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Minister of Finance Lindner: "Not everything that is desirable goes immediately"
Photo: ANDREAS GEBERT / REUTERS
Finance Minister Christian Lindner is skeptical about demands for more money for the planned basic child security.
"Not everything that is desirable goes immediately," said the FDP leader to the "t-online" news portal.
"Specifically, there is still no concept for basic child security," he added.
From his point of view, it is all about digitization and simplifying the support of children, and not necessarily about more money.
»Higher transfers are not always the silver bullet.«
In the case of basic child security, various services from child benefit to child allowance and financial support for school trips and leisure time are to be bundled.
Many families have so far not applied for benefits due to ignorance or bureaucratic hurdles.
Families and their children should benefit from basic security from 2025.
Lindner pointed out that child poverty had increased primarily due to immigration.
“So let's take the example of a family where the parents don't have a job and don't speak German.
Do we just send them more money then?
Or do we invest in language support for parents and children?
And in the effort to integrate parents into the labor market?” Children also benefited from this in the long term, explained the finance minister.
Criticism came from the Social Association Germany (SoVD).
CEO Michaela Engelmeier told the "Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung" (NOZ): "We now need a quick implementation of basic child security, and of course money has to be made available for this.
It is shameful that parts of the FDP and the Federal Minister of Finance are now pulling the handbrake.«
The Confederation of German Trade Unions (DGB) expects annual additional expenditure of 12.5 billion euros for the introduction of basic child security.
This is the result of a thesis paper by the federal executive board, which is available to the editorial network Germany.
Board member Anja Piel said: "Basic child security that combats child poverty will cost money." The estimated additional costs of 12.5 billion euros are therefore "money well invested".
To finance it, large fortunes and incomes would "finally have to be used more."
mik/dpa-AFX