[Economics] The German Economic Policy is a Fever Dream - And Germany no longer has a left-wing Alternative

Siehe auch:
[Wirtschaft] Die deutsche Wirtschaftspolitik ist ein Fiebertraum - Und Deutschland hat keine linke Alternative mehr

Class warfare is raging in Germany. The governing coalition of the CDU/CSU and SPD has promised to pull Germany out of recession. But while many are still puzzling over the situation and possible solutions the government has already begun a top-down class war. The moment has actually come for left-wing parties to make their mark and prove themselves. Unfortunately the left-wing parties are failing across the board.

The price of electricity in Germany is still 28% higher than pre-crisis levels (€0.28 / kWh electricity in 2021, €0.23 / kWh electricity in 2025). And the price of gas is even 100% higher than pre-crisis levels (€0.045 / kWh gas in 2021, €0.09 / kWh gas in 2025). However the government has already announced contrary to the agreement in the coalition agreement that it will not reduce the electricity tax for all consumers. Instead it has been decided to reduce the electricity tax only for industry, agriculture and forestry. In addition a new levy is even planned for all consumers. This new levy is intended to secure the operation of existing gas-powered power plants. Specifically it is intended to finance gas-powered power plants when they are connected to the grid but no electricity from the power plant is needed. This new levy is expected to amount to €0.02 per kWh of electricity thus roughly the same amount as the electricity tax. [1] [1, alt] [2] [2, alt] [3]

[1, alt] [2, alt]

In Germany pension levels are notoriously low and old-age poverty is high. Nevertheless the government has already announced that it will raise the retirement age even further. This corresponds to a real pension cut as the same pension benefits would be received over a shorter period. In addition various physically demanding jobs are already unable to work until the scheduled retirement age. [4]

This development is particularly absurd as Austria with almost identical demographics can finance significantly higher pensions. The German Pension Insurance (Deutsche Rentenversicherung/DRV) has now also admitted this:

• In Austria the average statutory pension in 2022 was 1,645 Euro per month about 500 Euro more than in Germany.
• This higher pension level in Austria is financed through higher contributions (22.8% instead of 18.6% in Germany) and a higher federal subsidy.
• In addition there is one pension system for everyone in Austria. In Germany on the other hand there is a statutory pension system, a pension system for civil servants and various pension schemes for doctors, architects and others.

[5] [6]

There is a demonstrable shortage of jobs not workers. This is easily seen when comparing the number of job openings and the number of unemployed. The ratio of job openings to unemployed has been diverging again since 2020. Nevertheless the government has decided to make unemployment even more precarious. [7] [8]

This is not only inappropriate but counterproductive. The reduction in social benefits as a result of Agenda 2010 has already led to lower wage levels. While wages are the largest cost for corporations, they are also the largest source of income for other corporations. It can therefore be assumed that lower wages will destroy more demand in the larger domestic economy than can be gained from the smaller export economy.

[8]

And as if all this weren't enough the government has also approved a so-called investment booster. This would subsidize electric cars for companies. Unfortunately companies tend to lease company cars which is why these subsidies don't apply. Furthermore the depreciation rules are being changed so that more value can be written off earlier. Unfortunately this doesn't mean that more value can be written off over the entire lifespan of the acquisitions. And it was decided to further reduce corporate tax that capital corporations pay on profits. This is particularly stupid since the corporate sector has already transformed from debtors to savers and investment volumes are at an all-time low at the same time. The corporate sector is already withdrawing demand from the economy and should not be rewarded for it. Because in a system in which nothing else changes every saving leads to a shrinkage. [9] [10]

[11, UVGD] [11, UBCABOP] [11, UBLC] [11, UBLH] [11, UBLGE]

[11, UVGD] [11, UITT]

At this point one might assume that these are at least ideal conditions for left-wing parties to gain a profile. The investment booster described above even had to be voted on in the Bundesrat giving the left-wing parties that co-govern in the states a chance to prove themselves. For example the Left Party co-governs in Bremen and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and the BSW co-governs in Brandenburg and Thuringia. But while the government is engaged in a seemingly unrestrained top-down class struggle the left-wing parties have failed across the board. All federal states including those with left-wing parties co-governing have approved the so-called investment booster. [10] [12, p.2] [13, p.1] [14, p.2] [15, p.2]

