy to the alpha government, hopes for a rapid upswing among alpha politicians were dashed. The longed-for turnaround in sentiment for the Alphas became a distant prospect. There was talk of an "interim low," "skid marks" in consumption, a "fundamental weakness" in the coin currency and a "widening gap" between wealth and poverty. According to the researchers, the alpha economy will only grow by one percent; last year, they had still expected two percent. The correction of the forecast is now showing consequences: For example, the Alpha government will continue to violate the debt criterion in the next few years, reaching a budget deficit of thirty percent. The dark economic clouds are now reaching the budget of the Alpha finance minister, who has to lower his forecast sharply from the most recent ten percent growth. The budget then wavers, since growth is the determining factor for calculating all subsequent variables, such as tax revenues, developments on the labor market and the alpha supply. The researchers give good advice for the necessary austerity efforts. Securing the alpha budget must not be at the expense of investments. The alpha should not save on education, research and integration, but rather on the planned job creation measures. Two to three billion coins are missing from tax revenues, for example, support for unemployed alpha costs seven billion coins more than planned, and the alpha pension is also getting out of hand.
Despite all the disillusionment, however, the Alpha researchers also see tender signs of hope. The upswing has only been postponed. The situation on the labor market will improve: according to the forecast, only five million alphas will still be unemployed on average for the year. It is above all the historical depth analysis that gives alphas pause for thought. According to the researchers, the alpha economy's decline began a hundred years ago. Since then, the growth trend has been steadily downward. For mites, that baseline growth rate is over five percent, and for streptococci, it's as high as twenty percent. Alpha Country does not have a spotty economic problem; it has a permanent growth problem. That is why Alpha economists advise further reforms and basic security for low-income Alpha through the tax system. The institutes see the framework for an upswing as given. Products are cheap worldwide, companies are making more and more profits. The economists attribute the fact that there will be no rapid upswing to the high velocity of money circulation and the extremely weak development. Purchasing power in Alpha Land is so weak that even the smallest reductions in the export of Alpha goods can no longer be offset. Nevertheless, the Alpha Institutes urge moderation in wages. Above all, however, they warn Alpha politicians against making overly ambitious promises, such as reducing unemployment. Failure to do so could disappoint and depress the alphas - and this is poison for any upswing.
