By Stefan Ferrari
Critics are alarmed: the increase in citizens’ money threatens to become an unconditional basic income. Employees in lower income groups could be disadvantaged – there are already layoffs because work is no longer worthwhile for them.
Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (51, SPD) warned in the ARD program “Hart aber Fair” against collecting citizens’ money rather than going to work: “Someone who is really stupid enough to quit because of citizens’ money will get it first a block on unemployment benefits!”
The SPD politician threatens: “If you quit on your own initiative, you will be blocked from benefits for three months.” Citizens’ benefit is not an unconditional basic income. “You have to be needy.” And appeals: “The story ‘Now someone is quitting’, we shouldn’t convince people of that.”
We need to discuss that performance is worth it, “that work makes a difference. And if they just ‘make’ citizens’ money, it will have terrible long-term consequences for the pension economy. That means: Work is always worth it – and that’s a good thing, because work moves this country forward and work has to make the difference. “It’s a question of fair performance,” says Heil.
Background: Hubertus Heil needs a billion-dollar supplement for the current year. Specifically, it’s a further 2.1 billion euros. This emerges from a letter to the Bundestag’s budget committee (available from BILD). This means that citizens’ money spending in 2023 is expected to total 25.9 billion euros. For comparison: In 2022, spending on Hartz IV (predecessor of citizens’ money) amounted to 22.2 billion euros.
One reason, among other things, is that those receiving citizens’ benefit obviously need more benefits. The “net benefits per community of need” have “developed more dynamically compared to the expectations from autumn 2022”.
Critics accuse the SPD politician of the system setting false incentives. “Too much hammocking, too little challenge and support. This spending dynamic must be slowed down,” demanded CDU chief budget officer Christian Haase (57).