Germany set to tax young

**gilliam** · #1 Apr 6, '12, 1:53 pm

GERMANY is proposing to levy extra taxes on the young to pay for the costs of the country's growing numbers of old people, under government plans for a ''demographic reserve'' levy.
Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats have drafted proposals that, if law, would require all those over 25 to pay a proportion of their income to cushion Germany against a looming population crisis.
The German Chancellor's ruling party is seeking extra sources of revenue to pay for soaring pensions and bills for social care costs as Germany's ''baby boomer'' generation ages amid a decline in the birth rate.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/germany-...#ixzz1rIP5H2O0

_Abyssinia · #2 Apr 6, '12, 2:37 pm

See what happens when contraception and abortion are introduced. Germany is not in a unique position when it comes to the declining youth population, the same thing is happening in many countries where legal abortion and common contraceptive use exists.

didymus · #3 Apr 6, '12, 2:41 pm

At some point the young will rebel.
As things stand all Western countries (and many others as well) are heading toward becoming gerentocracies. The old, as a group, are the richest and most politically involved demographic, a trend that will only increase. Senors will vote themselves more benefits at the expense of the young.

Personally I think we need an upper limit on the franchise.

markomalley · #4 Apr 6, '12, 5:22 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by gilliam

GERMANY is proposing to levy extra taxes on the young to pay for the costs of the country's growing numbers of old people, under government plans for a ''demographic reserve'' levy.
Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats have drafted proposals that, if law, would require all those over 25 to pay a proportion of their income to cushion Germany against a looming population crisis.
The German Chancellor's ruling party is seeking extra sources of revenue to pay for soaring pensions and bills for social care costs as Germany's ''baby boomer'' generation ages amid a decline in the birth rate.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/germany-...#ixzz1rIP5H2O0

Europe: Aborting and contracepting itself into extinction

He Man · #5 Apr 6, '12, 6:27 pm

Someone make sure the White House doesn't get wind of this.

Scott_Lafrance · #6 Apr 6, '12, 7:37 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by He Man

Someone make sure the White House doesn't get wind of this.

What are you talking about. Middle aged adults are paying for the political sins of our parents. The tax money we pay into the system is being use to pay the interest on the debt that our parents borrowed for the Great Society. Our children will do the same. THe government is taxing the young, and even the unborn, with their wreckless spending now.

Nec5 · #7 Apr 6, '12, 8:18 pm

Look's like it's time for Logan's Run.

Bklynguy · #8 Apr 6, '12, 9:58 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by gilliam

GERMANY is proposing to levy extra taxes on the young to pay for the costs of the country's growing numbers of old people, under government plans for a ''demographic reserve'' levy.
Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats have drafted proposals that, if law, would require all those over 25 to pay a proportion of their income to cushion Germany against a looming population crisis.
The German Chancellor's ruling party is seeking extra sources of revenue to pay for soaring pensions and bills for social care costs as Germany's ''baby boomer'' generation ages amid a decline in the birth rate.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/germany-...#ixzz1rIP5H2O0

"The problem with Socialism is that, eventually, you run out of other people's money."--Margaret Thatcher

TarkanAttila · #9 Apr 6, '12, 10:21 pm

Well... there goes Western civilization.

Tenofovir · #10 Apr 7, '12, 1:24 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nec5

Look's like it's time for Logan's Run.

Why do you say that? It's the government which has been making a mess of things. Secondly, it's not the old folks fault that young people these days don't want to have children and aren't having as many.

I think a better choice may be to have the young contribute more for the direct payment of their elders' old age homes or upkeep. Reduce the pensions of those who have relatives who can afford to pay and have them pay the difference. Obviously reduce the pensions by up to 20-25% and not more. This already happens in some European countries. If the elder can't pay for old age care with his pension the government subsidizes but then forces the living relatives up to grandchildren to foot the difference.

The problem of course with all these taxes is that it will make people want to have fewer children because children cost money to support. They'll have to give rebates to those who have children. Those who can't have children - infertile/sterile - will have to adopt or pay more tax.

Tenofovir · #11 Apr 7, '12, 1:29 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by TarkanAttila

Well... there goes Western civilization.

Hugh Hefner, Richard Dawkins, Paris Hilton, David Irving, Jack Kevorkian, Margaret Sanger, etc. These are shining pillars of Western civilization.

Bklynguy · #12 Apr 7, '12, 9:09 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bklynguy

"The problem with Socialism is that, eventually, you run out of other people's money."--Margaret Thatcher

In all seriousness to this quote I posted before, though, I guess I can sort of understand why Germany is doing what it is doing. I think Europe needs to stop contracepting itself out of existence; however, what are we supposed to do with the elderly? People are living longer now, and we can't just leave them hungry. I also like this quote:

"...the moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; those who are in the shadows of life; the sick, the needy and the handicapped. "

--Hubert Humphrey

and this:

"Any society, any nation, is judged on the basis of how it treats its
weakest members, the last, the least, the littlest."

--Cardinal Roger Mahony, In a 1998 letter.

and this:

"Any society, any nation, any civilization is judged on the
basis of how it treats its weakest members."

--Sir Winston Churchill

seekerz · #13 Apr 7, '12, 9:33 am

One more thing to prophesy doom and gloom over...

. Human beings were created adaptable, and as long as we continue to be willing to adapt in positive ways, there will always be solutions by God's grace. Maybe this had to happen to convince the 'population economists' that their theories (or at least the strategies built on them) were wrong.

Which society has not had to support it's elderly? None, except those who left them behind to die when they reached the age of helplessness. I don't understand enough about the specifics of that particular law to make a decision on whether it's a wise one, but I do know that taking care of the elderly is the duty of those who are younger. The problem is, that duty has been shunted off from the family to other entities, be they public or private and, increasingly as health life spans increase, onto the elderly themselves.

It's easy to blame this all on contraception, but in addition to declining birth rates, we do have more people living longer due to medical advances and high standard of living. That's a good thing but it obviously comes with a cost: willingness to care for all these people living longer lives...On the other hand, it's become sort of a slogan now by public health professionals, that we may be seeing the first modern generation to not outlive our parents. So maybe today's self-indulgent lifestyles will come into play soon enough and ease the future tax burden on the young...

Nec5 · #14 Apr 7, '12, 7:20 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tenofovir

Why do you say that? It's the government which has been making a mess of things. Secondly, it's not the old folks fault that young people these days don't want to have children and aren't having as many.

Who do you think raised the young people?

InnocentFortune · #15 Apr 7, '12, 8:56 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by TarkanAttila

Well... there goes Western civilization.

And the white race will go with it. Whites are currently 15% of Earth's population. If current trends continue, by 2050 they will be less than less than 8% And if they keep continuing the white race will be extinct by 2150. No more Beethovens. No more Shakesperes. Contraception and miscegenation will destroy the men of the west forever. The Turks will inherit Germany. Europe will be Islamic. St Peter's will become a mosque. Have a nice day.