this post was submitted on 07 Oct 2023
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Taxes are high, because there is almost no wealth tax in Germany. So it would be easy to lower taxes from work income, if one would rise the wealth tax. The massive income tax makes it impossible for most Germans to built up wealth. That is why 2/3 of German millionaires inherited their wealth. Hard work is not the way to riches in Germany.
Then the current government is activly paying back debt in an economic crisis. Last year debt to gdp went down for Germany and it looks like it will do it again this year and very fast. The reason for that is that new borrowing is massivly under inflation and the German economy has grown pretty fast in nominal terms(so with inflation included). This is what the current government focuses on. The money is there to pay for better infrastructure, it is just that especially the liberals do not want to spend it. They are the party most representic big money in Germany. Obviously this is morronic by any sane person, but the general German public is so incredibly uneducated on the basics of finance that they support it. They absolutly hate the idea of taking on debt even for investments. Even taking on loans to buy a house is seen as a moral failure for that person.
While all these address certain problems, the majority of voters for the AfD don't see these as their core issues for what they're voting. I do not see a solution as to how to get blatantly racist and often one issue voters back on the ballot for less extreme parties.
I'm not saying the changes you're proposing wouldn't help and wouldn't dent their numbers, but I'm very, very weary of the fact that being an open Nazi has become acceptable in large swathes of the population again. Not just that, it actively increases attractiveness of certain politicians in the polls.
COVID and Trump-Era Republicans (as in the CxU and AfD taking their playbook and finding plenty of success with it, didn't they even meet with DeSantis to pick his brain?) did an absolute kickflip with rationality by marrying far right ideology with anti-covid, anti-science, conspiracy theory rhetoric and opening up a huge new voter base.
It's a super complex issue ranging from our Cum-Ex chancellor to Otto Normalo feeling disenfranchised by foreigners, who we desperately need if we want to plug the holes in our economy and keep at replacement level (for all the good it'll do us) and not being able to afford families, homes, or anything beyond basic subsistence.
I fear a large group of their current voter base will not be convinced by any measure taken by any government that isn't the one THEY voted for. And they won't vote for anything except extreme anymore. Used to be primarily boomers, but I see it in plenty Gen X and Millennials as well already in my close and expanded social/work circles.
Absolutely agree - thanks sexy boy Lindner :) except for the last statement - almost everyone (who has a certain income) can afford a house only by taking a loan, so that's very common.