German politicians are fond of saying, “Work must be worth it.” But ever more people who work full-time need state benefits. And the new minimum wage hike is seen as disappointing.

  • geissi@feddit.org
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    18 hours ago

    because the ever-increasing contributions to the Rentenversicherung and Krankenversicherung just eat up all of the brutto increases, leaving people with effectively the same netto.

    I’m sorry, you might not mean that literally but too many people perpetuate the myth the taxes and or social security contributions eat up all wage increases or that people get even less due to higher taxes.
    That is complete nonsense. The total tax and social security contribution would have to be at 100% for that to be true.

    If you want people to be able to afford more with their money, then I’d advocate for lower VAT and/or dropping the VAT for basic foods and products to 0%. That wold also help the poor more, serve as a better social redistribution measure and could contribute to more domestic demand.

    If we are not talking about taxes but social security then I agree that there need to be significant reforms.