"Driven to ruin" by energy prices: Not only the poorest in need - Association sounds the alarm at Christmas
Created: 2022-12-24 06:32
By: Florian Naumann
Olaf Scholz facing big tasks?
The VdK sees major problems in the energy crisis - but also in pensions and care.
© IMAGO/Nicolas Landemard/Le Pictorium
The VdK sees many Germans in need in the energy crisis - also outside of the aid recipients.
At IPPEN.MEDIA, President Bentele calls for large tax and pension steps.
Berlin/Munich - Many people in Germany are looking forward to a cool Christmas - at least as far as the temperatures in the living rooms are concerned.
In an interview with Merkur.de from IPPEN.MEDIA
, the president of the social association VdK, Verena Bentele,
urgently warns: People in particular who have never received social benefits are "driven to ruin" by the high heating and energy costs.
She urgently demands a "real hardship fund" from the government of Olaf Scholz.
Bentele also criticized injustices in the payment of aid.
The VdK President called for adjustments to VAT, but at the same time also for a property tax to cushion the costs for the state treasury.
Apart from the hardships in the energy crisis, however, she sees the traffic light coalition on a positive path.
“Heating costs devastating for large parts of the population”: Bentele reports severe problems
"The consequences of record inflation and skyrocketing heating costs are devastating for large parts of the population," Bentele warned.
Despite "helpful relief", many people would have to "save the money for gas and electricity from their mouths".
This applies by far not only to recipients of transfer payments.
"Members write to us who receive a pension of 1,500 euros and more and have always gotten along well with it.
Now they have to spend a large part of it on energy and can hardly afford to eat,” reported the VdK President from her association.
People just above the limit for basic state security are affected.
Verena Bentele at a VdK event in Kassel in the summer.
© Peter Hartenfelser/www.imago-images.de
Bentele immediately criticized several regulations on energy aid that she found incomprehensible - for example, that high earners received an energy flat rate of 300 euros, but people in retraining did not.
However, care is also badly affected: "It is particularly disappointing for the VdK that the promised inflation compensation for care allowance was not implemented." 80 percent of those in need of care were cared for by close people, said Bentele.
They are still waiting for a major care reform and real financial relief, despite the plans in the coalition agreement, said the head of the social association.
Energy crisis in Germany: value added tax, hardship fund, property levy - VdK calls for reforms
On behalf of the VdK, Bentele made some very specific demands for dealing with the crisis:
Abolition of value added tax for healthy food:
"The fact that nothing has happened here at the end of the year, even though well-known politicians such as Minister of Agriculture Cem Özdemir followed this demand from the VdK in the summer, is incomprehensible," criticized Bentele.
People with little money in particular spend a lot on food.
Hardship fund for everyone affected by high energy and heating costs:
"We urgently need a real hardship fund from which people with small pensions and incomes can get help quickly.
Because they can't afford double the price for electricity, gas and oil,” says Bentele.
Clear mechanism for energy aid:
"So far there is no state mechanism to automatically stagger benefits according to income," stressed Bentele.
But targeted help is needed.
Capital levy to finance the aid packages:
Bentele sees problems coming to Germany: "Very soon we will then have to talk about the financing of these billion packages," she told
Merkur.de
.
“And then the wealth tax comes back on the table.
For the social association VdK it is clear that the additional costs of this energy crisis and the corona crisis must be distributed in a socially fair manner.
Merkel-Scholz comparison "difficult": Social association is happy about relief packages
Bentele described a direct comparison between the Scholz and Merkel governments as “difficult” given the circumstances.
"The end of the Merkel era was marked by the corona pandemic, Olaf Scholz's chancellorship is still overshadowed by the effects of the war in Ukraine." The VdK President also had praise for the traffic light ready.
"However, there are other political issues that are being tackled, for example projects such as hospital reform or basic child security."
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Bentele also rated other traffic light projects positively.
For example, surcharges for disability pensions or the minimum wage – although this would have been better set at 13 euros in the opinion of the social association president.
Also with regard to the energy crisis: "Even if the winter is hard for many people, we would be in a much worse position without these relief packages."
Pension problem in Germany?
VdK President calls for a big step
In addition to a major care reform, the VdK boss sees a major construction site for Olaf Scholz and his cabinet: the financing of the pension.
"Previous governments have already neglected to prepare for difficult times and to tackle fundamental reforms in the years with good income from social security and taxes," Bentele reprimanded.
There is great agreement among scientists and in the population that everyone should pay into the statutory pension insurance scheme, she explained.
But that costs money in view of pensions for former civil servants and pension contributions for current civil servants.
“In the last few decades, no one has dared to do that.
Politicians lacked the courage for this major reform.
The fact that baby boomers are about to retire doesn't make this task any easier." (
fn
)
