A comment from Rüdiger Rauls.
Peasants are not rebels under normal circumstances. Politics drives them to protest. Even at the time of the Peasants' Wars, the big lords themselves ensured that the little man became their enemy. Back then it was about tithes and compulsory labor. Today, bureaucratic requirements and the removal of tax breaks threaten farmers' livelihoods and not just theirs.
The farmers' distress
The gentlemen (and ladies) in Berlin must have had a hard time when thousands of farmers closed the capital's main traffic arteries on December 18th last year. “According to the organizer, around 8,000 to 10,000 people took part in the demonstration at the Brandenburg Gate, and more than 3,000 tractors were on the move in Berlin.”(1)
Since the Federal Constitutional Court declared the Berlin practice of moving money between special funds to be illegal with its ruling of November 15, 2023, the Berlin traffic light has been flashing in constant warning mode. Seventeen billion still have to be scraped together for the 2024 budget. Where to take and not to steal?
This means: All expenses are put to the test. All? No, spending on armaments and the war in Ukraine will not be cut, but spending on the country's own population will. This doesn't seem to be as important to those in power in Berlin as the desire to bring Russia to its knees and the idea that Ukraine has to win this war.
In order to get closer to the goal of a solid budget for 2024, promised state subsidies were canceled from one day to the next. But farmers are being hit particularly hard in this round of budget consolidation. Your agricultural machinery, which was previously tax-free, will be subject to vehicle tax. The previous exemption was based on the fact that these vehicles are primarily used off-road and therefore hardly wear out. Has anything changed about that?
At the same time as this new tax, farmers will also be given a tax reduction on diesel. This burdens farms with 21.5 cents per liter of diesel, which means an average loss of income of 4,000 euros per company. In addition, from the turn of the year, the carbon dioxide (CO2) tax will also be increased by fifty percent from thirty to forty-five euros per ton of CO2. Originally only forty euros were planned.
But this CO2 tax doesn't just affect farmers. It impacts everyone at the pumps and will cause fuel prices to rise even more. Freight forwarders are particularly affected by this, as the government is already digging deep into their pockets with new toll regulations if they drive combustion vehicles. This is done to protect the environment; But what else can they do since there are no trucks with electric drives?
The farmer's anger
As soon as these traffic light decisions were published, the farmers' collars burst. Overnight, so to speak, they got their protest together and got it rolling. The government seemed surprised and taken aback by the prompt response. She apparently did not expect that a well-organized professional group like the farmers would be able to act more quickly than people seem to be used to in political Berlin. In any case, in no time there were thousands of farmers with their tractors in front of the Brandenburg Gate.
The government had ducked away. Only the responsible Minister of Agriculture, Cem Özdemir, had to bite the bullet and represent the government in front of the farmers. He wasn't welcome and therefore seemed unsettled and unconvincing. Özdemir himself appeared outraged by these decisions, as if he were not a member of this government and had not been involved in the decision-making. As usual in such conflict situations, he assured the farmers of his full support, appeared combative and promised to do everything in his power in the interests of the farmers.
Perhaps he and his government hoped that irrelevant promises would appease the farmers and that they would then go home satisfied, trusting in his word. If these considerations were in the background, they were not fulfilled. Farmers' President Joachim Rukwied made it clear that the fight against the government's plans would be taken up as long as they were not canceled without replacement.
Farmers' protests continued in many cities and regions across the Federal Republic in the days following the Berlin event. Thousands of tractors blocked country roads and city centers. In the meantime, further demonstrations are being prepared for January 8th in some cities in the Federal Republic and a central event is being called for January 15th in Berlin (2).
But more and more other social groups are also joining the protest. The demands have now been adapted to the growing public participation. Now it is no longer just an action oriented solely towards the interests of farmers, but rather a “nationwide week of action for agricultural diesel and vehicle tax exemption, as well as toll and CO2 taxation.” (3). The demands that were originally limited to their own interests have been expanded to include those of the freight forwarders for relief from toll costs.
The fact that demonstrations against CO2 taxation also serve the interests of the entire population. Apparently people are aware that not much is gained by meeting job-specific demands alone if, on the other hand, these concessions are wiped out again by increasing CO2 taxation.
