BERLIN (Dow Jones) – Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) wants to make recipients more responsible for citizens’ benefit in the future. “We need a double strategy: On the one hand, we need better opportunities for additional income. Anyone who receives social benefits and works should not have as much of their earnings taken into account,” Lindner told the Rheinische Post. It must be possible to work your way out of receiving benefits step by step.
“On the other hand, we have the job turbo, which puts refugees from Ukraine into work. We should extend its instruments to all recipients of citizens’ benefit,” said the FDP leader. For example, the closer contact density with the job centers is effective. Citizens’ money is a hot topic; objective problems are mixed with false narratives. “There is no freedom of choice as to whether you work or not,” emphasized Lindner. “It must be more strongly enforced in practice that citizens’ money is not a pension, but rather a help in times of need.”
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 29, 2024 8:00 p.m. ET (01:00 GMT)