And this is how you further damage democracy and strengthen the far right. Because a lot of the people who don’t vote or vote for the far right are people who feel left behind who are of the impression that the system is broken and they don’t benefit from it. Social welfare is a way to directly show everyone what a democratic state is good for. Policies that benefit the poor, the working class and the middle class make a strong society. But Merz and others simply don’t seem to get it or care and stare in wonder at the ever rising numbers of people who want to see the world burn.

• Print 1bn in welfare
• Welfare ultimately gets spent into rich folks’ coffers
• Tax that 1bn back out of the rich
• Net cost: zero

What’s “unaffordable” here?

The capitalist elite has less problem with fascism than socialism. Only one of those threatens their wealth

Tick tock on the fascism clock.

My partner and I almost moved to Germany last year and I am so glad we didn't. If we're going to be in a fascist country, I'd prefer to be a citizen since white fascists tend to frown extra hard on us brown immigrants.

So... The Germans are kicking all the wealthy leeches off their generational welfare suckholes, then?

That's the real "welfare state", NGL...

If only "tax" meant "tap" as in "tap a sugar maple for its sweet sweet amber sap" and the freshly gutted 1% could also be used as fertilizer afterward.

Win/win! Poverty and hunger in one fell slash? I'm in.

How’s your Spanish? I hear good things about Chile.

there you go, they finally said it out loud. austerity it is.

Austerity doesn’t even work. It’s deliberate cruelty.

All this while systematically crippling our tax investigation departments.

If I ever meet Merz or someone like him, I will have choice words to say.

In the short term. Both threaten their wealth in the long run. Fascism still wins out.

... without the rich paying their share.

Good enough to be understood but not good enough to not use idioms incorrectly. For example, I spent a solid five minutes trying to remember if "así así" or "ni fu ni fa" can apply to competency before throwing my hands up.

Mediocre. Mi español es mediocre.

I just need practice.

It works for the wealthy. It saves them a lot of money on taxes.

Words alone have never stopped fascists.

It’s short sighted though.

It’s not short sighted for the wealthy. Over the last 40 years, the wealthy have amassed massive amounts of income and wealth. It worked out great for them and the politicians that they purchase.