To take up the fight against CO2 taxation, the fighting power of farmers alone may not be enough. It seems to be clear that this requires broad support from the population. Because this is about more than just money. The fight against CO2 madness touches on a core of European politics. A question of political power is being asked, which the entire climate discussion has now developed into.
Nationwide anger
More and more people in this country are realizing this. It is the aloofness, stubbornness and blindness of those in power in Berlin and their parties that give the farmers' actions broad sympathy from the population. People have had enough. They are outraged by the traffic light policy, which has led to a massive deterioration in the living conditions of almost all social groups.
The lives of most people in Germany have been characterized by uncertainty since the sanctions against Russia have become increasingly damaging to their own economy. Energy prices have risen massively and, as a result, so have food prices. If the farmers' production costs and the transport costs of the freight forwarders also rise, this will certainly have an impact on food prices.
According to a study from Özdemir's ministry from March 2023, "3.5 percent or around 3 million people ... cannot afford the products necessary for a healthy diet every day." (4) The Federal Association of Food Banks announced in the middle of the year that that now “36% of member organizations… have up to 50 percent more customers. A fifth have up to twice as many people, another 16% more than twice as many people"(5) who are dependent on food donations in one of the richest countries in the world, which are also becoming increasingly scarce.
But the effects of the sanctions do not go unnoticed by all the others. People feel it in all areas of life. Increased interest rates were intended to combat inflation, but housing associations are also being driven into ruin. New private housing construction has become unprofitable due to increased interest rates and material costs. Instead of promoting public housing, money flows into armaments and financing Ukraine that would be necessary for the needs of its own population. Housing shortages are causing rents to rise.
Nationwide support
In this heating up mood, after the pictures from Berlin, a jolt of optimism and relief seemed to go through the country. Finally someone seems to be taking control of the business. Finally someone is protesting against this government and its quixotic decisions. The discontent that has been simmering for a long time now seems to have direction and leadership.
Despite the obstructions caused by the farmers' demonstrations in cities and on country roads, their actions were met with an understanding and benevolent attitude among the population. People know very well how to distinguish whether self-righteous climate activists are hindering them on the way to work or hard-working farmers. Their demands are understandable for most people, and many see them as consistent with their own concerns.
Even when the farmers' demands were largely based on their own interests and most citizens could not actually see themselves in them, this did not stop a large number of them from showing solidarity with the farmers. A petition “Against the cancellation of the agricultural diesel refund & vehicle tax exemption (agriculture)” (6) , which was started on December 17, 2023, was signed by more than a million people within a few days.
The fact that farmers have now expanded their demands shows their sensitivity to the situation. Unlike politicians, media representatives and so-called experts, they themselves are a down-to-earth part of the population. They seem to be aware that they have to win broad support from the population. And this support comes to them, they don't even have to fight for it.
The farmers are well organized, and they are currently the only organization in Germany that is taking up the fight against a government that has become increasingly distant from the living conditions of the majority of the population. The majority of people who suffer from the government's decisions are not organized and are therefore defenseless against the declaration of war from above.
In this situation, the farmers offer anchor and support for all those who want to defend themselves. You bundle their willingness to resist and thus increase your own assertiveness. Therefore, it is in the interest of everyone who is dissatisfied with the government's measures and policies to support the farmers with all their might, because there is no comparable force in the country that could organize and successfully lead the struggle. They represent the interests of the entire population.
Sources and notes
(2) https://t.me/LsV_RLP_ev/21
(3) ibid
(4) Handelsblatt from December 20, 2023: There is a lack of money for food
(5) ibid
(6) Against the cancellation of the agricultural diesel refund and vehicle tax exemption (agriculture)
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Rüdiger Rauls is an author and runs the blog Political Analysis
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We thank the author for the right to publish the article.
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Image source: Juergen Nowak / shutterstock
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No one should watch what they love being raped.
Canada is keeping its democratic fingers crossed for Germany.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQKfHKHzN_4
Andreas Popp & Eva Herman: Just helpless stammering
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rD5k_WUzxI
aknovo January 3, 2024 at 1:06 pm
“The demand for new elections shows that the farmers' association is also completely compliant (infiltrated?) with the system. Supporting the movement is certainly good, but not in ALL aspects!”
