While Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) is still puzzling over how he can reduce the federal government's new debt from the current 139 billion euros (excluding the Bundeswehr "special fund") to around 8 billion euros next year, Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) is proposing additional spending in double digits billions.

The SPD politician not only wants to increase citizen income, which is to take the place of the discredited basic security ("Hartz IV"), but also focuses on groups that have not actually come under his area of ​​responsibility so far.

Manfred Schäfers

Business correspondent in Berlin.

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The “social climate money” he proposed should be given to single earners with a monthly gross wage of up to 4,000 euros and married couples with less than 8,000 euros.

"We have to give an answer that goes beyond the current relief package," said the SPD politician of the Funke media group.

You need permanent and targeted relief for everyone with low and middle incomes: employees, pensioners, students and trainees.

The coalition still has to talk about the exact staggering of the social climate money.

criticism from the Liberals

However, the need for discussion in the coalition is greater than Heil would have us believe.

The FDP, led by Lindner, immediately reacted with criticism to the push from the Ministry of Labour.

The Minister of Finance was quoted as mockingly: "Since debt and tax increases are ruled out, I'm excited about the financing ideas." He also wrote on the short message service: Colleague Hubertus Heil is proposing completely new pots.

"Why not rely on the tried and tested?" Adjustment of the standard rates of basic security to inflation and a reform of wage and income tax to relieve the working middle class and prevent "cold progression".

The latter means a creeping additional burden from the interaction of inflation, salary adjustments and a progressive tax rate.

On the other hand, the Green Party leader Ricarda Lang Heil's suggestions were welcomed.

"Now it's a matter of paying particular attention to those who will not be able to bear longer-term burdens even with one-off grants, but who need structural support," she said.

The Paritätischer Wohlfahrtsverband support praised the Minister of Labour.

“Hubertus Heil made a good suggestion with the income-based climate allowance,” said General Manager Ulrich Schneider.

Irrespective of this, the standard rates in Hartz IV would have to be revised.

"Compensating for inflation is no longer enough." In the coalition agreement, the SPD, Greens and FDP agreed to introduce a citizen's allowance instead of basic security, but without further details.

They only specifically agreed to pay the new benefit for two years without accessing existing assets or checking whether an apartment is appropriate.

The coalition agreement also states: "We will increase the protective assets and reduce the bureaucracy, digitize and pragmatically simplify their verification."

The Minister of Labor obviously wants to use the agreed new regulation to significantly expand the benefits.

He plans to use a different basis for calculation.

"My suggestion is that we take the bottom 30 instead of the bottom 20 percent of income as a basis for family households," announced Heil.

He also said what that would mean in concrete terms: "This will enable us to ensure that the standard rates of citizen income per person per month will be around 40 to 50 euros higher than in basic security." Single adults currently receive 449 euros a month.

In the case of communities of need, 404 euros are added for the second adult.

For children, the standard rates are between 285 and 360 euros, depending on their age.

There are also benefits for accommodation and heating.

Order from coalition agreement

Pascal Kober, labor market policy spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group, was surprised by the actions of the SPD politician.

The order from the coalition agreement is clear.

"Instead of discussing the rule set, the additional income opportunities for Hartz IV recipients must be designed more fairly," he demanded.

He referred to the transfer deduction in the basic security for self-earned money.

Only additional earnings of up to 100 euros are exempt from deductions.

From higher amounts up to 1000 euros, 80 percent will be offset against the Hartz benefit, anything above that even has a 90 percent reduction.

This keeps people dependent on the welfare state instead of promoting them, said Kober.

If you gave them just 15 cents more of a euro, you would have 52 euros more in your wallet from a mini job in the future.