"Trash amounts, bad joke": Head of social association calculates with planned citizen money
Created: 08/17/2022, 16:04
By: Patricia Huber
The traffic light wants to replace Hartz IV with citizen income and also raise the standard rates.
But the planned increase is far from enough, criticizes the head of the social association, Ulrich Schneider.
Berlin – Citizens’ income is to be introduced on January 1, 2023.
This was stated by Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil a few weeks ago.
He also reaffirmed the goal "that there will be an appropriate increase in the standard rates as of January 1, 2023 in the course of the legislative process." However, he did not state how high this will be.
But it is precisely this point that is likely to be the most important for many recipients when changing from Hartz IV to citizen income.
Hartz IV: Head of the social association calls for a standard rate increase of 50 percent
Right now, many Hartz IV recipients are suffering from high inflation and in particular from the high prices for energy and food.
Getting by with the standard rate of 449 euros per month is therefore becoming a major challenge for more and more recipients.
Ulrich Schneider, general manager of the Paritätischer Wohlfahrtsverband, knows that too.
In an interview with the
ZDF morning magazine
, he calls for an increase of 50 percent.
In his view, a standard rate of 678 euros per month would be needed to give recipients a "chance to get through the month".
According to him, this increase would definitely be politically possible.
"The money is there," he said.
Politicians have it in their hands to take away people's worries and give them hope.
At best, even before the official start of citizens' income.
Ulrich Schneider from the Paritätisches Gesamtverband calls for a significant increase in the standard rates with the citizen money.
© Britta Pedersen/dpa
"Blobs": According to Schneider, 10 percent higher standard rates would not be enough
When the ZDF moderator asked the head of the association what he thought of an increase of 10 percent, he was not very enthusiastic.
He speaks of "mess amounts" and that one could then stick with the name Hartz IV.
After all, such a small increase would mean that a single would have just 50 cents more per day to spend on groceries.
For a young person it would only be 30 cents.
Schneider finally describes this as a “bad joke”.
In the traffic light government, opinion on the amount of citizen money is still divided.
Green Party leader Omid Nouripour spoke out in favor of taking general price trends into account when calculating the planned citizens' allowance.
He wants to make the "standard rate inflation-proof," he told the newspapers of
Mediengruppe Bayern
.
Our Hartz IV newsletter informs you every Wednesday about new developments on the subject. Sign up now!
also read
Pension: These cohorts are allowed to retire before the age of 67
Energy price flat rate: How pensioners get the 300 euros
Citizens' allowance: FDP opposes new calculation method
Social Minister Heil has also spoken out in favor of a new calculation method.
However, he only advocates an increase of 40 to 50 euros per month.
But he reaped headwind, especially from the FDP.
Finance Minister Christian Lindner pointed out that the standard rates would in any case be adjusted annually to reflect wage and price developments.
"We should stick to that," he said.
The specialist politician Jens Teutrine, who is responsible for citizen income in the FDP parliamentary group in the Bundestag, warned in the
editorial network Germany (RND)
of "incalculable costs" with a new calculation method.
(ph/dpa)