What do you expect then? People care about money as well as the living conditions of their families and the future prospects of their children. Is not this enough? Do higher values always have to be in play? Does it always have to be about the system or even about overthrowing it? Are you not allowed to be system compliant? The vast majority of people in this country conform to the system. You probably are too, without perhaps knowing or noticing it. What do you expect? People are not born subversives or revolutionaries. When such developments occur, it is because of the experiences that people have, not because of their genes and certainly not because they are supposed to serve or fulfill the expectations of others.
Also, no one expects YOU to support the movement in ALL aspects. Although I don't know which ones should be supported and which ones not. That's not a confession of faith, not a membership in a club. It's about representing interests, your own interests. That's a lot today in this world with screwed up values. That speaks for a sense of reality in a world in which hardly anyone seems to stand up for interests anymore, only for values, for the good, for the higher and highest, for democracies or our democracy or even the right, the true democracy, but not more for something as basic as interests. And it is the task of those who are not farmers themselves to recognize to what extent their own interests are affected by this movement. If you don't realize that it's also about your own skin, then you shouldn't take part. Very easy.
triple-delta says: January 3, 2024 at 12:10 p.m
“All the uprisings had one thing in common: they knew what they were against, but not for what. Protesting against this is the simplest form without questioning the social conditions that underlie everything. If the protests turn into an uprising, the question of the goals must be clarified above all. Here you have to be clear about capitalism itself.”
The same applies to you as to @aknovo. What high expectations you have! It's worth a lot to know what you're against, i.e. what you want to stop. This is the first step, the beginning. You can't say at the beginning what will happen. Developments will show that. The farmers and the many who support them are primarily concerned with economic demands. If these are successful, then their political impact should not be underestimated in the current situation. As already mentioned in the article, the CO2 tax in particular is about more than just an economic demand. This is about a core area of (values) Western politics. Most actors are probably not even aware of the explosive nature of this demand. Apparently you don't either, otherwise you wouldn't be asking the system question right away. For many, these “big” goals and topics no longer seem to matter. Uprisings are flirted with and social conditions are questioned. It cannot be ruled out that this may happen. But you can't approach a movement with such demands from the outset. This can actually only lead to disappointment. And who would that serve?
@Mimir
…you grew up in Romania and experienced that there???
And myself?
Is that really Rüdiger Rauls who makes comments here?
Can't imagine that. His contribution had a certain objectivity.
Just wanted to raise the issue that it is important to use tax dollars correctly. Not for weapons and wars, but for the city and the country. War economy is not good for agriculture. The money is then collected from the farmer. What is there not to understand? And if someone recognized this connection and took to the streets for peace and for the farmer, that cannot be described as arrogant or ideological.
I'm glad that the farmers perhaps understood that. And I would like to support them too.
The demand for new elections shows that the farmers' association is also completely compliant with the system (infiltrated?).
If Blackrock-Fritz (March) is chancellor, then WHAT will change?
Supporting the movement is certainly good, but not in ALL aspects!
CAVE!!! (Watch out!)
In history class at POS we also analyzed uprisings, from Spartacus to the Linen Weaver Uprising. All the uprisings had one thing in common: they knew what they were against, but not for what. This comment also suggests that it is only because of the government and its attitude, stupidity etc. that such measures are taken. Protesting against this is the simplest form without questioning the social conditions that underlie everything. If the protests turn into an uprising, the question of the goals must be clarified above all. Here you have to be clear about capitalism itself.
Every sensible housewife knows this.
Don't spend more than you earn, don't spend what you don't have and, above all, don't foolishly waste other people's hard-earned money.
We would be one step further in the right direction.
Capitalism or not.
"Finally someone seems to be taking control of business. Finally someone is starting to protest against this government and its quixotic decisions."
Oh Mr. Rauls, where have you lived the last few years? We* protested against the federal government's measures in 2020, were in Berlin twice, were on the streets in Cologne, Dresden and after 31 years again in Leipzig, it was a nice déjà vu experience :-)
Oh, before that we* were also quite active, for example against TTIPP at the big demonstration in Berlin in 2015. But of course: someone finally seems to be taking control of the business."
But the farmers have explicitly distanced themselves from the critics of the Corona measures. Now they are coming out of their holes where they are personally hurting financially, extremely weak...
