Singles should cross-finance families: “The earlier they die, the more profitable they are”
Politicians like to support families. This happens too much at the expense of single people, says Sylvia Locher, President of Pro Single Switzerland. She demands: “This must finally be changed.”
Sylvia Locher has been fighting for the concerns of single people for 20 years. picture: ch media / Peter Schmidli
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She chose the toughest opponents that can be found in Swiss politics: representatives of the people who want to support families. You can find them en masse, from left to right.
But Sylvia Locher, 64, single, is not put off by this. On the contrary. She is talking rage right now. Locher, President of Pro Single Switzerland, sits in a café in Zurich’s main train station and calculates what costs the state imposes on singles to support families. “How does the state get the right that I have to pay more simply because of my marital status?” She asks.
«The earlier singles die, the more profitable they are»
Locher has just published a book in which she lists in detail what single people in Switzerland pay – directly or indirectly – in favor of families. Singles shell out exactly the same television fees as the family of five.
Tax deductions are mainly for families. And: «If I die, nobody gets a widow’s pension. On the contrary: The state still generously levies inheritance taxes on the assets of singles. »Parents, on the other hand, can bequeath money and property to their children practically tax-free.
Locher’s list is far from over, but their conclusion is clear: singles are profitable for the state. “The earlier they die, the more profitable they are for social security.” It goes without saying that single people also support the next generation, for example in education, Locher assures.
«I want to support the children. But why do I still have to co-finance for the parents? »She demands that every individual, whether man or woman, whether married or not, be treated equally by the state. “Today we have kebabs of unequal length.”
Are singles really more selfish?
With her statements, Locher quickly infests. Then she often hears that singles are selfish. “I stand for my life,” she says. «Do I have a guilty conscience because I have a life of my own choosing?» One in four in Switzerland lives without a partner.
32 percent of the population are single. Among the 18- to 65-year-olds who pay most of the social security contributions when they are of working age, the figure is as high as 39 percent. Politically, this is hardly an issue. The president of Pro Single Switzerland is not surprised: 70 percent of the federal parliamentarians are fathers themselves.
Locher does not drive a car and has not flown for 30 years: “My roots are left-green.” But now “the longer, the more liberal” applies. For her, equal treatment means that the AHV age for women has to be raised to that of men and that survivors’ pensions have to be adjusted.
“Before and after women have children, they could work. But often they don’t do it because they don’t have to. »It sounds radically liberal. If Locher brings in her demands, it is usually called “social cuts” from the left, one wants to take something from women.
The welfare state builds on outdated role models
The Pro Single Switzerland association – once founded to fight for the equality of unmarried women – paradoxically stands in a clinch with those parties that are fighting most for equality. Locher: “Women organizations in particular have been committed to improving the situation of wives for decades – also with regard to equality between men and women.
Indirectly, however, they promote the dependency of wives on their husbands, »she says, gladly referring to how much the classic family and role model, like lead, has been poured into the legal texts for social insurance.
«The man is still the woman’s insurer. The wife’s financial situation depends on him and his earnings. It is not the husband who pays, but we singles, »she says about the survivor’s pension. For Locher it is clear: Today’s family model is lagging far behind in social development, for example with the AHV conceived 70 years ago.
“This must finally be changed,” she says from politics. But Locher does not believe that something is happening quickly, also with regard to society. Living consciously on your own deviates from the norm. “From the bottom of my heart I wish you your partner soon,” says birthday cards for singles, or it says: “Single, but very nice.”
Locher cannot be impressed by sentences like this: «I do not live alone out of necessity. It is an independent way of life and I like to live it. »(Aargauerzeitung.ch)
