Head of Diakonie sees social peace at risk

The head of Diakonie in Saxony, Dietrich Bauer, is concerned about social peace in Germany. The reason for this is the billions invested by the federal government in a special fund for infrastructure and defense and the associated debate about possible cuts to social benefits. "The welfare state helps to maintain social peace. This peace is being jeopardized simply by the discussion about cutting social benefits," the 65-year-old told the German Press Agency in Dresden.

Bauer believes that the argument that the economy must be booming first in order to earn money and be able to spend it is wrong. "The welfare state itself contributes to economic prosperity. You can't simply say that the economy has the advantage and only then does the welfare state follow. Rather, they are tubes that communicate with each other." If there were no daycare centers close to home, for example, young parents would not be able to work to the same extent and contribute to the country's prosperity.

Great gap between poverty and wealth in Germany

"Germany is one of the countries with the greatest gap between poverty and wealth. Millionaires, on the other hand, contribute the least in relative terms to the welfare state. I find that very problematic," said the senior church councillor. Rather, it is primarily the middle class that supports the welfare state and thus finances one of the foundations of social peace, which has also made the Federal Republic of Germany rich. It is a matter of distributing the funding more fairly.

According to Bauer, there is enough money in Germany. Essentially, wage labor is taxed in this country. "All the other ways of earning money, such as inherited money and assets, are hardly taken into account at all. This is a real problem because it is basically a 19th century taxation model." There are now many ways to earn money. "There must be fair taxation of all types of income."

Include the rich in the financing of the welfare state

"Diakonie has nothing against rich people. We are only in favor of ensuring that those who have a lot of money are also appropriately included in the funding," Bauer clarified. He believes that fears that the rich could then leave Germany in droves and that money would migrate are unfounded. After all, Germany is a country where people can live very well, receive a good education and enjoy a good healthcare system: "Germany is doing really well."

Bauer emphasized: "However, we have reached a point where we need to agree on how the welfare state should be financed in the future." There are many reasons for the current imbalance and not all of them are negative. "Let's just take the healthcare system. Advances in medical technology are helping us to live longer. Of course, this is associated with higher costs." But the geopolitical situation has also resulted in more spending on areas such as defense.

Debt must be moderate

Bauer sees Germany in a bit of a dilemma. On the one hand, the generation of children and grandchildren cannot be unduly burdened by ever more debt. On the other hand, we must not leave them a dilapidated infrastructure. "We need a balance. I am convinced that debt is necessary. But it must be moderate. In addition, their repayment must always be taken into account. Our generation has a responsibility here."