Söder wants a general overhaul of the citizens' income

Household - Söder wants a general overhaul of the citizens' income

Bavaria's Minister President Markus Söder (CSU) wants to fundamentally revise the citizens' allowance via a Bundesrat initiative and is also calling for the increase in benefits to be postponed. "The traffic light must postpone the increase planned for January by one year and completely rethink it," the CSU leader told Stern magazine. "The benefit must be separated from flight and asylum. There needs to be more motivation to go to work. That is why we will introduce an initiative in the Bundesrat for a general overhaul of the citizens' allowance. Because the balance between supporting and demanding is not right," said Söder, explaining the initiative.

The citizen's income has not passed the practical test, the overall level is too high and it sets the wrong incentives, criticized the Minister President. "Anyone who works must clearly receive more than someone who doesn't work. That's why we need changes."

FDP General Secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai called for the significant increase in the citizen's income planned for January 1 to be withdrawn in view of the budget problems. "It is absolutely clear that the welfare state in Germany costs too much money. Every third euro spent by the federal government goes on social spending. This is no longer possible," Djir-Sarai told Bild am Sonntag. "That is why it is now urgently necessary to reassess the citizen's income. The planned increase on January 1 is no longer appropriate," added the FDP politician. It is unacceptable for the government to increase the Citizen's Income by twelve percent in times of tight budgets and with the lowest inflation since 2021. Social Affairs Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) must stop the planned increase. "Anything else is also unacceptable to the working population," explained Djir-Sarai.

Söder also called for a stop to citizen's allowance payments to newly arrived Ukrainian refugees. "It would not be lawful to cancel anything retroactively. But we must change course for all new cases," said the CSU politician. "And for all other new arrivals, social benefits should only be granted after five years instead of 18 months."

Alexander Throm, the CDU/CSU parliamentary group's domestic policy spokesperson, also spoke out in favor of ending the payment of citizens' benefits to newly arrived refugees from Ukraine. "When it was decided that the war refugees from Ukraine would all immediately receive a citizen's allowance, it was well-intentioned by everyone involved," the CDU member of parliament told the German Press Agency. However, the decision proved to be counterproductive as far as the willingness to take up work was concerned.

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. In contrast to previous adjustments, inflation, which had risen sharply for months, was taken into account more strongly in the calculation for 2024 due to a change in the rules.