BSW calls for easing of the "investment brake"

Financial policy - BSW calls for easing of the "investment brake"

Invest or stagnate? The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) in Saxony is calling for a change in financial policy to make larger investments possible. "The biggest problem in Saxony is a rigid investment brake. We want to loosen this investment brake to get the cart back on track," said the Saxon BSW chief Sabine Zimmermann to the German Press Agency.

Of course, the future state government must also pursue a sound fiscal policy. But one should not blindly push the Free State against the wall because insufficient investments for the future of the people are not being made.

"The financial policy in Saxony must once again secure the interests of our citizens – and ensure a functioning state. There is an enormous backlog of maintenance and huge investment gaps in education, housing in large cities, and transportation infrastructure. Hospitals have been sold and institutions with educational mandates have been taken out of public hands," said the politician. "Whoever pulls the investment brake as hard as the CDU does, should not be surprised that the people in the state perceive the run-down infrastructure as a state failure."

Both the Greens, SPD, and Left have repeatedly called for a modernization of the debt brake. CDU and AfD are against it. The current regulation only allows Saxony to take on debt in absolute exceptional cases. The latest exception was in the context of the Corona pandemic. The repayment period in Saxony is only eight years and is therefore extremely short. A constitutional amendment failed in the past due to a lack of support from the CDU ranks.

Finance Minister Hartmut Vorjohann (CDU) has repeatedly warned against tampering with the debt brake in Saxony and financing investments through debt. "We don't need a reform of the debt brake. The simpler, clearer, and more understandable it is for everyone, the better. If it is written in the Saxon Constitution that the budget must be balanced without debt, that is a clear statement," is the minister's argumentation. According to him, the value of the debt brake lies in self-restraint.

1. The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance in Saxony advocates for a shift in financial policy, aiming to ease the constraints on investments to stimulate growth.
2. In a discussion with the German Press Agency, Sabine Zimmermann, the Saxony BSW chief, highlighted the necessity of loosening the investment brake to revitalize the region.
3. In the future, Sabine Zimmermann emphasized, Saxony should prioritize a fiscal policy that serves the needs of its citizens and ensures the state's functioning, addressing critical areas such as infrastructure and education.
4. The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance, along with the Greens, SPD, and Left, have advocated for revising the debt brake to allow for more flexibility in funding necessary investments, but the CDU and AfD have opposed these proposals.
5. The current regulation in Saxony only permits exceptionally large-scale debt incurrence, with an eight-year repayment period, which the coalition partners deem insufficient to address the state's pressing infrastructure and educational needs.
6. In response to these calls, Finance Minister Hartmut Vorjohann (CDU) maintains that the debt brake serves as a safeguard for financial prudence and advocates against the proposed amendments, emphasizing the importance of self-discipline in fiscal policy.

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