As of: February 26, 2024, 1:01 p.m
By: Andreas Jäger
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Press
Split
Because of the war in Ukraine, the traffic light government wants to invest more money in defense.
But the question of whether savings should be made in the welfare state is a potentially explosive one.
Berlin – When the traffic light government argues, it is often about money.
So again this time.
In view of the war in Ukraine, there should be increased investment in defense - there is agreement on this so far.
The conflicting question is rather: Where should the money come from?
Despite record tax revenues, the government cannot cope with its budget.
Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) has been trying for some time to teach his green and red coalition partners to be frugal.
So far, however, little success has been achieved.
Lindner's most recent proposal to stop increasing social spending for three years also met with resistance within the coalition.
Citizens' money instead of weapons: social spending increased significantly under the traffic light coalition
Unemployment benefit II, which has been called citizen's benefit for over a year, rose by almost twelve percent for a single adult in January 2023.
And in January 2024 it was also increased by twelve percent to the current 563 euros.
Since the traffic light government took over, there has also been an increase in child benefit and housing benefit - the latter has even almost doubled.
In view of these increases, which have always been well above the inflation rate, the finance minister called for a three-year halt to new social spending - instead the money should flow into defense.
There is disagreement about financing military spending: Finance Minister Christian Lindner (l.) and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.
© IMAGO/M.
Popov
“If we managed to get by with what we have for three years, then that would be a really big step towards consolidation,” said Lindner on the
ZDF
talk show “Maybritt Illner”.
Lindner wanted a “reversal from distributing to generating wealth”.
Economist Clemens Fuest, who was also a guest on the talk show, sees it similarly.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) apparently does not share this view.
Although she also wants more money to be put into defense, Baerbock cannot accept a stop to the expansion of the welfare state.
“I don’t know whether that’s the most sensible way,” said the Green Party on the ARD program “Report from Berlin”.
Baerbock wants to finance the Bundeswehr through additional debt
Instead, Baerbock called for an expansion of the special debts, which were taken out in 2022 to strengthen military capability and run outside the regular federal budget.
It is also conceivable that unlimited loans can be taken out for defense spending in the future - and the defense budget would therefore be exempt from the debt brake anchored in the Basic Law.
However, a two-thirds majority in the Bundestag is required for such a change to the Basic Law.
Since, in addition to the FDP, the Union and the AfD are also against easing the debt brake, finding a majority for this proposal would probably be very difficult.