Budget crisis fuels debate on citizen's income - Bas warns against populism

Budget crisis fuels debate on citizen's income - Bas warns against populism

In an interview with the AFP news agency, Bas criticized the demands for cuts to the citizens' income. In the debate, the citizen's income is "linked to the issue of immigration and the statement that people allegedly no longer want to work", said the Bundestag President. Such statements put the recipients under a false general suspicion: "They are not lazy or have come to Germany to receive social benefits."

Bas warned against pitting social groups against each other under the current austerity pressure. "This is populism that talks us into a climate where it's all about poor versus rich, migrant background or not," criticized the SPD politician. "We democratic parties should not take part in this."

Bavaria's Minister President Markus Söder(CSU), on the other hand, called for a fundamental overhaul of the citizen's income with a reduction in the rates. "The citizen's income has not passed the practical test," Söder told Stern magazine. "The overall level is too high. Anyone who works must clearly receive more than someone who doesn't work." Citizen's income is expensive and provides "completely wrong incentives". There needs to be "more motivation to go to work".

Söder announced a Bundesrat initiative to fundamentally realign the citizen's income and, in the meantime, to achieve an immediate postponement of the planned increase by one year. The CSU leader also called for a stop to citizen's allowance payments to newly arriving Ukrainian refugees; in future, they should receive the lower benefits for asylum seekers.

FDP Secretary General Djir-Sarai criticized the increase in citizen's allowance rates in the newspaper "Bild am Sonntag" as "no longer appropriate". Federal Minister of Social Affairs Hubertus Heil (SPD) must take it back. The welfare state is too expensive. "Every third euro spent by the federal government goes on social spending," said Djir-Sarai. "That is no longer possible." It is unacceptable for the government to increase the citizen's allowance by twelve percent in times of tight budgets and falling inflation.

Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) announced a review of the planned increases: The inflation rate is currently developing much better than had been forecast when the standard rate was set for 2024, Lindner told the Funke newspapers. "In the upcoming review of the gap between wages and social benefits, we will therefore have to look at the adjustment procedure. Because it must always make a noticeable difference whether someone is working or not."

The Finance Minister called for savings to close the gaps in the budget for 2024 - and named "three major cost blocks" in the interview: in addition to social spending, there could also be cuts in international climate financing and state subsidies.

CDU Secretary General Carsten Linnemann called for tougher sanctions for young recipients of citizens' benefits. Anyone who is able to work "at a young age" but does not do so "would have to expect a 50 percent or more cut instead of a 30 percent cut", Linnemann told the "Tagesspiegel" newspaper on Monday.

However, there were also warning voices from the CDU/CSU regarding social cuts. Karl-Josef Laumann (CDU), Minister for Social Affairs in North Rhine-Westphalia, defended the forthcoming increase in citizen's benefit rates as "urgently necessary". In an interview with Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland, he called it wrong to only criticize social benefits in the current budget crisis: "Nobody should think that the CDU is not on the side of the little people."

The Citizen's Income is to increase by twelve percent on January 1. For single adults, this amounts to an additional 61 euros. This is intended to offset the general price increase.

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1. Bärbel Bas, the Bundestag President, voiced concerns about linking the debate on citizen's income to immigration and work ethics, warning against such statements that unfairly stigmatize recipients.
2. Bas accused populist rhetoric of driving a wedge between different social groups under the pressure of the budget crisis, urging democratic parties to avoid participating in this divisive climate.
3. In contrast, Markus Söder, the Minister President of Bavaria (CSU), advocated for a thorough overhaul of the citizen's income, proposing reductions in the rates to incentivize work.
4. Söder suggested launching a Bundesrat initiative to delay the planned citizen's income increase for a year and potentially halt allowances for newly arriving Ukrainian refugees.
5. Bijan Djir-Sarai, the FDP's Secretary General, criticized the increase in citizen's income rates, as he believed that social spending has become too expensive for the government.
6. Christian Lindner, the Federal Finance Minister (FDP), revealed plans to examine the planned increases in light of improved inflation rates, stating that any adjustment must significantly impact a person's decision to work.
7. Lindner proposed saving funds to cover budget gaps in 2024 by potentially reducing international climate financing and cutting state subsidies.
8. Carsten Linnemann, the CDU's Secretary General, advocated for stricter penalties for young citizens' benefits recipients who refuse to work, proposing a 50% or more reduction instead of the standard 30%.
9. However, Karl-Josef Laumann, the Minister for Social Affairs in North Rhine-Westphalia (CDU), defended the upcoming citizen's income increase as necessary and criticized focusing solely on cutting social benefits amid the current budget crisis.
10. According to Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland, Laumann considered it inappropriate to only target social benefits without acknowledging the significance of other factors contributing to the budget crisis.
11. In line with this, the Citizen's Income is scheduled to increase by 12% on January 1, providing an additional 61 euros for single adults to offset inflationary pressures.
12. Before these developments, Chancellor Olaf Scholz made an agreement with Bavarian Minister President Markus Söder (CSU) to maintain the current citizen's income levels as a compromise to avoid cuts during the budget crisis.
13. Prior to the aforementioned events, the SPD and Greens passed a law in the Bundestag to increase the citizen's income as part of their commitment to provide prosperity and social protection to people in Germany.

Source: www.stern.de