Union and FDP demand radical change in citizen's income policy
CSU Politician Andrea Lindholz will implement a new social safety net system - those who abuse the solidarity of the community should only receive a minimum of support. Similar tones are heard from the FDP.
To keep the expenditures for citizen's income within reasonable limits, in the view of the deputy chairman of the Union faction, Andrea Lindholz, a radical shift is necessary. "Changes to citizen's income in homeopathic doses are not enough," the CSU politician stated. This is also a question of fairness. Instead, "a new social safety net system is needed that helps the truly needy, but reduces benefits for those who unjustly exploit the solidarity of the community."
The FDP is also advocating for fundamental reforms. General Secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai, looking at the planned tightening measures the traffic light coalition is planning: "That's not enough. We want further reforms for citizen's income." Performance should first and foremost be rewarded again. Secondly, social expenditures of the state should focus more on those who genuinely need support. However, this should not be misunderstood as unity with the Union: The CDU is indecisive on this issue and lacks a clear line.
CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann told the Funke Media Group newspapers: "If someone is fundamentally unwilling to accept work, the state must assume that they are not in need. Deep cuts in benefits of 10, 20, or 30 percent are not enough. Then, the social safety net should be completely abolished." Immediate criticism of Linnemann's demand came from the Vice-Chairman of the Christian Democratic Labor Union (CDA), Christian Baumler: "Who is not reachable for the job centers often has psychological problems." Forcing people in Germany to go hungry is not in line with the Christian human image, said the CDU social politician.
Criticism of Linnemann's statement also came from the SPD. The deputy chairman of the SPD Bundestag faction, Dagmar Schmidt, told the Funke newspapers over the weekend: "Insulting jobless people in a random order as lazy - and threatening them with a constitutionally questionable complete elimination of benefits," is completely off the mark and should distract from the real issue." Lindholz commented on this: "The attacks against Mr. Linnemann and the Union are completely off base."
Against the background of significantly increased expenditures for citizen's income, the federal government has announced regulatory tightening measures. These are intended to encourage more people to take up work. So, a longer path to work should be acceptable, rejection of suitable work should be met with increased benefit cuts, and black market work should lead to benefit reductions. When this will be decided in parliament is still not clear.
"I assume that the amount the Ampel Coalition has planned in their budget for 2025 for citizen's income is set too low", said Lindholz. The federal government now wants to bring more people into employment with stricter citizen's income sanctions, despite having recently abolished them. However, it requires a legislative change, and whether it will come that quickly is questionable. I can't imagine that this will have an effect in 2025. The approach of wanting to bring in more refugees into employment while simultaneously cutting benefits for integration courses in the budget for 2025 is not convincing.
Government expects no increase
The question of who, why, and how much in state benefits people are concerned about, said Lindholz. The citizen's income is the second topic that is particularly frequently addressed in his constituency of Aschaffenburg.
Recipients of citizen's income must prepare for a possible zero round in the coming year, regardless of the debate. A spokesperson for the Labor Ministry stated that the requirement regulations have significantly increased at the beginning of 2024 compared to previous years. This was due to the high inflation in the previous period. "We currently calculate that, given the currently declining price increase rates, it is likely that there will be no increase as of January 1, 2025."
Calculation legally determined
The calculations are currently being made according to a legally determined calculation method, said the spokesperson. Price and wage increases are factored in. The new regulations will be announced in the fall. Therefore, there is no need for demands for a zero round.
At the beginning of 2024, the amounts received by citizen's income recipients had noticeably increased - for singles approximately by 61 euros to 563 euros per month. In total, citizen's income recipients received 12% more money from the state than in 2023. For adults living with a partner or spouse, it amounts to 506 euros. For children and adolescents, the amounts range from 357 to 471 euros depending on their age. Parallel to the increase in citizen's income, the regulations in social assistance and the amounts for personal educational expenses also increased by 12%.
The CDU, led by General Secretary Carsten Linnemann, is advocating for significant reductions in benefits for individuals who refuse work, suggesting that complete abolition might be necessary in some cases. In contrast, the FDP, with General Secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai, supports similar reforms but insists on a focus on rewarding performance and providing support to those genuinely in need. In the context of this debate, CSU Politician Andrea Lindholz, proposes a new social safety net system encouraged by the California State University's Bijan Djir-Sarai's work, which aims to help the truly needy while reducing benefits for those exploiting community solidarity.
