The German Association of Cities has called for improvements to the planned citizens’ allowance and called on the traffic lights and the Union to come to an agreement.
“The citizens’ income is a good thing and deserves broad parliamentary support. We are therefore appealing to the traffic light coalition and the largest opposition faction to come to an understanding,” said Chief Executive Helmut Dedy of the editorial network Germany. “However, the coalition must make improvements in three areas of the draft law: in the crediting of assets, the equipment of the job centers and the administrative burden.”
He explained: “It sends the wrong signal that assets don’t matter for two years if someone applies for citizenship benefits. This waiting period must be significantly reduced and should be a maximum of one year.” In addition, the reform has not yet been used to strengthen the job centers financially and in terms of personnel from 2023. “The job centers need sufficient staff and financial resources to make a success of the citizen’s income.” In addition, bureaucracy must be reduced. “The administrative burden for new regulations should be as low as possible.” But he fears more bureaucracy.
According to previous plans, the citizen’s income is to replace the previous Hartz IV basic security on January 1st. The aim of the red-green-yellow federal government is to put those affected in a position to be able to concentrate more on further training and looking for work. They should be put under less pressure by the job center. The standard rates of basic security should also increase by around 50 euros per month. However, the CDU has threatened to block the reform in the Bundesrat. The traffic light in the Bundesrat depends on the votes of the Union countries.
