Ruptly
"Demonstrators took to the streets in Hamburg on Saturday to rally against budget cuts in social welfare, pensions, and healthcare. Footage shows protesters marching and chanting while holding banners and placards reading, 'That's completely unacceptable', 'Go after the rich / Those who have, give', 'Resist social cuts and fascism' and 'Cut yourselves instead' before gathering to listen to speeches at Gansemarkt Platz. "Every day, there are some measures where cuts supposedly have to be made," said a demonstrator. Another rally participant stated, "A welfare state should catch and protect the vulnerable and needy. We have come to the point where we citizens have to remind our government what a welfare state is." Protesters accused the government of lacking 'political will' to support low-income groups, and of increasing defence spending at the expense of reducing funding for welfare programmes. "For defence spending, the Basic Law was specifically amended, and an exception to the 'debt brake' was created," another demonstrator declared. "The quantified social-cuts package of 8.6 billion EUR (9.91 billion USD) corresponds to eight percent of this year's defence budget." A participant with disabilities shared, "Everything that is not mainstream is more expensive in our system. Therefore, also the lives of disabled people, because we do not conform to the norm. Even with support, our lives are exhausting and expensive. Cutting anything more now is completely unacceptable." The protest was organised by the Die Linke political party. According to Fitch Ratings, Germany's defence spending will rise by about one percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) between 2025 and 2028, about twice the median increase for the European country. The country's Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul asserted that spending would excepped four percent of GDP in 2026."
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