The bourgeoisie discusses its accounts: the budget talks
Following the summer recess, the budget talks will officially begin on 21 September. All parties, from left to right, and even the trade union leadership, agree that the ‘budget problem’ must be resolved. The terminally ill tree of capitalism needs pruning yet again.
“Prune at the top – they’re getting too much sunlight!”
“Prune in the middle – that’s where you’ll notice it least!”
“Prune everything at the bottom – let the top grow!”
Within this framework, they are squabbling amongst themselves over which branches should be pruned first. But what is the real cause, and how did we end up here? What is their real aim, and who will foot the bill?
The budget deficit and the expenses of capital.
Our dire economic situation – primarily the fall in social security contributions, stagnant growth, rising pension expenditure and the endless handouts to businesses – is weighing heavily on the budget.
The government claims that around 10 billion euros must be found by 2029. Not for our households, our daily bread or our energy bills, but for businesses and militarisation.
The way in which our government has ended up with a budget deficit of 35 billion (5 per cent of GDP) and a public debt of 108 per cent becomes clear. Whilst the working class has to scrape by by selling their labour, successive governments have handed out billions of euros to companies, banks and the military-industrial complex.
To bail out the banks in 2008, the Leterme I government (comprising Christian Democrats, Liberals and Social Democrats) injected 20 billion into the sector. To do so, the government took out substantial loans, which caused the national debt to rise for many years to come.
Companies receive more than 25 billion euros a year in direct support, and even more than 50 billion if we include indirect support (cost reductions, etc.).
Given that our country is also a member of NATO, our government has finally decided to increase spending on militarisation to 3.5 per cent of GDP. This costs an additional 12 billion euros annually, or 23 billion euros in total.
Successive Belgian governments have been cutting state revenue for decades to benefit corporate profits. In the name of competitiveness, corporation tax was reduced from 48 per cent to 25 per cent, costing us more than 20 billion euros a year and enabling many companies to pay less tax thanks to the “corporation” status. Employers’ social security contributions have been cut since 1981 as a result of the 1973 oil crisis, leading to a loss of more than 25 billion per year for the social security system.
Who pays the price?
It is thus clear that the budget deficit and the sky-high debts were not caused by the working class, but by the capitalists, the banks and the bourgeois state, whilst the profits flowed into their pockets.
So let us not concern ourselves with the bourgeoisie’s accounting and the repayment of their debts. Our position is clear: the working class must not pay a single penny.
Once again, we are facing a period of stagflation; once again, successive governments of all political colours and parties are trying to ‘solve’ the problem by making cuts to healthcare, social security, unemployment benefits, pensions, education and public services.
Once again, they are putting forward the same proposals to make us pay for the debts they have caused.
What proposals are on the table?
After N-VA mayor Els van Doesburg said we should have more children, the CD&V is proposing cuts to child benefit. The CD&V does not want to affect the elderly, but the future of young people can be sacrificed for the sake of savings; they also want a one-off index-linked increase for the unemployed.
The N-VA wants to raise VAT from 21 per cent to 22 per cent, and the 6 per cent and 12 per cent rates would be harmonised to 9 per cent. However, this anti-social measure would only tax consumption and make life even more expensive; this is a measure that the working class must not accept, even with a pay rise.
In addition, other solutions are being proposed, such as cuts to pensions and healthcare. A cap on public sector employment and even the taxation of health insurance funds and our trade unions are also being proposed.
The N-VA wants to discuss state reform once again; the Flemish nationalists point to the higher levels of debt in Brussels and Wallonia and the federal government’s compulsory support for the regions, and wish to further divide the country in order to cut costs.
The left-wing parties offer no alternative; they all agree that savings must be made to put the public finances in order. Only their methods differ. Whilst Vooruit, out of fear, offers no resistance to the measures, the Greens, the PS and the PVDA are proposing all manner of reforms, such as taxes on the wealthy.
Yet even they do not question the tens of billions in cuts to state revenue or the billions in handouts to companies and banks. By merely taxing the rich, they leave the cuts and wage reductions of the past untouched.
If we were to dare to move away from the logic of what is ‘realistic’ for capitalism, we would have more than 107 billion euros up for grabs every year to breathe new life into our economy. There would therefore no longer be a deficit to resolve, but a surplus that could be channelled towards our needs.
| Measure | Revenue |
|---|---|
| Abolish support for businesses | 50 billion euros |
| Revert militarisation | 12 billion euros |
| Restore corporation tax to 48 per cent | 20+ billion euros |
| Restore employers’ social security contributions | 25+ billion euros |
| Total | 107+ billion euros |
Their deal, not ours.
In any case, we can expect an agreement that launches a frontal attack on the working class. Capital will try to squeeze every last cent out of the pockets of the working class – its unemployed, its sick, its elderly and its youth.
The mainstream and opposition parties cannot find solutions outside capitalism; the EU is forcing our country to put Belgian capitalism in order. Within the framework of European imperialist capitalism, they have advocated for prosperity, which will once again be at the expense of sections of the working class, both at home and abroad.
The trade unions’ defensive struggle must be transformed into an offensive struggle capable of protecting our social security, regaining what we have lost and achieving new victories. Across the country, regions and sectors together, alongside the working class of the whole of Europe.
The strike movement must not be dependent on negotiations with those who seek to fleece us. Within the trade union movement, we must look beyond the budgetary debate and not merely fight against the current government. The struggle must be waged from the workplaces, for our day-to-day demands on the shop floor and against the rotten system that exploits us every day. As long as our society remains in the hands of capitalists and banks, without the economy being rationally planned according to our needs, a sound budget serving the working class is impossible.
Don’t just tinker within the margins. Don’t pay for their past mistakes; fight for your future, for socialism-communism!
- Central Committee of the JCB