SPD's New Solution Deal

There's a curious item on N-TV news this morning here in Germany (they are the commercial news site, or the CNN-like vehicle for Germans).  The story?  A suggestion by the SPD for the replacement of the Hartz IV-program (welfare for Germans).

The comment came up from the Deputy Party Chief....Ralf Stegner.  His concept is a basic solidarity income.  You would do something of a project or job for the community, and you'd receive an income in the area of 1,200-odd Euro.  The suggestion was 'cleaning' of parks.....which today has people hired and making a real income.  Nothing was spoken over the dismissal of the park clean-up crew dismissal but you'd have to assume that their services would no longer be required. 

The curious thing is that if you matched up the actual people doing the current work now.....to the basic solidarity income people....there's a pay-decrease for the same amount of work done currently. 

If you go by the article from N-TV.....this SPD Party idea would extend out to 150,000 long-term unemployed people and comprise of roughly four billion Euro....to run the whole program.

How to pay for it?  Well....there's talk of more property tax....higher taxes for the rich, and looking for practical ways of taxing large-scale inheritance situations.  There's also this idea of higher taxes on bonus pay for managers.

I sat looking at the ways that you'd come up with the four billion and just kinda laughed.  The higher tax on bonus pay?  This would have to be figured into the product value and cost of production.....so you'd inflate your product enough to cover the extra taxes involved.  This would mean lesser competition, and eventually make it tougher to make profits.

If all of this 'repair' would actually dissolve poverty and lead onto fewer people existing in this category....it might be worth the effort.  But no one has ever shown that it leads onto that expectation. 

My general feeling of the SPD plan?  If I were a working-class German....I'd be disappointed at the solution suggested and shaking my head over the party.