*all those who still think, think outside the box and can use their own mind without instructions.
Querdenker says January 2, 2024
"Oh, before that we were also quite active, for example against TTIPP at the big demonstration in Berlin in 2015. But of course: someone finally seems to be taking control of the business."
But the farmers have explicitly distanced themselves from the critics of the Corona measures. Now they are coming out of their holes where they are personally hurting financially, extremely weak...
*all those who still think, think outside the box and can use their own mind without instructions."
It doesn't seem like it's that far off when it comes to using your own mind. Just because farmers today have different interests than THEY did back then doesn't mean they are stupid. In this respect, people like YOU don't seem to differ from the mainstreamers: Anyone who thinks differently than me is stupid or can't think for themselves?
Apparently your thinking doesn't go so far that you noticed that the farmers' protest and that of the lateral thinkers at the time were about other topics and therefore other interests. Maybe you should look a little further, further than 2015 and TTIPP, then you would realize that there were already disputes before that in which YOU were probably not involved. The world did not begin with YOU or when YOU woke up and began to demonstrate. The farmers were already fighting, they didn't even exist back then. So don't make yourself the starting point of rebellion and the complacent center of intellectual activity. This happened before.
The fact that the farmers “come out of their holes now” is their business. Or do YOU want to decide when who has to rise up against whom? Yes, the farmers did not clearly take part in the demonstrations against Corona. AND? Is this the measure of all things for YOU? The farmers obviously saw things differently back then, as did the majority of the population. Today they are fighting for their interests. If, despite YOUR superior thinking skills, YOU don't realize that it's YOUR interests, then you don't have to take part. Stay at home. IT also works without YOU. But the attitude: I don't do mine with you because you didn't play with ME is simply childish and actually extremely apolitical. This is petty.
"It doesn't seem like it's that far off when it comes to using your own mind. Just because farmers today have different interests than THEY did back then doesn't mean they're stupid."
Dear Mr. Rauls, we don't even need to talk at this level, there's nothing about "stupid" or anything like that in my post! Personal put-downs may make you feel better, but they certainly won't make you a better person ;-(
I would like to make one more factual comment. You didn't notice, and probably neither did the farmers or other groups with special interests, when you wrote: "Just because the farmers today have different interests than THEY did back then, ..."
No, it wasn't other people, it was basically the same interests, only looking at their own "belly button" prevented this realization. Just think about it …
PS: Otherwise, thank you Mr. Rauls for responding to comments here as an author, that is not a given. Oh, if I wished there was a more objective style...
An Herrn Raul.
:-)
Do not.
There will be no revolt of the population with the overthrow of the government, as happened in Romania, in Germany. The military and police have to switch sides first, which won't happen as long as they're doing well.
In Romania the people were starving, freezing, poor medical care, police and army members also had to suffer, which is why they switched to the side of the population! Even a large part of the secret service. In Germany the supermarkets are full, electricity, gas and fuel are available, people are queuing in front of H&M, Prada, Luis Vuitton etc. The majority will not take to the streets.
Romania is also not an occupied country. Even if the entire German people stuck together, the US military would still be here.
The fact that in Romania the people brought about Ceausescu's overthrow and change is the biggest mistake of all time. Anyone who thinks or believes something like that doesn't have the slightest idea what was going on.
And now Romania is also an occupied country. The Americans have military bases there and, above all, are in charge.
Dear Mr. Rauls.
It should also be mentioned that this great movement, which needs the support of us, distances itself loudly and clearly from those of us who have been on the streets since 2014 - or since 2020 until today.
That these farmers who provide us with food so well, but as soon as glyphosate is banned, will go to the barricades to prevent this.
Who collect money for disused meadows and fields or have wind turbines/solar fields built and their descendants use this non-performance-related income to buy at least one sports car per year. (I have a meadow myself and people are constantly trying to persuade me to build the same facilities. "NEVER").
They cut branches from my oak trees without my knowledge so that they can get more area and more money through CPS measurement.
The great fighters also waited outside Berlin until our citizens in uniform gave them permission to enter Berlin.
