A yellow vests program for Germany 2019
01.01.2019 | By Norbert Haring | Norberthaering.de
From the perspective of the lower three quarters of the population, the yellow vests in France have formulated a list of very concrete demands on the National Assembly and have received a great deal of support for them. Inspired by the approaching of a new year, I wrote down what in Germany - in my view - could be done concretely and quickly, so that life would be better for the lower three quarters of the people in the country.
The list begins with what is needed to give the state the financial and legal means to do what it needs to do and distribute the financial burden of taxes and contributions more equally. It continues with social policy in a very broad sense, with a balanced education, labor market and taxation policies as the first and most important parts of social policy. For it is always better to let people earn the money themselves, which they need, than to keep them unfairly scarce and then give them back part of the withheld money under conditions as alms.
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Members of the German Bundestag, ensure, in the interest of the majority of the population, that ...:
... that big companies and high earners pay a lot of taxes, small businesses and low-paid people little! *
Stop the mass transfer of profits abroad to tax avoidance. Tax all property in Germany that can not be relocated and income from that property.
Stop the tax-free inheritance of large fortunes.
Introduce a higher tax rate for very high incomes.
Remove the unfair income thresholds in the social security funds, which just dismiss the large income from solidarity.
Eliminate the opportunities for large investors to acquire land and buildings without paying land transfer tax.
Include (with transitional arrangements) all self-employed and civil servants in social security.
Urge the government to enforce compliance with tax laws, including rich and large companies. Be regularly informed about progress.
*Further explanation of this topic.
... that the government is taking off its financial straitjacket and not spending any money to make the world a worse place!
As far as legally possible, immediately cancel all pacts and agreements that limit the ability of the government to borrow to secure the country's viability.
Save at least 5 percent annually in the military budget by immediately ending all international missions abroad and quickly converting the Bundeswehr into a pure army for national defense.
... that children regardless of their origin have fair life chances, nobody is sorted out economically and all people can live in dignity and grow old! **
Equip the schools with money and teachers, as is worthy of a rich nation like Germany.
Instruct the government to hire more childcare professionals and teachers and pay them decently.
Provide adequate programs to target and encourage children and young people at risk of losing their jobs, especially in secondary schools.
Those who do not earn enough to earn a living for themselves and their families must not be burdened with taxes and social security contributions. Introduce a basic free allowance for each family member who is exempted from social security contributions.
Lower the sales tax and the EEG surcharge and finance public service broadcasting in a socially just manner.
Raise the minimum wage to a level that is sufficient for life.
Turn down those Hartz laws that foster temporary work, outsourcing, and other types of tariff evasion, so all self-employed workers can provide decent care for themselves and their families, and get security for their life planning.
Remove all state subsidies for private pension products while respecting commitments already made.
Increase old-insured pensions to at least two-thirds of the previous income (with transitional periods).
Increase basic security to a level that allows a dignified life, especially for families with children.
Stop the cuts in benefits below subsistence level. (If and where financial incentives are actually needed) convert to a bonus system.
** Explanations
... that low-wage earners and families can also get a decent apartment! ***
For new tenancies, end the immovable property tax as incidental costs. For existing tenancies, limit salary to the current level of property tax.
Allow the municipalities, according to the example of the city of Vienna, to provide much more living space through the public sector. This implies that land will only be declared a construction area if it has been transferred to municipal ownership.
Remove all subsidies for the purchase of existing houses and use the money for the construction of new apartments in public direction.
*** Explanations
... that the Bundeswehr becomes a pure defense army and Germany a peace force.
Decide the immediate termination of all illegal international missions (without UN mandate).
Immediately initiate the swift termination of all other foreign operations of the Bundeswehr.
Prevent arms exports to countries outside NATO and to countries that can not or do not credibly guarantee waiver of resale.
Stop the Bundeswehr's involvement in military maneuvers near the border of countries that feel threatened by NATO.
... that Germany acts in solidarity with poorer countries in the EU and the world and with vulnerable people!
Post a decline in the German export surplus, which is due to higher consumption of the population, as a success and not as a problem.
Provide solidary material compensation within Germany, because only then will the population be ready for international solidarity.
Encourage the Federal Government, when considering international trade agreements and EU trade agreements with poorer countries, to give particular consideration to the interests of these countries in economic development, and have them report back to them on a regular basis.
Raise the financial support for countries that are near crisis areas and shelter and care for many refugees from these areas.
Make sure that the financial and other burdens of housing and maintaining asylum seekers and refugees in Germany are borne above all by those with the broadest shoulders.
Therefore, if there is an increase in the number of people seeking help, increase social benefits and expenditure on education, childcare and social housing according to the additional needs.
Finance this through higher taxes, especially for capital income earners and high earners.
Do not enact laws that facilitate immigration to release employers from the need to pay higher wages.
... that all citizens, not only in the city but also in the countryside, receive adequate health care!
Stop the thinning and privatization of hospital care!
Decide on severe penalties for practices that penalize legally and voluntarily insured persons against private patients when giving out deadlines.
Make it much easier for them to enter medical school, with the provison that beneficiaries will only receive authorization limited to regions with a shortage of doctors for ten years after graduation.
Make the nursing profession more attractive and make sure that the health insurance companies have the financial means to pay significantly more nurses.