Joachim Kuhs, May 3, 2020, Church Tax Revenues

Joachim Kuhs

Church Tax Revenues

AfD Kompakt, May 3, 2020

[Joachim Kuhs is an Alternative für Deutschland member of the European Parliament where he is the AfD’s budget policy spokesman. He is also head of the Christians in the AfD organization.]

The German Amtskirchen [official churches] have made themselves much too dependent on the church tax. Instead of growing living communities true to the confession, they have developed into welfare businesses with quasi civil service personnel. The sad consequence is each worldly crisis hits the secularized church with full force. We see that now in the Corona crisis. The German church princelings should grasp the Corona crisis as an opportunity to lead the Church back to its Christian core. In that regard, it may be helpful to completely renounce for many months the church tax and state benefits. That would be good for the churches and the taxpayer.  

[Translated by Todd Martin]

Alexander Gauland, May 2, 2020, Church and State

Alexander Gauland

Church and State

AfD Kompakt, May 2, 2020

[Alexander Gauland is honorary national chairman of the Alternative für Deutschland and a chairman of the AfD delegation in the Bundestag. He here responds to a recent court ruling concerning the government’s regulation of public gatherings during the Corona pandemic.]

The decision of the Federal Constitutional Court is very welcome. However, the Christian Amtskirchen [official churches] ought to be ashamed that it required a Moslem mosque association to sue for this basic right in Germany. The former, essentially with a shrug, accepted the total suspension of the basic right to undisturbed religious practice. Not even Christian funerals were regularly performed.

For long have both Christian Amtskirchen neglected their core duty of the cure of souls in favor of a biased involvement in daily politics. Now, when it comes to the elementary concerns of Christians, the Church hierarchy takes a dive. It is quite clear that the membership decline of the churches will not be thusly halted.

[Translated by Todd Martin]

Marc Bernhard, April 23, 2020, Relief of Home Heating Costs

Marc Bernhard

Relief of Home Heating Costs

German Bundestag, April 23, 2020, Plenarprotokoll 19/156, pp. 19355-19356

[Marc Bernhard is an Alternative für Deutschland Bundestag member from the western German state of Baden-Württemberg. He is an information technology manager. He here responds to a draft law presented by the government for the relief of home heating costs.]

Frau President. Right honorable colleagues.

Chancellor Merkel says the Corona crisis is the greatest challenge to our country since the Second World War. According to the IMF, it is the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression of the late 1920s. According to McKinsey’s estimates, 59 million work positions are in danger in Europe. A never before seen wave of insolvency threatens Germany.

Now at last, the government must finally end its useless and anti-economic climate hysteria and stop the introduction of the CO₂ tax.   

            Anja Weisgerber (CSU-CSU): There is no CO₂ tax! You know that!

Poland and the Czechs show how it’s done: They are using the crisis to relieve their citizens by questioning these ostensibly world-saving yet ineffective measures.

            Franciska Brantner (Greens): Haven’t you noticed the drought outside?

And what does the Federal government do? With irresponsible ways and means, it adheres to its wrong-way climate policy and lays before us here a draft law which, according to its own statements, will soften the harshness of its climate package. Thus the government with its ideologically driven policy first dishes up the damage and then grandiosely returns a small, ephemeral portion of the money previously extorted from the citizens.  

            Ulli Nissen (SPD): What nonsense!

Your climate package will raise the price of residence in Germany beginning next year by 14 billion euros. The tenants’ association [Mieterbund] thereby figures, even without the CO₂ tax, on an average cost increase for each household of 200 euros per month per resident. Now, in consideration, the government wishes to supplement the housing allowance [Wohngeld] of 660,000 low income households with a one-time (to be sure), laughable 120 million euros. The citizens themselves must pay the remaining 13.9 billion euros.

            Anja Weisgerber (CDU-CSU): That is not correct!

Thus, foremost will be hit once again the hard working middle class. According to the government’s estimates concerning the CO₂ tax, 25,000 households, thus more than 60,000 people, who hitherto have drawn no social benefits, will in the future be directed to public support for residency. The government itself thus admits that its policy is driving people into poverty. There, by way of exception, are you right: These people, who previously themselves could pay for their living expenses, will now by you be degraded to supplicants of public support.

            Ulli Nissen (SPD): There are no supplicants! They have a claim!

Due to your policy, we in Germany have the highest electricity prices – with the result that each year 350,000 households have their electricity cut off.

            Johann Saathoff (SPD): Distinctly reduced!

Through 2025, each family of four will have paid 25,000 euros for your botched energy transition. Your CO₂ tax beginning next year will cost this family of four an additional 1,000 euros, increasing to over 2,600 euros per year by 2026.  

            Johann Saathoff (SPD): Have you figured that?

At last, before the background of the present crisis, there must now finally be a fundamental turnabout. The people of Germany can no longer bear your Green ideology, anti-economic experiments.

           

            Ulli Nissen (SPD): We cannot bear any longer to listen to you!

[Translated by Todd Martin]