That seems very flimsy to me. Let's wait and see what happens next or not.
very good! I find the farmers' demands to be 'questionable' and, as an active 'Monday walker', far too late! In response to a request from me, when tractors had long been active in our neighboring countries, I was referred to the green license plates (it's not that easy in Germany...). Time will tell and solidarity doesn't always mean 'agreeing'.
"It should also be mentioned that this great movement, which needs the support of us, distances itself loudly and clearly from those of us who have been on the streets since 2014 - or since 2020 until today."
@Helmut Edelhaeusser: I can only agree with that! However, Mr. Rauls lacks the arguments for this and loses himself in personal insults and belittlements when he makes this reference. Take a look at what exactly he replied to this comment above...
We've been taking to the streets for peace for an infinitely long time, also to avoid having to pay for all the bullshit. This is now dawning on the farmers too. We should continue to work for peace.
This is the only way we should stand together on the side of the farmers.
From another chat on this post of mine. For me, the connection mentioned is neglected in Raul's contribution. For me, the ego side of the farmers, who think primarily about their profit and let themselves be heard very late, is neglected. You also don't hear that they want to operate in an environmentally friendly and sustainable manner. The problem is too short-sighted.
"You also don't hear that they want to operate in an environmentally friendly and sustainable manner."
What exactly does it mean now?
Electric tractors or combine harvesters, I haven't heard of them yet...
Profit??? Do you perhaps know how much the farmers are practically forced to sell the milk for? In October 2023 it was just 43 cents on average. The average consumer pays more than two and a half times as much in the store.
And that was just an example.
The farmers can count themselves lucky if anything remains at all. Agricultural machines need to be maintained, need spare parts, go to the TÜV, etc.
As far as I know, the MOT for something like this is a few cents more expensive than for a car.
In fact, you have underestimated the problem.
Yes that would be nice.
"Only in this way should we stand together on the side of the farmers."
But they don't want it at all because they care about their wallets and not about freedom and peace for all of us.
@Mimik, all the problems that move a farmer, a farmer with heart and soul, should be on the table.
A farmer who wants to sell healthy agricultural products, who cares about healthy soils with earthworms, who follows crop rotations, who doesn't just grow rapeseed and animal feed, who prefers mechanical processing,
Gives insects a chance, is an organic farmer.
It's a challenge to be such a farmer. I'm happy to take to the streets for a farmer like that. Because I am also interested in healthy farm products.
Helmut Edelhaeusser says January 2, 2024
"Only in this way should we stand together on the side of the farmers."
But they don't want it at all because they care about their wallets and not about freedom and peace for all of us."
Wrong: YOU don't want to. YOU project! Yes, they care about the money. What's so reprehensible about that? I don't know how YOU make money? But are YOU only concerned with “freedom and peace”? No, it's about money for you too, for all of us. What is objectionable about that? Don't you need one to make ends meet? Do YOU live on “peace and freedom” or maybe even on a piece of bread? Do YOU think your commitment is of higher value because YOU stand up for peace and freedom? Idealism is all well and good. Unfortunately, it often leads to arrogance, to the extent that idealists believe they are better people because they stand for higher values. No, you're not. The greatest mass murderers were idealists. They exterminated the inhabitants of South America to bring them Christian values. They destroyed the Jews to keep their own race pure. They murdered millions of Vietnamese and contaminated their land to save them from communism. All idealists who exterminated millions for higher values. I praise every simple farmer who only fights for his wallet.
"...not only grows rapeseed and animal feed, prefers mechanical processing,..."
What's bad about rapeseed and animal feed?
And should you cultivate fields measuring several hectares with horses, oxen and wooden plows?
You can also go straight back to the oil lamp, water from the well and outhouse.
Although, well, oil is not entirely unproblematic.
paul1 said January 2, 2024
"We've been taking to the streets for peace for an infinitely long time, also to avoid having to pay for all the bullshit. Now it's dawning on the farmers too. We should continue to work for peace. This is the only way we should stand together on the side of the farmers. "
What I have already mentioned elsewhere also applies to YOU: Just because you have already demonstrated on other occasions and, in your opinion, the farmers did not support you, do you not take part in them? Well then, stay at home. Luckily it doesn't depend on YOU. If you don't realize that your interests are at stake, stay home.
