[Sim]

German Federal President Horst Köhler, member of the conservative Christian Democrats and former IMF director, who had been considered a "neo-liberal" in the past, now adressed the public in a speech demanding more social fairness in Germany and the world:

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"The inequality in income distribution in Germany has increased", Köhler said in his speech today. Because of a sharper international competition, incomes by investment returns have risen much higher than salaries and wages. "The ascendency of some must not mean the descent of others", Köhler added hortatory.

A broad middle class is doing fairly well, but people with lower income cannot progress on their own. Employees should participate stronger in the profits of the companies, and have equal access to education and economic success, the President demanded.

Köhler also expressed his support for a social net in the sense of an "incentive-giving, providing state", which has to replace the "caring state". Everybody ought to have the same access to good education.

The Federal Republic has to prepare further for globalization and distribute chances and burdens in a fair way. Germany has a good reputation in the world: "Germany is considered fair and reliable", Köhler said. The social state and the constitutional state are guarantors for using the chances of globalization. (...)

Köhler also supported the idea that emerging and developing countries should have more say in the IMF and the World Bank. The recent US martgage crisis documents the necessity of a better control of the international capital markets. These markets must be "accessible for political control and accountability", the President said.

"Nobody can exclude the possibility that the next crisis on international capital markets will damage the entire world economy massively". An institution is required which is responsible for the stability of the international finance system. This task should be up to the International Monetary Fund. (...)

source


Horst Köhler (Christian Democrat), Federal President of Germany, had been director of the IMF from 2000 to 2004

Previously considered a harsh, anti-social "neo-liberal", Köhler has now obviously discovered his social heart. Weird?

[Merlinus Ambrosius]

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"The ascendency of some must not mean the descent of others"

The problem I have with statements such as this is that it inevitably turns into the descent of everybody. And its always the middle class that ends up suffering the brunt of it in the name of equality. The elite (which includes the politicians) get the loopholes, the poor get the bread and circuses, and the middle class gets the finger. You can see it in California with college tuition. Tuition rates skyrocket in order for more programs to be made available to fund college opportunities for the poor. The poor get their education for free, the middle class gets to pay for it twice, and the costs keep rising.

Where do you draw the line between "fairness" and excessive, destructive taxation? How do you quantize suffering in order to ensure that it is equally distributed?

[Sim]

Merlinus Ambrosius, on Oct 1 2007, 10:51 PM, said:

The problem I have with statements such as this is that it inevitably turns into the descent of everybody.

Well in Germany, it seems to work, at least to some extent. I think most of our welfare programs are good compromises.

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And its always the middle class that ends up suffering the brunt of it in the name of equality. The elite (which includes the politicians) get the loopholes, the poor get the bread and circuses, and the middle class gets the finger. You can see it in California with college tuition. Tuition rates skyrocket in order for more programs to be made available to fund college opportunities for the poor. The poor get their education for free, the middle class gets to pay for it twice, and the costs keep rising.

In Germany, schools are free for everybody.

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Where do you draw the line between "fairness" and excessive, destructive taxation? How do you quantize suffering in order to ensure that it is equally distributed?

As for access to education, there recently was the so called "PISA study", which found that Germany is only in the lower middle field. It also found that despite free education, social origin does play too big a role in the education chances of children; children from a wealthy background achieve much better, for some reason, although everybody has the same access. This is probably due to the system itself: The methods of teaching, didactics, are outdated. So a reform of the school system in these regards wouldn't be a bad thing.