Social affairs - Controversial reform plans for citizens' allowance for job refusers
Labor Minister Hubertus Heil's reform plans for a citizen's allowance for job refusers are controversial in Berlin. While Finance Minister Christian Lindner and politicians from the SPD and CDU/CSU welcomed the proposal, social organizations, the Young Socialists and the Left warned of severe social consequences.
SPD politician Heil has proposed that the federal government tighten sanctions for recipients of citizen's allowance who repeatedly refuse reasonable offers of work. The state should temporarily only pay them the costs of accommodation and heating in order to prevent homelessness. The standard citizen's benefit rate - 563 euros per month for single people - is to be abolished for two months.
Lindner: contribution to the 2024 budget concept
This has not yet been finalized in the cabinet. However, Finance Minister Lindner(FDP) has already signaled his approval. "This is not only the Minister of Labor's contribution to the 2024 budget concept. Above all, the acceptance of the welfare state will be strengthened if reciprocal benefits are also demanded," he told the German Press Agency.
In the coming year, further thought must be given in this direction, Lindner said. "The system of our social benefits must be reviewed to ensure that work is always more worthwhile than not having a job."
Jusos: Not compatible with human dignity
There were mixed reactions from the SPD. The social policy spokesperson for the SPD parliamentary group, Martin Rosemann, emphasized that we are talking about a very small number of people who consistently refuse all offers. "And it is precisely at this point that it is justifiable to tighten the sanctions. In the end, this is also a question of justice," he said.
The Jusos, on the other hand, accused Heil of starving people as a sanction. "The proposal to cancel all benefits apart from rent is neither compatible with human dignity nor with the basic idea of the citizen's income," said Juso leader Philip Türmer to the "Tagesspiegel".
Dobrindt (CSU): "With the citizen's income, the traffic light rewards the lazy"
The Left also criticized Heil. The "traffic light" government is restructuring the budget on the backs of people with little money, kicking the can down the road and playing people off against each other, said party leader Martin Schirdewan. And all because it is not prepared to place a greater burden on the rich and wealthy. Ulrich Schneider from the Paritätischer Gesamtverband warned on ARD that the federal government was driving people into misery.
Heil, on the other hand, received support from the CDU/CSU. "The citizens' income is the social safety net in our country, but solidarity must not be a one-way street," said Marc Biadacz, member of the Bundestag. CSU regional group leader Alexander Dobrindt called for the complete abolition of the citizen's income. "With the citizen's allowance, the traffic light rewards the lazy, but above all it drives those who can do the math into social welfare," he said.
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- The Federal Government is considering tightening sanctions for job refusers receiving the citizen's allowance, as proposed by Labor Minister Hubertus Heil, with Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) expressing his approval.
- The proposal to temporarily pay job refusers only the costs of accommodation and heating to prevent homelessness has sparked controversy among social organizations and the Young Socialists in Berlin.
- SPD politician Heil believes that the standard citizen's benefit rate of 563 euros per month for single people should be abolished for two months for repeat offenders who refuse work offers.
- Christian Lindner has signaled his support for Heil's reform plan, stating that it will strengthen the acceptance of the welfare state by requiring reciprocal benefits.
- Juso leader Philip Türmer criticized Heil's proposal, stating that it is not compatible with human dignity and goes against the basic idea of the citizen's income.
- The Left has accused the "traffic light" government of restructuring the budget on the backs of people with little money and using the citizen's income to reward laziness.
- Alexander Dobrindt from the CDU/CSU called for the complete abolition of the citizen's income, arguing that it encourages laziness and drives people into social welfare.
Source: www.stern.de
