If you are wondering why we are having an idiotic debate about economic policy, read the document linked here from Surplus magazine, which was taken over by a news agency. In it, Germany’s largest trade unions complain about the attacks on the welfare state that are carried out almost daily by the governing parties.

The trade unions’ complaint is entirely justified, but the arguments on which they base it are third-rate at best. The report states the following:

‘These debates “unsettle people, stifle the weak economic recovery and do not bring growth,” according to the trade unions. “What is currently being presented as a ’reform debate” is an indictment of the Union and many business associations.” Instead of tackling investments in infrastructure and education, for example, ‘radical social cuts are being demanded – with increasingly adventurous proposals at the expense of the people in the country who are supposedly too lazy, too sick, too often in part-time work.’

“The overall leader, Yasmin Fahimi, called the debate on cuts “disrespectful and shabby”. IG Metall leader Christiane Benner called for ‘constructive, meaningful reform proposals.’

So the ‘debate’ is stifling an economic recovery that does not even exist. Wouldn’t the measures proposed by the CDU immediately worsen the situation? Why is none of the trade unionists saying clearly that there has been a glaring weakness in domestic demand in Germany for years, which is exacerbated by any kind of cuts in wages and social benefits?

It is also not a question of whether something is ‘disrespectful’. It is a question of whether a measure is appropriate, measured against the initial situation. Once again, the trade unions are falling for the old trick that ‘social is what creates jobs’. If the Union’s measures were suitable for creating new jobs, ‘disrespect’ would not be considered to be an argument?

Anyone who wants to argue credibly must say that the cuts will have exactly the opposite effect to what is intended. Every cut in the social sector or elsewhere destroys jobs. Wage cuts also destroy jobs! Anyone who, like the German Chancellor, wants to reduce labour costs will destroy jobs.

The knot in the tongue

But this is precisely where the trade union leaders have a knot in their tongues. Haven’t they themselves made hundreds of concessions on wages ‘to save jobs’? Weren’t they always willing to buy ‘job security’ with wage concessions? How could they now say that the opposite is true? Because they have always dutifully adapted to the corporate perspective, trade unionists cannot now say that the concept of improving competitiveness by cutting wages and the welfare state is doomed to failure.

Ms Fahimi would have to say that Germany simply cannot find any more trading partners who are willing to accept German mercantilism, given Germany’s still high current account surpluses. Furthermore, she would have to say that it is an insult (disrespectful is really not enough) for working colleagues in other countries when a country like Germany tries once again to export its unemployment (as shown here).

Why is no trade unionist saying that the current appreciation of the euro against the dollar cannot be offset by wage or social spending cuts, because otherwise the pressure on the euro would become even greater and the US would have every argument to impose further tariffs on the eurozone?

Once you lie, no one believes you

By agreeing to the ‘flexibilisation of working conditions at company level’ in the wake of the red-green coalition at the beginning of the century ( initially grudgingly accepted), the German trade unions have set themselves a trap from which there is no easy way out. Since then, they have almost completely disappeared from the economic debate and are no longer able to inspire their own base and society with their concerns.

Just like their ‘parent party’, the SPD, they have become stowaways on the ship of the neoliberal mainstream. When an economic policy maverick like Markus Söder says that wages should be lowered by working an extra hour a week for free, his SPD colleague Schwesig counters that ‘this ignores the reality of many people’s lives’. This is just as ridiculous an argument as ‘disrespectful’. Why doesn’t she say that this is complete economic nonsense because it directly damages the domestic economy and does not increase competitiveness for the reasons mentioned above?

Well, the ladies and gentlemen on the so-called left don’t say any of this because they don’t know it. They have allowed themselves to be made stupid and don’t want to become smart. If they knew, they would have to explain to their members concepts that neither the Swabian housewife nor the Westphalian construction worker were born with. It is much easier to get excited and accuse those who know as little as you do of disrespect.

They do not even realise that this makes the entire left look ridiculous and makes a serious economic policy debate impossible. The damage to the general public and to workers caused by this left-wing vacuum is almost impossible to put into words. In the end, the so-called left confines itself to applying a little ointment to the wounds inflicted on its members by the neoliberal mainstream. Society’s ability to solve economic problems is then lost once and for all.