Comments on: German Provincial Elections: On to the Post-Macho Welfare State, Pirates Included http://www.deliberatelyconsidered.com/2012/05/german-provincial-elections-on-to-the-post-macho-welfare-state-pirates-included/ Informed reflection on the events of the day Wed, 15 Jul 2015 17:00:00 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.4.23 By: Tim http://www.deliberatelyconsidered.com/2012/05/german-provincial-elections-on-to-the-post-macho-welfare-state-pirates-included/comment-page-1/#comment-25525 Wed, 16 May 2012 21:13:00 +0000 http://www.deliberatelyconsidered.com/?p=13322#comment-25525 I don’t think that Christiane talks about provincial welfare state in terms of some localized inner-German arrangements. She means provincial in terms of not European Union, but she is referring to the Federal level of the German state vs the transnational European Union. In Germany the Social Democrats and Green party are generally understood as the parties supporting a larger welfare state on the Federal level (that is where the welfare law and policies, except for the school system, are situated), that is why successes in state elections is usually also interpreted as votum pro Federal welfare state.

]]> By: Theodore http://www.deliberatelyconsidered.com/2012/05/german-provincial-elections-on-to-the-post-macho-welfare-state-pirates-included/comment-page-1/#comment-25524 Wed, 16 May 2012 19:18:00 +0000 http://www.deliberatelyconsidered.com/?p=13322#comment-25524 Well before the Civil Right’s era in the US, welfare programs were wildly successful and popular in the South and many conservative areas of the US; in fact, a large number of the most stridently pro-segregation politicians were also in favor of progressive tax policies (some radically so) as well as most of the social programs that hardcore conservatives today abhor. In the aftermath of the Civil Rights, the angry white conservative base soon switched and favored privatization as a means to continue segregation policies now destroyed by the federal government. Since then the conservative base has tied welfarism with Federal intrusion and has thereby attacked it’s own interests.

I wonder if it is possible to appeal to welfarism on a local community level? I wonder if that could perhaps work to bring back a pro-welfare feeling in the US? People obviously connect with their community much more than they do with the general structure of the US. But, what if you created pockets of interconnected healthcare unions or the such that instead of appealing on the Federal level (an antipathy that German voters may share). I wonder if that can be the route towards restoring a favorable image for social welfare programs?

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