Ahrntal Manifesto - A Young European Call for Demographic Responsibility

Petition addressed to: Bundesregierung

www.ahrntalmanifesto.eu/

1. We want to move towards a society which defines and enables labour according to each individual’s possibilities, for instance through a pension reform introducing a flexible framework of gradual retirement and the introduction of life working time instead of our current rigid retirement age policy.

2. We are convinced that a remodeling of the welfare system must be sensitive to demographic changes and requires careful consideration of developments in income and wealth distribution in order to strengthen our European values of inclusion and equal opportunities.

3. We demand to discuss a tax reform, consisting amongst others of progressive inheritance, income and capital gains taxes, and an adaptation of contribution schemes to ensure the sustainability and fairness of our welfare system.

4. We believe that in our ageing society, education and equal work opportunities must be designed for life-long learning and in ways compatible with both child and elderly care.

5. We believe that it is crucial to raise the attractiveness of fields of work essential in the future, especially health and elderly care, as well as education, science and technology. Personal initiatives to engage in entrepreneurship and innovation play an important role and should be encouraged.

6. We opt for a facilitated immigration of skilled workers to mitigate demographic transition while committing to our principles towards refugees.

7. We are convinced that upcoming generations need more political weight, for instance through a system that gives more voice to families with children.