When it comes to the question of justice in Germany, reality and clichés are like the race between rabbit and hedgehog – no matter how hard reality struggles, the cliché calls: “I’m already there.” Now it’s even in the Council of Economic Wise Men arrived. With their proposals ranging from a higher top tax rate to energy solos, they are feeding into the prejudice that the rich are not doing enough to bear the burden of this crisis.
The idea of the strong shoulders that have to shoulder more than those of the less well-off is correct. Only: The so-called strong shoulders have been doing this for a long time in this country, not only in times of crisis, but generally.
More than 50 percent of income taxes are borne by the top 10 percent of taxpayers alone. Propagating a higher top tax rate now gives wings to those who see justice only one-dimensionally, namely as redistribution from top to bottom.
However, one can also read the proposals of the economists as an act of desperation regarding the financial and relief policy of the traffic light. The supposedly spending-disciplined budget is just waste, new debts are disguised as special funds. The crisis measures follow the watering can principle, those who did not need relief also benefited from the tank discount and 9-euro ticket.
However, correcting an untargeted policy by targeting those who run the shop is not a solution. It is not the higher earners who have to be held responsible for the crisis policy, but the poorer ones in government.
