The traffic light government wants to secure pensions with the help of the capital market. He prefers to remain silent about the real problem: inequality.
Demands for pensions in shares: Ministers Lindner and Heil on March 5 Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa
“Stabilizing pensions – with new means” is a promising headline about the government's new pensions package. New media means the capital market. Since, as is well known, many of humanity's problems have already been solved, nothing can go wrong. This is what the suits Christian Lindner (FDP Finance Minister) and Hubertus Heil (SPD Labor Minister), standing behind the lecterns with a decidedly statesmanlike attitude, try to convey at the associated press conference.
The blue wall behind them, which often reads “Pension Package II”, is reminiscent of the advertising walls in front of which football coaches stand. Like Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel in front of an advertising wall full of Allianz, Paulaner and Audi. His superficial reactions to critical questions recently were difficult to stomach, even for neutral viewers.
Access to the issue of pensions here is already complicated due to the environment. Anyway, I find it difficult to accept this. Because the word pension provokes similar impulses in me as the word dentist: you have to take care of both things from the beginning so that it doesn't become very unpleasant later. I now regularly attend dentist appointments. But I don't know how much pension I can receive if I continue as before. Honestly, I don't want to know either and I prefer to delay it until it is no longer possible and the tooth has to be extracted.
On the one hand, this is due to the widespread complaint about demographic change, which can only mean bad things for people my age. On the other hand, I probably neglect the topic of retirement planning because I grew up in a day-to-day environment, where it's always about getting through the day first and then we'll see. That's why I jump like I've seen an alien when my peers start talking about the retirement planning steps they've taken, usually with the advice of their parents. Wow!
An injustice that goes beyond pensions
What I received from home is the advice that you should not expect too much from your pension. Half of all pensioners in Germany receive less than 1,050 euros of net statutory pension per month. Therefore, they are considered to be at risk of poverty if they do not have any additional income.
After all, the joke is that those who receive a better pension generally don't have to rely on it because they have earned better and can draw on other assets as well. Furthermore, they live longer than those who worked themselves into ruin only to spend their short remaining life in poverty.
That's why I can't take statesmanlike people in suits in front of blue signs seriously while they talk about “capital market opportunities” (Lindner) instead of the unbearable injustice that goes far beyond the issue of pensions. .
On the other hand, I really enjoy listening to football coach Thomas Tuchel again, who with the help of others has come to the conclusion that things between him and FC Bayern do not really fit together, so the collaboration will end in the end it's from the season. By the way, on Saturday Bayern defeated Mainz by 8 goals to 1.