70 Billion against the Economic Crisis
The party DIE LINKE demands a crash programme against the economic crisis. Such a board decision was taken yesterday. Michael Schlecht, board member, declares:
DIE LINKE wants to strengthen the domestic demand. Especially in consideration of the imminence recession, it is necessary that the standard wages need to be raised. The low-wage sector needs to abandoned. Therefore, we need a minimum wage of 8 Euro, which needs to rise to 11 Euro. If we had a minimum wage, the domestic demand would be strengthened up to 11-18 billion. With the upgrading of the unemployment pay to 435 Euro, further 7 billion increase in demand.
DIE LINKE renews the demand for an investment-programme for the future: for a better education and infra-structure. In the frame of this programme 30 billion Euro should be mobilised now – for more full-time-schools, for a change in power supply, for the support of economically underdeveloped regions and for the dissolving of investment delay for hospitals etc.
The financial markets need to be regulated and dried out. This includes the consistent turning away from any form of funded pension insurance system. We need to reintroduce the property tax und need to raise the capital transfer tax.
The economic cycle is down swinging. Reason for this is the economic policy of the last years. The government has cut the welfare system and promotes wage dumping. The domestic demand is much too weak. The crisis of the financial market is not the cause for the downswing. But the crisis threats to tighten the downswing.
The crash programme of the party DIE LINKE would lead to an impulse of the domestic demand of 70 billion Euro, that would be an asset of 4%.