Amid ongoing debate regarding the financial viability of the welfare state, social expert Joachim Rock is calling for an end to the special status of civil servants and the rapid implementation of a universal citizen’s insurance.
According to the general manager of the German Parity Welfare Association, the special treatment afforded to civil servants is unsustainable. Currently, the social system relies almost entirely on employee payroll contributions, while extremely wealthy individuals face minimal taxation. Rock proposes that the role of civil service should henceforth be limited to sovereign tasks and core areas such as the police force.
Fundamentally, Rock argues that public sector employees should be secured in the same way as the rest of the population. He stated that civil servants should be required to contribute to both statutory health insurance and pension schemes. If a citizen’s insurance system is not enacted for all working members of society, he warns, a “class system” will persist where some people are better secured than others. This unified fund would require contributions from civil servants as well as self-employed individuals, politicians, and high earners, necessitating the inclusion of all types of income-including stocks and rental income-in the contributions.
To alleviate this “inequity as quickly as possible,” Rock also demanded a noticeable tax contribution from multi-millionaires, as well as those who own real estate and land. He criticized the current structure, calling it “anachronistic” for the welfare state to be primarily funded through contributions based on wages, or employees’ salaries. He labeled the current system “bizarre” because wealthy individuals in Germany can effectively choose whether or not to contribute to social insurance. Rock further criticized the situation, stating that the wealthiest often evade their responsibility and even lobby for cuts, while never experiencing the consequences of those reductions.
