The Germans are a nation of tinkerers and inventors. But their politicians may not be quite as ingenious at “social engineering” as engineers and workers are at building cars and machines.
Whether it’s citizens’ allowance, housing benefit or the relief packages to counteract the price surge, one thing stands out above all: the Germans can’t get help that reaches those in need quickly and transparently and that the administration can implement with the available resources.
The speed of the aid is at the core of social justice. The wealthy are most likely to be able to afford to wait patiently.
The implementation of central ideas of citizen income is to be postponed to July 1, 2023. After all, the need-relieving increase in the standard rate should continue to come on January 1st.
The delay is not just because the Union, whose approval the government needs, has objections to the concept. Even before the dispute entered the mediation process, it was clear that the job centers would not be able to staff the various requirements for millions of households from the beginning of the year. They are busy looking after job seekers and refugees from the Ukraine and first have to find and train more staff.
German politics cannot be pragmatic and quickly implemented
How much effort and expense does society want to afford in order to – perhaps – achieve a little more justice through a multitude of requirements? Would it make more sense to accept a certain amount of wastage if that noticeably reduces administrative work and the loss of time for those affected? Focused on the conciliation procedure: Isn’t it possible to go a size smaller?
Previously, Germany stood out in an EU comparison because it introduced tank discounts and a gas price brake much later than France, Italy or Spain – but did not want to learn from their experiences, but was looking for a national solution, as if it had to reinvent the wheel.
Here, too, the pattern was: German politics cannot or does not want to be pragmatic, transparent and quickly implementable. In Spain, the gas station attendant deducts 25 cents per liter at the checkout. Germany invented tax rebates for petroleum companies with different rates for petrol and diesel. This led to general frustration. Citizens complained that the advantage was not passed on to them.
When it came to the gas price, the traffic light initially followed a complicated gas allocation, the details of which only specialists understood in the end. Economics Minister Robert Habeck switched to the price cap. But not to the simple model like in France or Spain.
Once again, party-politically motivated additional requirements were added, which considerably delayed the introduction. The Greens called for an additional incentive to save energy – as if the exorbitantly increased prices weren’t enough of a stimulus.
The relief will no longer apply this winter because the energy suppliers are supposed to provide consumption data from the previous year in order to enable the politically desired split into 80 percent subsidized gas and 20 percent at the higher market price. This will need time.
Does it have to be that way? German as a synonym for overcomplicated, slow and consequently not fair for the citizens? It is a mistake if every party wants to add an additional requirement that is important for its own identity – the Greens often address climate concerns, the SPD mostly the call for social justice, regardless of what it costs to set up authorities to collect individual data. Data protection prohibits a comparison of existing data between financial and social administration.
It’s true: the watering can principle is neither effective nor fair. High earners get through the crisis without government help.
But it is also true: If the search for perfection delays the help offered by months and increases the administrative costs unreasonably, quick, simple and transparent support is the lesser evil for everyone.
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Source: Tagesspiegel
I am an author and journalist with a focus on market news. I have worked for a global news website for the past two years, writing articles on a range of topics relating to the stock market. My work has been published in international publications and I have delivered talks at both academic institutions and business conferences around the world.
