Hill considers waiving the Citizen Plus subsidy “morally irresponsible.”

As of: 4:30 pm| Reading time: 3 minutes

BFederal Social Affairs Minister Hubertus Hill (SPD) has rejected calls to waive the increase in citizens’ benefit rates. On Monday, Hale criticized it as “morally irresponsible and inconsistent with the Constitution to want to deny these people the benefit of adjusting standard rates.” He explained that the statements “from various conservative politicians do not contribute to the solution, but rather poison the social climate.”

The Free Democratic Coalition Party and the opposition Union had previously called for canceling the planned increase in social benefits at the beginning of the year. They justified this, on the one hand, by the austerity restrictions in the 2024 budget, and on the other hand, by the fact that the twelve percent interest rate increase was based on inflation expectations, which, however, did not happen last year. Level expectations.

“We use citizens’ money to make people work.”

“Germany was and will remain a social constitutional state,” Heil explained. Decency, solidarity and charity are the strength of our society. “We use citizens’ money to employ people and at the same time ensure the presence of people who are in need and need our help.”

As examples, the minister cited people with chronic illnesses and disabilities, single parents, children and young people, and “hard-working employees who are increasing their wages to make ends meet.”

According to the federal government’s plans, citizens’ benefits are scheduled to increase by twelve percent at the beginning of the year. A spokesman for Hale’s ministry indicated on Monday that the increase had already been decided and was “an applicable law.” In order to change this, a new law must be passed.

Social associations warn against backing down from the planned increase

The head of the social association VdK, Verena Bentele, also warned against withdrawing the planned increase in citizens’ allowances. “Citizens’ money is not a social seesaw. Just as a retrospective and late increase is not a reward for laziness,” she told newspapers of the Funke Media Group. Food prices remain high, even if inflation has fallen somewhat.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Traffic Light Coalition (SPD) is grappling with the 2024 budget following a recent budget ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court, and Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) has identified the social sector with citizens’ money as one of three areas to be closed. Gaps .

Bentili noted that many people no longer know how to pay their bills and survive. “Anyone who claims that beneficiaries are happy to receive social benefits is in the wrong movie. How are 160,000 single parents who depend on citizens’ money supposed to work full-time in the absence of daycare places? “The amendment is an important first step,” she added, referring to to the planned increase.

The head of the German Caritas Association, Maria Wilskop-Diffa, also strongly criticized calls for cuts in the social sector. “Mainly saving social expenses after the Karlsruhe ruling would be fatal,” she told the German Liberation Network (RND).