Keep taking to the streets for peace. But do you seriously believe that the powerful in the world will be impressed by the peace demonstrations here? Do you think this will end the war in Ukraine or Gaza? But if you don't believe in it, then ask yourself the following questions: Why am I really going to demonstrate? What do I care about? Isn't it a little bit about feeling like a better person?"
And then please explain to me what freedom demonstrations have to do with peasant protests. So in your view, whoever advocates for peace can only demonstrate against economic measures? The farmers don't deserve any support because they ONLY fight for their money? The railway workers are not allowed to strike either? It's all about money, not about peace or other higher values,
I don't know how you make money. But there are many people for whom having more money is the greatest thing. Read my article again in the places where the situation is described on the boards and the situation in some refrigerators in many kitchens. Don't you think it's the best thing for these people to have a little more of the money in their pockets that people like YOU look down on? Or should this also apply to these poor suckers: first demonstrate for peace, then for money.
I don't know what brings us closer to peace in Ukraine? If you continue to walk the streets for years to come calling for peace that those in power won't hear. Or if the war ends due to a lack of supplies because the German government no longer has enough money for weapons? Or at least when she notices that people are less and less willing to make sacrifices for war. I know this is not the background of the farmers' protests. And yet it can develop into such a situation. The French Revolution began not with a call for the overthrow of the monarchy, but with a call for bread. The price of bread today is the cost of energy. But it's all about money. How insignificant in the eyes of an idealist!
@Rüdiger Raul
I completely agree with you. It's about (more) money, but not about buying a "sports car every year" (as someone here claimed) but about enabling yourself and your family to live a reasonably decent life.
And that shouldn't be too much to ask in this very rich country.
Dear Mr. Ruediger Rauls
You can see that they are doing exactly what they accuse others of doing.
I haven't worked for this system since 2001 (9/11).
Since I know that the Federal Republic of Germany gave weapons and money to Ukraine before 2014 and that the genocide in Donbass began in May 2014, I did not use any public money.
I've been alone on the street EVERY DAY since then. I lost a good vigil comrade in 2016. (Truck driver in Donbass, he was shot there).
I exchange wherever I can and avoid using worthless money as much as possible.
I've been taking care of myself for many years. I make everything myself as much as possible.
Bread / ham / vinegar / oils / wines / teas / liqueurs / sauerkraut / I collect 113 types of mushrooms Dry - pickle and cook and grow 4 myself etc.
So you are accusing me of killing people for my personal goals?
Believe me, I don't give a shit about money, I just recently turned down an inheritance because you can't eat money.
Now you see what money is to me and that I refuse to buy poisoned fillers (called food).
I also think that their statements are very personal and almost insulting.
Another time I currently have to peel 75 kilos of walnuts (OIL) and no one else can do that for me.
Oh my goodness…
Your spelling is breathtaking!
I don't want to go into more detail about Mr. Raul's content here, everything has already been said. Nor is it that he doesn't actually have any arguments, otherwise he wouldn't have to work with insinuations and personal insults.
No, all I'm really interested in here is Mr. Rauls, why do you have to _scream_ so often?! It's a fairly well-mannered forum and you're welcome to join in. Yes, but OK, if you don't have any arguments you just scream, sad :-(
Querdenker says January 3, 2024 at 12:27 am
"It's also not that he doesn't actually have any arguments, otherwise he wouldn't have to work with insinuations and personal insults."
Yes / Yes. I always hear that from those who have nothing of substance to contribute. This is the theatrical retreat of the offended diva when she doesn't get the attention she believes she deserves. For the idealists, this is the moment when they realize that their empty phrases have turned out to be what they are: empty of content.
"It's a reasonably civilized forum and you could also join in the form. Yes, but OK, if you don't have any arguments you just scream, sad."
Do I understand YOU correctly that YOU consider sentences like:
"All those who still think, think outside the box and can use their own minds without instructions."
Is that polite in YOUR eyes? And it's immoral to say clearly what YOU really mean: Everyone else who doesn't think like I do is stupid.
What YOU are expressing is contempt in the polished and varnished form of “good form”. People like YOU don't have the guts to express their opinions unequivocally. People like you poison the forums with your contempt for others.
Dear Mr. Ruediger Rauls
I'm going to give this another few minutes.
