Spring Meeting and SWIFT Prize Award on May 4, 2012 in Kronberg
Dr. Ursula von der Leyen (MP), Federal Minister for Labor and Social Affairs, as keynote speaker at the Market Economy Foundation's thirtieth anniversary spring meeting in Kronberg
Dr. Theo Siegert (president, Market Economy Foundation board of trustees) delivers the congratulatory speech to SWIFT Prize winner, Jürgen Kaube, columnist for the Frankfurter Allgemeinen Zeitung and the Frankfurter Sontnagszeitung.
SWIFT Prize winner Jürgen Kaube with his wife, Dr. Bernd Raffelhüschen, Dr. Theo Siegert, and Dr. Michael Eilfort.
Dr. Michael Eilfort (director, Market Economy Foundation) thanks the keynote speaker of the spring meeting, Dr. Ursula von der Leyen MP.
Dr. Bernd Raffelhüschen (executive board member, Market Economy Foundation) sees a retreat from honest budgeting in Federal Minister von der Leyen's proposed subsidized pension scheme.
Dr. Volker Wieland, a new member of the Kronberger Scientific Council, points to his experience with gender equality at the Federal Reserve Bank in the United States.
Photos: Kay Herschelmann
30 Years of the Market Economy Foundation and the Kronberger Scientific Council with Ursula von der Leyen as Keynote Speaker
The spring meeting of the Market Economy Foundation and the Kronberger Scientific Council, both of which celebrate their thirtieth anniversaries this in 2012, counted Dr. Ursula von der Leyen as one of the numerous guests in Kronberg im Tanunus.
The Foundation’s board of trustees president Dr. Theo Siegert expressed his appreciation of her efforts to avert extensions to the Jobseeker’s Allowance II scheme, protect business pension schemes from intervention from Brussels, and to restrict active labor market policies. Dr. von der Leyen’s “subsidized pension” scheme, which she introduced into the discussion, did not, however, enjoy a similar reception and instead met broad rejection throughout the Kronberger Scientific Council. A detailed report will follow in our next issue of Blickpunkt Marktwirtschaft.
Another high point of the program was the awarding of the SWIFT Prize for Economic Satire to the journalist Jürgen Kaube.
The 2012 Swift Prize for Economic Satire Awarded to Jürgen Kaube
In May, the Market Economy Foundation awarded its third SWIFT Prize for Economic Satire. The prize was awarded to Jürgen Kaube, a columnist at the Frankfurter Allgemeinen Zeitung and the Frankfurter Sonntagszeitung. By awarding the SWIFT Prize, the Foundation strives to draw attention to satirists and their function as shapers of public opinion and hopes to encourage them to devote themselves to the genre of economic satire.
According to the jury, this most recent prize recipient demonstrates in his work a unique insight into self-determined, liberal thought based on a clear and unflinching social order in which freedom, competition, and accountability manifest themselves in many forms. Kaube, an economist, uses a feuilleton-style approach and unique perspectives to inspire interest among lay audiences in the debate surrounding the mechanisms of the market economy and their effects on daily life and society. The SWIFT Prize includes a monetary award of €10,000.
More information about the prize is available at our SWIFT Prize page.
Press release regarding the awarding of the SWIFT Prize (German)
Minimum Wage Position Paper
The Market Economy Foundation strongly recommends against the introduction of an across-the-board minimum wage in Germany. Read here about why we not only find the minimum wage harmful to employment, but also ineffective as a social strategy: Minimum Wage Position Paper (German)
Municipal Finance Reform: Latest Assessment
The Tax Code Commission's four column reform model, developed under the roof of the Market Economy Foundation, enabled the formation of a highly acclaimed policy proposal that has found considerable support in the political arena.
With the approval of the Foundation, the state of Lower Saxony allowed the Federal Statistical Authority (Statistiches Bundesamt) to conduct a thorough analysis of the proposal’s effects in all Lower Saxon municipalities.
Citizen's Dividend (Bürgergeld) – A Deadly Antidepressant
What do we think about the Citizen's Dividend? Irrespective of whether you like to call it a solidarity-inspired basic income guarantee or a transfer payment with no strings attached, the Citizen's Dividend is a deadly antidepressant. Read more on the subject in our:
You can find more background information on the subject by reading our report from our conference "Citizen's Dividend and Basic Income: Stroke of Genius or Madness?"