[Economics] Myth Fat State - Welfare State

Siehe auch:
[Wirtschaft] Mythos Fetter Staat - Sozialstaat

The myth of a large and ever-expanding state is being perpetuated all too often these days. Minimalist state advocates and libertarians such as Milei, Musk, and Krall are making their ideas very popular. The key values are presented below.

First it is clear that the federal budget is continuously declining relative to GDP. However social spending varies so much that a judgment cannot be made at first glance.

[1, UVGD] [3] [4] [5] [6] [6, pdf]

As a percentage of GDP total pension spending has fallen significantly. The federal subsidy for German pension insurance on the other hand is almost constant between 2% and 3% over the available period. Expenditure on unemployment benefit (Arbeitslosengeld) and unemployment benefit II (Arbeitslosengeld II) on the other hand is almost constant over the available period and is less than 1% each. An excessive welfare state can not yet been identified.

[3] [4] [5] [6] [6, pdf]

The sum of all social benefits on the other hand actually increased from around 20% to around 30% by the 1970s. However the numbers used here are only comparable to a limited extent. On the one hand the figures cover Germany before reunification up to 1990 and Germany after reunification from 1991 onwards. In addition the figures from 2009 onwards include additional health insurance benefits. Apart from this jump in numbers from 2009 onwards the social benefit ratio has been almost constant since the 1970s.

[7]

The federal subsidy for German pension insurance has fallen in relation to GDP. However the federal budget fell so much over the same period that the federal subsidy for German pension insurance rose in relation to the federal budget.

[2] [6] [6, pdf]

[Economics] Myth Fat State - Investment
[Economics] Myth Fat State - Staff
[Economics] Myth Fat State - Debt and Interest
[Economics] Myth Fat State - Defense and Bundeswehr 2025-10-31

Src:
[1] AMECO database
https://economy-finance.ec.europa.eu/economic-research-and-databases/economic-databases/ameco-database_en
[2] Gesamtübersicht über die Entwicklung des Bundeshaushalts 1969 bis 2023
https://www.bundesfinanzministerium.de/Monatsberichte/Ausgabe/2024/03/Inhalte/Kapitel-6-Statistiken/6-1-11-gesamtuebersicht-entwicklung-bundeshaushalt.html
[3] Arbeitslosengeld-Ausgaben 2012 bis Februar 2025
https://biaj.de/archiv-kurzmitteilungen/2068-arbeitslosengeld-ausgaben-2012-bis-februar-2025.html
[4] Arbeitslosengeld-II-, Sozialgeld- und Bürgergeld-Ausgaben von 2010 bis April 2025
https://biaj.de/archiv-materialien/2095-arbeitslosengeld-ii-sozialgeld-und-buergergeld-ausgaben-von-2010-bis-april-2025.html
[5] Einnahmen und Ausgaben der gesetzlichen Rentenversicherung (GRV) 2022-12-20
https://www.bpb.de/kurz-knapp/zahlen-und-fakten/soziale-situation-in-deutschland/61857/einnahmen-und-ausgaben-der-gesetzlichen-rentenversicherung-grv/
[6] Bundeszuschüsse an die Rentenversicherung 2023-07-28
https://www.bundesamtsozialesicherung.de/de/themen/rentenversicherung/finanzierung/
https://www.bundesamtsozialesicherung.de/fileadmin/redaktion/Rentenversicherung/Finanzierung/Bundeszuschuesse2022.pdf
[7] Sozialleistungsquote 1960 - 2024
https://www.sozialpolitik-aktuell.de/files/sozialpolitik-aktuell/_Politikfelder/Finanzierung/Datensammlung/PDF-Dateien/abbII1a.pdf