Erfurt (dpa/th) – In the debate about the introduction of a citizen’s income in Germany, Thuringia does not want to support the possible appeal to the mediation committee of the Bundesrat and Bundestag. With the plan to transfer the introduction of citizen money to this body, the Union wants to give the impression that work in Germany will soon no longer be worthwhile, said State Chancellery Minister Benjamin-Immanuel Hoff (left) on Wednesday in the state parliament. That is far from reality.
The citizen’s income is to replace the previous Hartz IV basic security on January 1st. It is planned that the standard rate will increase from the current 449 to 502 euros, that the job center will put less pressure on the unemployed by threatening to withdraw benefits (sanctions) and that further training measures will be given more support. In addition, the requirements for the permitted amount of assets and the size of the apartment for benefit recipients are to be relaxed.
In fact, Hoff argued that it was time to get rid of the Hartz IV system. People who have to live on Hartz IV have had serious experiences of exclusion and stigmatization in recent years. Against this background, the state government has no interest in a mediation process in the Federal Council, which should prevent more respect for the lifetime achievements of these people.
The CDU and CSU have been trying for weeks to prevent the introduction of citizen income, as the federal traffic light coalition is planning. Because the Union cannot stop the project in the Bundestag, it recently threatened to prevent its planned introduction at the turn of the year via the Bundesrat. The federal chairman of the CDU, Friedrich Merz, had recently declared that the introduction of citizen income would “go to the mediation committee” because it would very likely not find approval in the state chamber.
If the law fails after the Bundestag vote in the Bundesrat, both sides would have to find a compromise in the mediation committee of the Bundestag and Bundesrat. That could shake the timing of the introduction of citizen income.
During the state parliament debate, the Thuringian CDU renewed its criticism of the traffic light plans. A kind of unconditional basic income should be created with the citizen money, said the CDU member of parliament Christian Herrgott. It is unrealistic to believe that all unemployed people will want to get a job at some point.
On the other hand, representatives of Red-Red-Green campaigned for the introduction of citizen income. “The citizens’ income creates a new culture of trust,” said SPD social politician Denny Möller. “The goal is eye level, that’s the basis of respect.” Unlike in the Hartz IV system, after the introduction of citizen income, people who are threatened by poverty no longer have to fear losing the modest prosperity that they may have built up over the past decades.
Left-wing MP Karola Stange also campaigned in principle for the traffic light project, although her party is not involved in the federal governing coalition. The planned citizens’ allowance is only a small step, she said. But it is a step in the right direction to reform the Harzt IV system.
