In the penultimate episode of her show, host Sarah Tacke discussed with her guests whether the new basic income brings more people into work. Alongside CDU MP Christoph Ploß, chairman of the Hamburg state group, the guests included Katja Kipping, managing director of the Paritätischer Gesamtverband, Tanja Schweiger (Free Voters), district administrator of Regensburg, and Zarah Bruhn, founder and CEO of the social enterprise Socialbee.
Ploß pointed out that over 100,000 people have left the citizen’s income in recent months. However, when asked how many more should be brought into work, he did not provide a specific figure. Currently, 5.1 million people receive basic income, of whom 1.8 million are unemployed and capable of work, while there are 1.15 million open positions.
Kipping argued that the unemployed and open positions do not automatically match – due to location, family situation, or lack of qualifications. Schweiger stressed that less than half of citizen’s income recipients are Germans, more than half are foreigners, and half of those are Ukrainians. She called for a differentiated view instead of treating all benefit recipients equally.
Ploß estimated about 14,000 to 18,000 total refusers, while Kipping referred to a study by the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) that assumes a very small number. The show also discussed an interview with job center employee Fred Göcken, who spoke of 30 to 40 percent false statements and was dismissed without notice after the interview. Schweiger could not confirm these figures in practice.
Kipping criticized sanctions in general and called for a review of successful objections. Ploß countered: “The welfare state must also be financed, and you completely ignore that.” He advocated for more personal responsibility and did not rule out adjusting the rule for the first missed appointment.
Source: www.welt.de
