Caution! BSW warning: Armament endangers social benefits in Saxony!

Caution! BSW warning: Armament endangers social benefits in Saxony!

The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) has loudly spoken in Saxony South German newspaper took a stand against increasing military spending. The party, which sees itself as a peace movement, sees the impending danger that massive investments in weapons will inevitably lead to a reduction in social services. Sabine Zimmermann, the Saxon BSW boss, particularly criticizes the new plans of Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU), who declared in the Bundesrat that the era of the “peace dividend” was a thing of the past in view of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.

Zimmermann interprets Merz's statements as a hypocritical restructuring of the welfare state and expresses serious concerns about the consequences. In their opinion, extensive arms investments could lead to significant cuts in pensions, care and education. Instead, the BSW calls for a redistribution of funds towards sensible investments in essential areas such as daycare centers, schools and the general infrastructure in Saxony.

The grim numbers of rearmament

These concerns are supported by a current short study by the Militarization Information Center (IMI), which shows how drastically military spending has increased in Germany. Loud Work future, the Federal Republic's military budget rose from 32.5 billion euros in 2014 to 50.4 billion euros in 2022. Military spending totaling 90.6 billion euros is planned for 2024, which consists of the defense budget of 50.95 billion euros as well as additional funds for the special fund and NATO criteria.

Particularly alarming is the predicted possible suspension of the debt brake in March 2025, which could lead to military spending increasing to up to 3.5% of gross domestic product, which is around 150 billion euros. This would represent over 30% of the entire federal budget in 2024 and could lead to drastic social cuts in the future.

Appeal to politics

In view of these figures and developments, it is not surprising that Sabine Zimmermann and the Sahra Wagenknecht alliance are appealing to the political leadership in their demands for a rethink. Zimmermann emphasizes that the financial burden of rearmament must not be passed on to future generations. The BSW is vehemently committed to a fairer distribution of resources and a return to social investments in order to secure the quality of life of citizens in Saxony and beyond.