Thursday, September 2, 2021

Top Topics for the Election

 The top issues of the German election for 2021, with the Wahl-O-Mat listings?  You can actually take the test yourself over at this site, in German.

1.  Should there be a speed limit for autobahns (generally discussed at 130 kph as the max)?

- If you go to working-class Germans....most agree in highly urbanized areas, there should actually be a limit of 100 kph (and this already exists throughout Germany).  In vast open areas like you see in Baden-Wurttemberg or Bavaria....the 130 limit is not openly accepted.

2.  Should Germany increase defense spending?  

- For a number of years, Germany has avoided the NATO accepted situation of 2-percent of the GDP....opting for a 1.2 to 1.4 situation.  If you asked the average working-class German....this isn't a top 10 or even a top 100 problem.  Most would probably cut the funding by one-third without much discussion.  When was the last time when Germany even got invaded? 

3.  Should the Bundestag election allow kids (down to age 16) to vote?

- My take....why even limit this to 16?  Get those 12-year-old kids out there....earning wages....paying taxes, and voting.  

4.  Should wind energy be pushed or decreased as a source?

- The tax credit business went away two years ago, and the wind generator installations have decreased drastically.  Unless you do something, the strategy is going to be pretty crapped-up within five years.

5.  Should more regulation occur over landlords and rental property?

- No one can explain how more regulations will really influence or change this outcome.

6.  Should vaccines still have patent protections?

- If you can't patent your product....why would you waste money on development?

7.  Should coal-powered energy be ended even earlier than 2038?

- The 'save-the-Earth' crowd would like for the coal plants to be dissolved today, if possible.  Where all this extra energy will come from?  Unknown, and I don't think most people grasp that part of the situation....other than suggesting alternate energy will just be there.

8.  Should ALL Germans be put into the social retirement fund (even those who don't want the 'deal')?

- Germans who make 'real money'....don't put a lot of trust into the current social retirement fund....so why force them into it?

9.  Should the right of immigrants to family reunification be ended?

-  No one has really made the case that family reunification has been crowed-out or prevented.  From the 220k limit on incoming folks, for 2021 so far.....they've barely used 30-percent of their 'seats'.  

10.  Should there be a national sales tax created for digital services (like Amazon for example)?

11.  Should the roles of father, mother, child....be promoted of other 'choices'?

12.  Should donating to political parties continue, or be highly regulated?

13.  Should students get student-income, regardless of the parent's income?

14.  Should Germans be able to get a second citizenship....other than German?

-  I suspect you'd be opening up a can of worms if this idea catches on.  Why even say a limit of two....why not four to six citizenships?  

15.  Should federal authorities recognize gender situations (in publications, letters, etc)?

16.  Should Nord Sea II be allowed to fully operate (as a gas pipeline)?

-  Look, Nord Sea II was not sponsored by the German government, and they've put no cash into the whole thing....so why stand in the way of the gas pipeline?

17. Should the solidarity tax (from Kohl's era) be fully ended?

- Kohl drafted the law to have a limit....so the limit of years has been reached.  Why not just admit it?

18.  Should headscarf's be allowed, while functioning in a federal/state/local function?

- Basically, this is arriving at the situation where Muslim women will be running for political office, and they probably will demand the right to their headscarf.

19.  Should new gas/diesel cars be allowed (past the 2030) deadline to be sold?

- If you go out to working-class Germans....I'm not that convinced that they really want the gas/diesel new car era to end in 2030.  Even by 2040,  I suspect that over half the nation will still have a gas car, and no desire to cut loose from it. 

20.  Should the German federal government have more control over the school system (presently, these are controlled by the state governments)?

- One of those things left over from the 1930s era....when school control was taken from states and given to the federal government.  When the war ended....states took the power back.  State aren't that happy with federal involvement....but they want the federal cash. 

21.  Should the federal government spend more money on anti-Semitism efforts?

-  Other than TV advertising.....I don't see where more money equals less anti-Semitism.  It's like saying more funding equals less crime....there's no logic or proof that ever occurs.  

22.  Should the Chinese companies be allowed to integrate into the German communications network?

- Just me saying this, but I think it's a bit too late to worry on this issue.

23.  Should the states still be allowed to collect church taxes?

- Someone has to collect it and distribute it.  You probably don't want private companies or the federal government doing it.  

24.  Should cannabis sales be allowed (in some form of regulation/control)?

- Probably, but where exactly are you going to buy it?  Drug store?  Grocery?  Local dealer shop?

25.   Should Germany leave the EU?

- Statistically, I doubt if you can find more than 15-percent of Germans agreeing to this question.  

26.  Should the state list for voting mandate both men and women candidates (one of each)?

- Current trend is that you need two party bosses of each political party....one male and one female.  I eventually expect a third mandate situation.....where a transgender must also be included.  

27.  Should inpatient situations at hospitals still be gauged at a flat-rate case?

28.  Should a wealth tax be created?

- This make perfect sense if you want 1-to-1.5 million Germans to exit the country and quit spending crazy money on real estate.  

29.  Should facial recognition software be approved for public surveillance?

- With all these fancy ultra cameras are being installed.....how do you think surveillance can occur without the fancy software package?

30. Should married couples get tax breaks....without kids?

31.  Should organic agriculture get more funding/support than regular conventional agriculture?

- You would just eventually drive conventional farming out of Germany....but maybe that's the whole tactic of this discussion.

32.  Should Islamic organizations be recognized by state foundations?

33.  Should state-price-set for C02 situations be pushed higher?

- Yes, this would be very helpful in getting companies to exit Germany and bring jobs to other lands. 

34.  Should the debt-break (for rental properties) be retained?

35.  Should asylum be open (as a category) ONLY for people being politically persecuted?

- The PhD crowd has often suggested that there ought to be a minimum of two levels of entry, and job-qualifications probably should fit into the 'doorway'.

36.  Should minimum wage go to 12 Euro per hour?

- At the present pace, I'd predict 15 Euro an hour by 2027.  I can't see paying some kid 12 Euro an hour at McDonalds to run the French-Fry machine or flip burgers.

37.  Should air travel be taxed higher?

- If the tax was paying for services, fine.  If it's just a gimmick for more money in the pot....what use is it?

38.  Should companies be the ones to decide on home-office situations, and not a mandated federal/state situation?

- The last people on Earth you want to manage or regulate the home-office routine....is the federal/state folks.  

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