As you've already seen, I don't care about money, so I can't be part of your accusations against me and it doesn't apply to me either. Even though they claim that "WE" are all about the money, as if we knew each other.
Then I'm "YOU" again - "YOU" - "US" - Please make up your mind and refrain from making any assumptions.
I never claimed my commitment was of higher quality, that probably came from them.
And yes, I'm an idealist because I've always tried to live in and with nature and act that way (preserving nature "without pesticides etc.), I really can't remember ever claiming to be a better person, which happens too from them.
I also can't remember (Balkensepp values) or having forced racist views on anyone or even murdering anyone. Vietnamese etc are my friends.
To finally conclude this: I never said that I wouldn't or didn't want to support the farmers. No, the only thing I said was that they distanced themselves from us and not us/me.
Apparently you are a "survivalist" if you don't care about money.
May I ask how you manage your electricity bill, water bill and whatever else comes up?
pay? In nature, for example?
Mimir
""3. January 2024 at 3:29 p.m
Apparently you are a "survivalist" if you don't care about money.
May I ask how you manage your electricity bill, water bill and whatever else comes up?
pay? In nature, for example?""
Yes, I don't care about money. Of course, I pay for my electricity with worthless money, just like you might. I don't want to discuss how I earn it here. By shitting on money I mean that I don't chase money unnecessarily in order to have more and more and thus waste my life energy. I take water from our mother earth.
Oh, Mr Rauls, but of course Ukraine is “supported”.
And as long as it is necessary, “no matter what the voters think.” Or not?…
As for Cem Özdemir, as you say, he seems to have forgotten that he is part of this government.
If he can't do anything except just talk stupidly, then he should resign out of self-respect.
But this whole bunch of "politicians" don't even know how to spell "self-respect."
And those who have no self-respect also have no respect for their fellow human beings.
Dear Mr. Raul, I would like to provide you with some more information on this topic.
In terms of tax law, there are three groups of farmers:
1. Farmers with large sales, these are required to keep accounts and are taxed on a calendar year or business year basis and are entitled to deduct sales tax.
2. Farmers up to a certain turnover - their tax profit determination is "flat rate" depending on the size of the field cultivation, for each operating year and is not eligible for sales tax deduction.
3. Very small farmers are taxed according to a simple income/expenditure surplus calculation, every year and are not entitled to deduct sales tax.
I have to describe it in detail at this point, as the effects on my work are significant, keyword: do you need an invoice for everything or not...
I belong to group 3 with the management of 7ha of forest.
The federal government recently announced that it would significantly reduce the sales limit for Group 2 to EUR 600 thousand in 2024. This is also a significant part of the conflict, at least for Group 2. However, this is not debated in the press; the interests of Group 1 are represented there.
Group 2 is responsible for taxing ldw. Working machines like the tax refund for diesel directly affect your own (private) wallet. For group 1, both are just tax-relevant expenses.
For me as Group 3/Forestry I disclose the following:
– I never applied for and received a tax refund for diesel, as it was below the de minimis limit. The massive diesel price increase from 2021 to 2022 hit me extremely hard. The tractors run on a winch or wooden trailer and need their diesel.
– Forest management already has high fixed costs (i.e. without doing anything): extremely high professional insurance based on forest area, vehicle insurance, TÜV. In addition, extremely high operating costs because wear and breakage are high in the forest. It's not that easy to drive in the mud.
– If you add the vehicle tax of EUR 650, the pure fixed costs are around EUR 1,300 per year for me. The vehicle tax is 50% of this.
– On the income side, there is not much that can be done with 7 hectares of forest, unless I overexploit. But I personally don't want that. However, storm and drought damage forces me to work in the spruce stands again and again. In 2020 I had to sell 35 cubic meters of wood from bark beetle damage with an hourly wage equivalent to EUR 3.5 from the proceeds after deducting costs.
– The tax authorities have stopped any practical support for forestry. The funding models are based on pure extortion (e.g. funding for planting costs (reforestation), but after 10 years 80% of the young plants must still be present, otherwise full repayment of the funding + penalty - how can you do that in times of drought stress?)
– My maintenance costs for the 7 hectares of forest are enormously high anyway because I have around 3 hectares of reforested area. The last thing in this situation is vehicle tax for vehicles whose share on public roads I can count in minutes per year. And before anyone gets the wrong idea: the field and forest paths are paid for by the landowners, not the tax authorities.
