The SPD wants to reduce income tax for 95 percent of the population and tax the super-rich more heavily. This, among other things, is provided for in the key proposal for the party conference in December, which the Federal Executive Board wants to decide on this Monday in Berlin.
The SPD also wants to loosen the debt brake, which is not going down well with its coalition partner FDP. The Social Democrats are also campaigning for a further increase in the minimum wage and for investments of 100 billion euros annually in infrastructure, digitalization, the restructuring of industry and, last but not least, education.
Chairwoman Saskia Esken would like to increase the funding for the agreed starting opportunities program for schools with many socially disadvantaged students fivefold. “The promise of advancement through education no longer works today,” she told the digital media company Table.Media. The federal/state program, which is currently intended to reach around one in ten of the 40,000 schools, is too small in its planned form. “At least half of the schools need this special support,” said Esken. “That’s ten billion euros per year instead of the two billion euros currently planned by the federal and state governments combined.”
The program is scheduled to start next school year. In order to implement programs with the special fund in a targeted manner, the SPD wants to establish a commission made up of federal, state and local authorities.
The party conference will take place in Berlin from December 8th to 10th. On the first and second days, the delegates will re-elect the party executive board and its members. It is likely that the party leaders Lars Klingbeil and Saskia Esken will again run as dual leaders.
