CDU employee wing contradicts Merz
Minister of Labor Heil does not want to change the basic income increase on January 1, but for the FDP the issue is not off the table. CDU leader Merz would prefer to put the adjustment of the basic income support on ice. However, he does not have full support for this demand in his own party.
The employee wing of the CDU/CSU disagrees with CDU party leader Friedrich Merz's demands for a suspension of the increase in basic income. "Discussions about social cuts must end immediately," said Christian Bäumler, deputy federal chairman of the Union's employee representatives (CDA), to the daily newspaper "tageszeitung" (taz). Merz's demand "only unsettles people and does not stabilize the economy", Bäumler criticized.
The CDU chairman had spoken out in favor of waiving the increase in citizens' contributions at the beginning of the year. In view of inflation, an increase of twelve percent was "simply too much", Merz said on ARD television on Sunday evening. This would weaken the incentive to look for a job. Bäumler replied in the newspaper "taz" that the problem was not the citizen's income, but salaries in the low-wage sector. "The CDA is therefore calling for an increase in the minimum wage to 60 percent of the median income, currently 14 euros per hour."
FDP is not letting up
Social Democrat Social Affairs Minister Hubertus Heil had rejected the demand for changes to the planned increase in citizens' benefits at the beginning of 2024. For the liberal coalition partners, however, this does not mean the issue is off the table. "I think it would be right to discuss the calculation of the citizens' allowance as part of the discussions on the budget. Because the method of calculation dates back to the times of Hartz IV - that is long outdated," FDP parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr told the "Bild" newspaper. It must be carefully examined "whether the wage gap requirement can be maintained with the old calculation method". Anyone who works must "always have more money left over than someone who does not", said the FDP politician.
On January 1, 2024, the more than five million recipients of the citizen's income are to receive an average of around 12 percent more money - single people will then receive 563 euros. The FDP and large sections of the CDU/CSU consider the significant increase to be inappropriate. Social Affairs Minister Heil, on the other hand, emphasized on Monday that it would be "morally irresponsible and incompatible with the constitution" to deny those affected an adjustment of the standard rates. Government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit said: "I am not aware of any plans within the federal government to change the legal basis."
Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner had named the area of social welfare with the Citizen's Income as a savings area in order to plug a billion-euro gap in the 2024 budget. Negotiations within the federal government are still ongoing.
CDA Vice President Bäumler expressed his openness to creating a new framework for investments in the federal budget. The CDA is currently discussing strategies on how this could be implemented. "We can imagine supplementing the debt brake with a special fund for climate protection, for example," explained Bäumler. "By 2025 at the latest, we need regulations that enable investment in Germany." The deputy leader of the CDU's employee wing was similarly skeptical as his party leader when it came to the introduction of basic child insurance. Although he is in favor of consolidating benefits, "I don't think the reform as planned by the Ampel is feasible," said Bäumler.
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The CDU employee wing strongly disagreed with Merz's proposal to suspend the increase in basic income, arguing that it would only unsettle people and not stabilize the economy. In response to Merz's suggestion to waive the increase in citizens' contributions due to inflation, Bäumler pointed out that the real issue was the low wages in the lower-income sector, and called for an increase in the minimum wage to 60% of the median income.
Source: www.ntv.de
