- cross-posted to:
- europe@feddit.org
- cross-posted to:
- europe@feddit.org
The German chancellor has called for a welfare reform, putting him on course for a possible clash with the SPD.
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The passive voice in that statement is doing a LOT of heavy lifting there, Friedrich.
Sure it can.
Just raise taxes on the wealthy.
Merz is a conservative. They’re all like that.
Then how about stopping welfare for millionaires?
Or stop subsiding e.g. plane fuel. Better for the environment anyway.
… without the rich paying their share.
All this while systematically crippling our tax investigation departments.
If I ever meet Merz or someone like him, I will have choice words to say.
Words alone have never stopped fascists.
there you go, they finally said it out loud. austerity it is.
“Why isn’t anyone having kids? I specifically requested it.”
Austerity doesn’t even work. It’s deliberate cruelty.
It works for the wealthy. It saves them a lot of money on taxes.
It’s short sighted though.
if you assume that they want what they say
It’s not short sighted for the wealthy. Over the last 40 years, the wealthy have amassed massive amounts of income and wealth. It worked out great for them and the politicians that they purchase.
My view is that it will ultimately ruin the country. Has in the U.K.
I agree.
The wealthy do not care about countries or borders. Once a land is pilfered, their wealth makes it relatively easy to find another place to live.
Oh, we’re on the same page then. It’s terrifying.
exactly
Just before Covid it was in British news that austerity hadn’t worked (No shit…), so what did they do? More austerity. It’s fucking infuriating.
Merz is predictable and a traitor to the German people. He will usher in the fascist power grab through conservative policies - the AFD will grow in popularity as conservatives protect the 1%.
Die Linke’s tax plan would have paid for the yearly debt of the government and then some; their secret - tax the wealthy.
We can afford all of our costs, we can improve society, we can provide a thriving economy for all Germans if we simply tax the ultra wealthy out of existence. No one should have a billion euro net worth, nor 100 million nor 50 million. No one need own 3 houses while others go without even a flat.
We have enough wealth in this country, it’s just in the hands of the hoarders. Don’t look towards conservatives or the right for change, look towards those that address the root problem!
So… The Germans are kicking all the wealthy leeches off their generational welfare suckholes, then?
That’s the real “welfare state”, NGL… 🖕🏽
It can. Tax the billionaires.
Tax wealth not work!
They will just move to the next country.
Let them. If they don’t pay their share, they are not worth keeping.
If they want to operate in the world’s 3rd largest economy, they will not.
Then you set up an exit tax and a tax on citizens living abroad
Not a solution as this will hurt people who aren’t billionaires as well.
With fair tax brackets it shouldn’t matter much
Always threatened, but never happens.
So they all live in low tax countries? No? Ok.
They own assets. Take away those assets, they lose their “leverage”.
They probably will at first. But they will want to come back. And billionaires really don’t like not getting what they want, even if it costs them more than they want to get it. You don’t need to be the lowest bidder to get billionaires. They won’t all go live in Bermuda or LA forever. What good is their money if it doesn’t let them live wherever they want? You already have all the things you need to attract them. Culture, history, prestige, safety. You will have even more of al those things when you make them pay their share.
Here’s the list.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Germans_by_net_worth
Creating 1500B € out of thin air to build killing machines: Whatever it takes to protect the country!
Spending 50B € to actually protect the people from poverty/malnutrition/starvation: Nooooo we can’t afford that.
Humanity at it’s best: Limitless effort to create suffering, 0 effort to reduce suffering.
I suspect there will be many, many ‘I didn’t think they’d do this to ME’ posts coming from German people in the coming months.
Oh no! Did you “progressive” liberal parties take away all your entitlements to appease their corporate overlords? Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to blame all of the German people when AfD becomes the dominant party in Germany next election
It depends on the country, I suppose.
I don’t know enough about German politics to be able to place blame on anyone. I just know from observing US and UK politics that there is always a percentage of people who vote fascist thinking that it won’t adversely affect their own lives personally.
The problem is the fascists have figured out how to win: rig the game so all the viable choices are at least somewhat fascist. Picking the lesser of several evils will never protect you from fascism.
You’re right.
Tick tock on the fascism clock.
My partner and I almost moved to Germany last year and I am so glad we didn’t. If we’re going to be in a fascist country, I’d prefer to be a citizen since white fascists tend to frown extra hard on us brown immigrants.
While the current government in Germany is certainly not the best, it is very far away from a fascist country.
Most likely the right wing CDU talks big now to wiggle out some small concessions against their socialist coalition partner and againt the green/left opposition.
They can not change anything big because otherwise the current coalition would fold.
The CDU can not form a coalition or cooperate with the ultra right AFD because that would cost them a big chunk of their current voters.
They currently have nothing going for them that would win them voters on their own.
How’s your Spanish? I hear good things about Chile.
Good enough to be understood but not good enough to not use idioms incorrectly. For example, I spent a solid five minutes trying to remember if “así así” or “ni fu ni fa” can apply to competency before throwing my hands up.
Mediocre. Mi español es mediocre.
I just need practice.
- Print 1bn in welfare
- Welfare ultimately gets spent into rich folks’ coffers
- Tax that 1bn back out of the rich
- Net cost: zero
What’s “unaffordable” here?
It’s unaffordable to greedy corporations and billionaires who would not afford the working to have a single dime in their pocket if they had it their way.
If only “tax” meant “tap” as in “tap a sugar maple for its sweet sweet amber sap” and the freshly gutted 1% could also be used as fertilizer afterward.
Win/win! Poverty and hunger in one fell slash? I’m in.
And this is how you further damage democracy and strengthen the far right. Because a lot of the people who don’t vote or vote for the far right are people who feel left behind who are of the impression that the system is broken and they don’t benefit from it. Social welfare is a way to directly show everyone what a democratic state is good for. Policies that benefit the poor, the working class and the middle class make a strong society. But Merz and others simply don’t seem to get it or care and stare in wonder at the ever rising numbers of people who want to see the world burn.
The capitalist elite has less problem with fascism than socialism. Only one of those threatens their wealth
In the short term. Both threaten their wealth in the long run. Fascism still wins out.
Fully agree. The big problem is Germany industry is in the shits and can’t afford to finance the welfare state anymore. Military spending is all debt.
… without finally taking the upper ten percent into the taxpaying fold.
