Minimum wage: The Commission has found a reasonable compromise

The reactions to the minimum wage increase have shown what is becoming increasingly lacking in Germany: the appreciation of the democratic compromise.

There is an agreement between representatives of employers and employees, and nobody thinks they are respectable. I give that to think. For some entrepreneurs, the minimum wage increases too much, the political left too little, economists argue for one or the other. And some lead impending price increases or the end of domestic berry fruits. The only thing that seems to keep it seems crucial. Almost compulsive.

To say it clearly and clearly: The minimum wage commission has achieved a reasonable compromise. It has clearly approached the goal of the EU that is aimed at the EU, and mathematically around 15 euros for Germany. However, this gradually, and with more than two years of planning security for companies. Yes, it is true: The distance between tariff and new minimum wage is reduced in places. It gets tight in industries from event to hospitals to some craft. However, far -sighted entrepreneurs should be dealt with. In any case, there is no business model about wage development.

The people who receive minimum wages rarely. If only because hardly anyone asks it. Your remuneration will increase by eight percent from next January. From 2027 again by five percent. What sounds like a lot is formed by the general wage development of the past few years. No longer. That is fair. And it is sustainable.

The estimated more than five million people who work at the bottom of the income scale deserve the increase. They work hard for their money, they are not uncommon for a company. You can only rarely afford the offers that you can do with yourself – such as a restaurant visit or a concert map. Participation in general income development is the least appreciation.

And politics? The parties of the democratic center, especially social democracy, would do well to sell the compromise as a result, even as proof of the functioning of the social market economy. A license plate of good economic and social policy in Germany is the recognition of the autonomy of the social partners- and in case of doubt their strengthening.

I am neither against hard negotiations nor against debate, not even against continued. On the contrary. But for me, the fundamental respect of the compromising, which has been achieved, is also part of the democratic debate. Every upcoming debate would do well. And with it all of us. Because only one thing thrives on compromise contempt and compulsive legislation: extremism.