'If you have 12 minutes, we have a solution' - The Social Democrats (A) and The Socialist People's Party (F) initiate their political and economic plan called Fair Solution put forward yesterday to ensure growth, employment, economic and financial stability in the years to come by public investments in job creation, building, health care, and green energy. A new new deal, as it were. The extra 12 minutes not only refers to the time spent on listening to the proposal on the web site, but more so it refers to an extra 12 minutes work time each day - or an hour a week - to ensure employment, revenues and financial basis for the Danish welfare society. The idea is to work our way out of the crisis rather than making cuts in public spending.
The proposal was relatively well received by supporting opposition parties of The Social Liberals (B), and The Red-Green Alliance (Ø), although the - reformers - Social Liberals criticised the reluctancy to touch the early retirement assurances, which would help reach the EU economic standards (the so-called convergence programme) of a maximum three percent budget deficit. They have their own solution to gain an extra 36 billion on the budget by 2015. And the red-greens found that certain groups of the Danish workforce already worked hard enough, and suggested gaining the proposed 14-15 billion Danish kroner extra by heavier taxation of the multinational companies.
The Social Democrat-Socialist People's Party propositition didn't go down well with the government parties of The Conservatives (C) and The Liberals (V) - but what propositition from a political opponent would? Economic experts were called upon to debate the proposal, from government supporters to opposition supporters. But economic calculations showed that the proposals from either side would help reach the EU standards almost with the same effect - if not one year earlier (2012) by the proposal put forward by the opposition. And then there are all the unknown factors that can be used to alter the statistics. A bit like selling rubber band by the yard, as an old cliché goes.
The Social Democrats and The Socialist People's Party will have to fight for their proposal. Although backed by the unions, varying polls show that people would like to pitch in one extra work hour a week - and that they don't want to - respectively. Again, a new new deal sold by the yard, just like rubber bands. The original New Deal was put forward and initiated in 1933 by Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt after the Great Depression in USA and comprised heavy public investments in building projects. It brought the US economy back on track within a three-year period. It was sold to the public under the slogan 'The only thing we have to fear is fear itself'. Apart from rubber bands, that is.
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