Ulrich Vosgerau wrote that Helmut Kohl should have converted the pension system to capitalization and state funds starting in 1982. Instead, according to his representation, the ancillary wage costs were distributed in a Ponzi scheme and supplemented by 25 to 30 percent of the federal budget. At the latest since 1975, experts had been aware that the Bismarck system was no longer functioning in light of demographic change and the pension dynamization of 1957, Vosgerau wrote. The left had therefore expected a fundamental reform from Kohl and Kurt Biedenkopf but wanted to oppose terms like "neoliberalism" and "Thatcherism." However, Kohl not only wanted to become chancellor but also to remain in office, according to Vosgerau. Norbert Blüm was the only minister who stayed in office during Kohl's entire 16-year term. #Rentenreform #Politik #Demographie (translated)