In the current debate on basic income, the German Association of Cities is calling on the traffic light coalition and the CDU/CSU to come to an agreement. Chief Executive Helmut Dedy told Publishing Network Germany:
“The citizenship allowance is a good thing and deserves broad parliamentary support. It improves the tools for qualifying and training the unemployed”.
However, the coalition must make improvements in three areas of the bill: the accreditation of assets, the equipment of employment centers and administrative burdens.
Helmut Dedy’s statements in the wording:
“The basic income is an asset and deserves broad parliamentary support. We therefore call on the traffic light coalition and the largest opposition faction to understand each other. The basic income improves the qualification and training tools of the unemployed. Another important plus is that the law anchors labor market participation more firmly than before, allowing people to find long-term employment in the social labor market if they are unlikely to gain a foothold in other jobs.
However, the coalition must make improvements in three areas of the bill: in the accreditation of assets, in the provision of employment centers and in administrative burdens.
It sends the wrong signal that wealth doesn’t matter for two years when someone applies for citizenship benefits. This waiting period should be significantly reduced and should be a maximum of one year. We also criticize that the reform has not yet been used to strengthen the employment centers financially and in terms of personnel from 2023 onwards. Employment centers need sufficient personnel and financial resources to ensure the success of the basic income. Finally, the administrative burden for new regulations should be as low as possible. We fear more bureaucracy on points such as the cooperation plan, the time of trust and the arbitration procedures. There should be simplifications.”
