Mario Draghi Says Stimulus Must Create New Jobs, Not Save Old Ones

(Bloomberg) — Former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi urged governments to channel stimulus funds toward sectors that can create new jobs for young people rather than spending money to defend the status quo.

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Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank (ECB), gestures while speaking during a rates decision news conference in Frankfurt, Germany, on Thursday, July 25, 2019. The ECB sent its strongest signal yet that monetary support for the euro-area economy will be stepped up after the summer break, with lower interest rates and renewed asset purchases on the table.

“Subsidies will have to go down but at the same time jobs will be created,” Draghi said at an online event. “It’s very good if the government succeeds in giving jobs and taking out subsidies, and again it’s especially good for young people.”

Draghi has largely kept a low profile after retiring from the ECB in October but has commented on the response to the coronavirus crisis more frequently in recent weeks. On Tuesday, he spoke about health policy.

“We should spend much more on health,” he told Filippo Crea, editor of the European Heart Journal. For most governments, the pandemic highlighted the importance of having good care facilities and a system that is robust, he said.

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