For the first time, a researcher has examined exactly how social reform works: relief such as milder sanctions lead to fewer recipients starting a job. The political debate is likely to get hotter.
There is a heated political dispute over citizens’ money. The CDU wants to overturn the social reform introduced in 2023 and treat people who have been unemployed for a long period of time largely the same as under Hartz IV. Work is no longer worth it, the opposition claims. Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) rejects this, but has just tightened the sanctions for uncooperative unemployed people. The FDP would like to go even further. Meanwhile, organizations affected by those affected are criticizing such as: Sanction free Citizens’ money is too harsh and calls for basic security without conditions. This attitude also has supporters in politics.