Src:
[1] Strompreis aktuell: So viel kostet die Kilowattstunde 2025-08-10
https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/info/Strompreis-aktuell-So-viel-kosten-die-Kilowattstunden,strompreis182.html
https://storage.googleapis.com/ndrdata-csv-cors/inflation/strompreis/verivox_12_month_electricity_price_weighted_mean_long_dw.csv?v=1756235824501
[2] Gaspreis aktuell: So viel kostet die Kilowattstunde 2025-08-27
https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/info/Gaspreis-aktuell-wie-viel-kostet-Kilowattstunde,gaspreis142.html
https://storage.googleapis.com/ndrdata-csv-cors/inflation%2Fgaspreis%2Fverivox_12monthgasprice_weighted_mean_long_dw.csv?v=1756361052004
[3] Strompreis-Debatte - Regierung plant neue Umlage für alle Verbraucher 2025-08-05
https://www.t-online.de/finanzen/aktuelles/verbraucher/id_100852622/strompreis-neue-umlage-geplant-entlastung-bleibt-aus.html
[4] Demografischer Wandel - Reiche schwört Arbeitnehmer auf längeres Arbeiten ein 2025-07-26
https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/rente-katherina-reiche-deutsche-muessen-laut-wirtschaftsministerin-mehr-und-laenger-arbeiten-a-da40b7b2-154a-4b80-a447-1a955f4ab57c
[5] „Vorbild“ Österreich? Was macht unser Nachbarland anders bei der Rente? 2024/02
https://rentenupdate.drv-bund.de/DE/1_Archiv/Archiv/2024/03_Oesterreich.html
[6] Population Pyramid
https://www.populationpyramid.net/
[7] "Falsche Anreize" - Bürgergeld-Reform: Merz legt bei Empfängern nach 2025-07-18
https://www.t-online.de/nachrichten/deutschland/innenpolitik/id_100825962/buergergeld-merz-legt-bei-empfaengern-nach-falsche-anreize-.html
[8] Arbeitslose und gemeldete offene Arbeitsstellen 2000 - 2024
https://www.sozialpolitik-aktuell.de/files/sozialpolitik-aktuell/_Politikfelder/Arbeitsmarkt/Datensammlung/PDF-Dateien/abbIV32.pdf
[9] Maue Konjunktur - Kabinett billigt milliardenschwere Steuerentlastungen für Unternehmen
https://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/unternehmen/kabinett-billigt-milliardenschwere-steuerentlastungen-fuer-unternehmen-a-1f3a5250-6348-46b9-b93d-6500a8347b51
[10] Bundestag stimmt für Investitionssofort­programm der Koalition
https://www.bundestag.de/dokumente/textarchiv/2025/kw26-de-investitionssofortprogramm-1084772
[11] AMECO database
https://economy-finance.ec.europa.eu/economic-research-and-databases/economic-databases/ameco-database_en
[12] Abstimmverhalten Brandenburgs in der 1056. Sitzung des Bundesrates am 11. Juli 2025
https://landesvertretung-brandenburg.de/wp-content/uploads/1056_Abstimmungsverhalten-BB.pdf
[13] Abstimmungsverhalten des Freistaats Thüringen und Ergebnisse zur 1056. Sitzung des Bundesrates am Freitag, 11. Juli 2025
https://thueringen.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Landesregierung/Landesvertretung-in-Berlin/1056._BR_-_Abstimmungsverhalten-TH__11.07.__barrfrei.pdf
[14] Beschlüsse der 1056. Sitzung des Bundesrates am 11.07.2025
https://www.diebevollmaechtigte.bremen.de/sixcms/media.php/13/1056. BR_Beschlüsse aus der BR-Sitzung vom 11.07.2025.pdf
[15] Abstimmungsverhalten des Landes Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in der 1056. Sitzung des Bundesrates am Freitag, 11. Juli 2025
https://www.regierung-mv.de/static/Regierungsportal/Ministerium für Wissenschaft%2c Kultur%2c Bundes- und Europaangelegenheiten/Abstimmungsverhalten des Landes M-V in der 1056. Sitzung des Bundesrates am 11. Juli 2025.pdf