SPÖ leader Andreas Babler formulated his version of a strong state in Berlin on Wednesday. This should raise more money through a millionaires’ tax and closing tax gaps. Babler was one of the speakers at the “Day of Progressive Economic Policy” of the SPD-affiliated Friedrich Ebert Foundation.
“In the past, no one thought it was possible to build a strong welfare state. “Now it is again about defining the rules for economic policy as a state,” Babler said in Berlin on Wednesday. Location policies should be based on the common interests of workers and industry. Such interests include the welfare state and investment criteria, concrete examples of a stable network infrastructure, healthcare and calculable energy prices.
20 billion euros for ‘transformation fund’
The SPÖ leader called for a so-called ‘Austrian Transformation Fund’ worth 20 billion euros, or at least four percent of annual economic output. This is intended to provide money for “the urgently needed restructuring of industry, agriculture and the expansion of the welfare state”. The fund should be financed through a millionaires tax and closing tax gaps.
Another demand from Babler, which he presented on Wednesday, was also not new: a reduction in working hours, which he said could lead to fewer sick days and a better working atmosphere. “More and more companies see that productivity increases when working hours are shortened,” the mayor of Traiskirchen is convinced. Politicians simply must have the courage to actively shape the economy again.
Source: Krone
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