Politikversagen als Ursache der deutschen Sozialstaatskrise / Political Failure as a Cause of the Crisis of the German Welfare State

The author deals with the question, whether political failure is an important cause of the high unemployment and of the crisis of the german welfare state. He starts with a desription of political failure in the field of social security politics in form of installing early retirement pensions before reaching the normal retirement age and in form of violating the principle of selfgovernment of the social insurance institutions especially by financing social expenditures for the east-german population by the contributions of the west-german employers and employees to social insurance instead by taxes. Another political failure is seen in establishing the European economic and currency union before realizing the political union. This mistake in timing the steps to European integration created the possibility for an aggressive tax-competition and injured employment as well as the tax revenues in countries with higher taxes. Finally the overcharge of labor market policy is regarded. This overcharge is on one side a consequence of the Maastricht Treaty, which charges to renounce a national employment policy and on the other side a consequence of overestimating the possible employment effects of labor market policy.