100 billion for the Bundeswehr, integration of the refugees – are the reactions to the war in Ukraine at the expense of the people in Germany? No, promises the labor minister in the Bundestag.
According to the federal government, the planned billions in investments in the Bundeswehr and state aid for refugees should not be at the expense of the German population.
“We must not play off pensions against armaments in this society, and by the way, we must not play off refugees against locals,” said Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) at the budget deliberations in the Bundestag. The opposition accused the government of inadequate programs for citizens in Germany.
Heil: “Will fight for every job”
Heil said Vladimir Putin’s attack on Ukraine “is forcing us to realign our policies in many ways.” But it’s about “that we don’t lose sight of those who don’t have it easy in other times either”. Politicians have supported the labor market in the pandemic with means such as short-time work and economic aid, among other things. Now the government will also bring the labor market robustly through the crisis resulting from the Ukraine war. “We will fight for every job,” Heil assured.
The budget for labor and social affairs is by far the largest in the federal budget. Expenditure of 160.1 billion euros is planned – more than a third of the total budget. Federal grants of almost 116.2 billion euros are planned for pension insurance and basic security in old age and in the case of reduced earning capacity alone. Compared to the previous year, Heil has to plan with a decline of 2.9 percent overall.
There was a dispute in the plenum about the relief due to the high petrol prices, which the traffic light coalition had recently decided in a night session. The Union’s social expert, Stephan Stracke (CSU), accused the traffic light of not being sufficient relief. For example, aid such as energy money or one-off payments for the needy would bring “too little for the manufacturing industry”. Bridging aids are needed for the economy.
Greens for special tax on extra profits from oil companies
The Green social politician Frank Bsirske called for a special tax on extra profits from oil companies. Because of the high petrol prices, the former head of the Verdi union said of the mineral oil companies: “They are war profiteers, profiteers of the war, companies that make extra profits from the needs of the people, from the effects of the war.” He asked: “Do we really want to put the extra profits of these corporations under puppy protection and accept them as sacrosanct?”
Bsirske reminded that the state is countering the consequences of the war in Ukraine with billions in loans. Now Germany must go the way that Italy last went, “namely skimming off at least part of these extra profits by means of an excess profit tax for the benefit of the general public”. In Italy, a price discount on petrol and diesel is financed, among other things, with a special tax on extra profits from the oil companies. So far, this has not been discussed more widely in the coalition.
AfD MP Ulrike Schielke-Ziesing accused the government of wanting to spend more money on the climate but less on the people. Susanne Ferschl from the left called for improvements to the budget draft – because, among other things, an increase in the Hartz IV standard rates for a consistent fight against poverty is missing. Ferschl also demanded that the federal government transfer funds for the Federal Employment Agency not as loans but as grants.
The FDP politician Claudia Raffelhüschen admitted: “Despite the highest tax revenue relative to economic output, we are unfortunately forced in this special situation to take on a new high level of new debt.” But she assured: “Of course, it can’t stay that way in the long run, especially since we burden our children with the whole burden of debt.” A return to a more sustainable budgetary policy is necessary.
Source: Stern
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