Reforestation is difficult and time-consuming work. And for the environmental romantics here in the forum: Even after 12 years of being left alone, not a single tree can be found on an area of 2 hectares, so much for natural reforestation.
Long story short:
a) There is no doubt that Group 3 should be eliminated. There will no longer be any smaller private forest owners in the future.
b) Group 1 in the forest is also called feudal rule. That's what we had before Napoleon, and that's where we should go again.
c) Taxation of ldw work machines and the tax refund on diesel are just one of many previous measures to enforce a feudal system.
And finally, a little twist: The previous exemption from vehicle tax on work machines only happened after an application was granted, and only if you could prove your economic existence for tax purposes. Many people in the forest have already failed.
Whoever controls the energy is able to control entire nations; whoever controls the food controls the people.
-Henry Kissinger.
However, whoever rules the money rules the world. Money rules the world - but who rules the money?
It is time for the ego-free alien intelligence (AI) to disqualify those in power with a lot of healthy humor until people have learned to control themselves in love.
Everyone is welcome to take part.
Love is the key.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbehmYNQXuU
PS I mean before it's too late for everything.
"Do what you love and love what you do."
"It's time for the ego-free alien intelligence (AI) to disqualify those in power with a lot of healthy humor until people have learned to control themselves in love. Everyone is warmly invited to take part. Love is the key."
I can only hope none of the farmers read this. They will grab their heads and probably ignore sites like apolut in the future. You can probably achieve something like that in your esoteric after-work self-help group, but not with people who are in the middle of life and perhaps even in the fight for their existence, their own and their family's, the future of their children. Do you think that they can feed themselves on air and love or pay for their school books with it? Come down to the planet instead of being at home in the airy clouds of otherworldliness.
Do YOU and people like you occasionally think about what world they live in and, above all, that they don't live there alone? Who are you trying to reach with such nonsense? This is a mockery of people who have to deal with serious, existential problems.
The good news:
We are our ego, but our ego is not us.
Everyone should find out for themselves.
Otherwise the answer to all questions is only 42.
Mr. Rüdiger Rauls, we really understand each other better.
My sympathy goes out to the farmers and I have nothing against them now
Plow the meadow in front of the Bundestag in 3D so that something sensible grows there.
Only in the paradigm of the dominant competitive culture can this be destroyed very quickly
What you think you have to fight for out of sheer anger and fear.
Those who love are not afraid and those who are afraid do not love.
The way out of fear always leads through fear.
Bridging the gap into sensible cooperation can break the divide with ease
of being (5D) can now be overcome by playing.
The farmers have a lot of power and are anything but powerless.
However, this applies to leveraged bets.
The pen is stronger than the sword and the plow.
My self-image is to cushion and balance reality for the human family via the 5th dimension.
Nobody likes bathing in a bathtub that is too hot or cold.
Of course, the answer to all questions cannot be 42 per se.
https://www.konjunktion.info/2014/08/neue-weltordnung-steht-die-nach-david-rockefeller-alles-veraendernde-grosse-krise-unmittelbar-bevor/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQKfHKHzN_4
@Poseidon 1
Well, Poseidon, I have to agree with Mr. Rauls.
The farmers won't be able to do much with love alone or "We are our ego, but our ego is not us" etc. Just like with Scholz's stupid sayings - stick together, look forward, confident and optimistic that blah, blah...
Professionals have to get to work in order to put all this nonsense, actually this one catastrophe, that this "government" has caused back on track.
And we don't have that. And the future looks correspondingly bleak because it won't happen any time soon. Or if they do, they will be put down immediately. Anti-democratic, right-wing and everything like that.
"Houston, We’ve Had a Problem"
Mimir, I think you underestimate our farmers.
This could be Germany's finest hour.
It is clear that agricultural engineers approach the problems posed differently,
as a lightworker.
Ultimately, through sensible balancing and self-control, we will grow together over the problems.
This is part of our path in life.
The infinite energy for this comes from universal love.
You can also try using the “inner monkey”.
Today he is facing the abyss and tomorrow he will be one step further.
If you win people's hearts, you don't have to worry about their minds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdvoA-sjs0A