The ‘autumn of reforms’ is turning into the ‘autumn of commissions’
Employers' President Dr. Rainer Dulger comments on the Social Welfare Commission:
The ‘autumn of reforms’ is turning into the ‘autumn of commissions’
Berlin, 22 August 2025. "We are facing the “autumn of reforms”. That is what Chancellor Friedrich Merz has announced. In particular, the social security systems are finally to be tackled. So far, so good. The Chancellor has our full support.
The federal ministries are responsible for implementation. However, I cannot see an “autumn of reforms” here, only an “autumn of commissions”. There are to be commissions for the welfare state, for the modernisation of the state, for pensions, for care and also for health.
Commissions are good when solutions to complex and new problems are being sought. But do we really have a problem with knowledge? Hardly. The problematic developments in social security have been known for years. Contributions are rising and rising. Employees are left with less and less net income from their gross income. The increasing burden is making companies less competitive.
Reform proposals are on the table. There is no shortage of concepts. What is lacking is decisions. There is a lack of politicians who address the issues and initiate an honest debate. So far, I have only heard Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Katherina Reiche speak out on this. We need this debate. Yes, it will be tough because it involves measures that are painful in some cases, but necessary. But we must have this debate as a society. Politicians must not shy away from it. In the end, there must be political decisions and a clear path forward.
A commission is not a reform. It buys politicians time, but it does not solve problems. While files are being filled and meetings scheduled, our country is losing its competitiveness. In football, this is called playing for time. Time that we do not have.
Just as wrong as postponing reforms is trying to solve problems with more money. The state is supposed to pump even more money into social security to stabilise it. However, we forget that in this case, the ‘state’ is the taxes paid by citizens and businesses. Tax increases, as are now being proposed by the SPD, are completely the wrong way to go. They further stifle economic growth and demotivate high achievers. The fact that some politicians are even talking about tax increases in the third year of recession is an indictment of their incompetence."
