Bavaria wants to overturn the traffic light citizens' allowance via the Bundesrat
The Bavarian state government wants to push through a reform of the basic income support this week through a Bundesrat initiative. "We want a fundamental departure from the citizen's income", said State Chancellery Leader Florian Herrmann (CSU) on Tuesday after a meeting of the Bavarian cabinet in Munich.
The aim is "more Harz IV instead of citizen's income. Overall, it is also about the issue of immigration into work and not into the social security systems, so that the citizen's allowance is not in fact a migrant allowance." The Citizen's Income fails to achieve the goal of getting people into work as quickly as possible, according to a statement. At the same time, it would lead to an enormous cost increase of 3.25 billion euros to an expected 27 billion euros in 2024.
"And if you are healthy, you have to work. Those who can work must also work," emphasized Social Minister Ulrike Scharf (CSU). The increase in the citizen's income due on January 1, 2024 must be postponed by one year. Scharf complained that the balance between the provision of assistance to secure people's livelihoods and the legitimate interests of taxpayers must be restored. The Citizen's Income was creating false incentives for immigration into the social security system.
The overriding goal must be to get those affected out of the citizen's allowance as quickly as possible and back into work, the report continued. To achieve this, the principles of personal responsibility, the performance principle ("performance must be worthwhile") and the obligation to cooperate on the part of benefit recipients must be reasserted. "While cuts need to be made to cash benefits, investments need to be made in integration into work."
Among other things, the Bavarian motion calls for direct sanctions if an appointment for professional reintegration is missed without an excuse. At the same time, the intensity of support provided by the job centers must be increased. The so-called waiting period, according to which personal "insignificant" reserves remain untouched in the first year of reference, must be abolished without replacement. The proposal also sees a need for change with regard to the costs of accommodation and heating: the period during which the assessment of the appropriateness of housing is waived should be reduced to six months and restricted to people with a corresponding lifetime achievement.
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- Despite the ongoing debate, Bavaria's plan to challenge the traffic light citizens' allowance through the Bundesrat is set to be discussed this week by the Federal Council.
- The Federal Council is still considering the Bavarian state government's motion, which aims to implement stricter measures for those on the citizen's income, such as direct sanctions for missed appointments and an increased intensity of support from job centers.
- Despite the controversy surrounding the citizen's income, there are concerns among some politicians in Bavaria that the policy is leading to an increase in cost, as well as creating incentives for immigration into the social security system, rather than encouraging those on the allowance to seek employment.
Source: www.ntv.de
