The turning point is currently on everyone’s lips. The upheaval on the labor market is one of the historical changes that Germans are facing today. Earlier economic crises regularly caused rising unemployment figures. This time, on the other hand, there is an acute shortage of staff everywhere.
Not only trade and industry can often no longer fill vacancies. There is also a desperate need for unskilled workers in the service sector. This lack of staff is driving inflation further up and is also the greatest obstacle to growth for the crisis-ridden economy, alongside the horrendous energy costs.
It is schizophrenic that the traffic light government is preparing a Hartz IV reform in view of this precarious employment situation, which will systematically reduce the incentive to take up a job. With the introduction of a so-called citizen money, Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) is not only aiming for a significant increase in the standard rate.
In addition, much more generous rules are to apply in future with regard to the apartment paid for by the office and the asset test. In addition, there should be non-binding “times of trust” during which the transfer recipients do not have to fear being bothered by employees of the job center if they do not want them to. Sanctions in the event of a lack of willingness to cooperate are to be largely dispensed with in the long term.
For all those who are supposed to feed this cornucopia with their tax and contribution funds, Heil’s generous gift to the non-working class is an unparalleled affront. The horrendous price increases are causing real wages, which have already been reduced by the Corona misery, to shrink further.
This is extremely painful for employees with small and middle incomes. Wanting to take even more money from them to make it more comfortable for those who cannot or do not want to work threatens to exacerbate the personnel problems of companies. And we are only at the beginning of demographic change.
The turning point in the labor market should be an opportunity for the Greens and Social Democrats to think about their heart project again without ideology. It takes pragmatic ideas to get everyone able to work to get involved. Activation is tedious. But abandoning the principle of demanding and supporting undermines the acceptance of the welfare state.
