Germany: Socialist minister announces the end in increases to “Money to citizens” campaign

After this year’s sharp increase, in 2025 there will be zero turn-over of “citizens’ money,”  the instrument created by the government “Ampel,” semaphore, which distributed extra income to poor citizens and was introduced to combat the effects of inflation.

This was stated by Labour Minister Hubertus Heil ( SPD ) on RTL and NTTV’s Frühstart programme. If inflation were high, standard rates would also have to be adjusted accordingly. Now the inflation rate has fallen dramatically. That is why the legal mechanism is such that there will be no increase in citizens’ money at the beginning of 2025. “Exactly,” said the minister.

People in need must be helped, Heil emphasised. “But it is also clear: this is the subsistence minimum, nothing more, nothing less: sanctions should also be tightened.” There are obligations to cooperate, Heil emphasised. In general, the tightening of sanctions on citizens’ money is an important goal in the traffic light coalition. Stricter rules are intended to encourage more recipients to start working. The plan provides for reductions in benefits for certain offences. However, experts already fear for a revolving door effect in case of stronger penalties in terms of citizens’ money .

Citizens’ money was increased by a total of 12% at the beginning of 2024. There was a lot of criticism about this. Since then, singles have received EUR 563 per month, EUR 61 more than in the previous year. Recently, Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP) even proposed a reduction.

The FDP had already called for fundamental reforms for citizens’ money. Recently, Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP) even proposed a reduction. Heil’s Ministry of Social Affairs had already announced the predictable zero round at the end of July. ‘We currently expect that, given the current falling rates of price increases, it is likely that there will be no increase on 1 January 2025,’ it read at the time.

This affair comes to highlight the deep contradictions of the “Ampel” government, formed by political forces with profoundly different agendas and goals. The Social Democrats have to coexist with the austere liberals of the FDP; if the former want more welfare state, the latter would like to eliminate it completely.
In the end, German citizens are confused by these attitudes and end up impoverished by a theoretically generous but practically very, too much, stingy state.