Working and performing would prevent poverty – with this statement in the current debate about inflation and poverty, Chancellor Karl Nehammer caused a sensation last week. Experts point out that many people live in poverty despite their jobs. The new aid package presented by the federal government on Wednesday for financially weak families and social security recipients was warmly praised by NGOs and the opposition, but also sparked a host of other demands.
A “first important step” was recognized. Caritas President Michael Landau welcomed the package “finally targeting children and providing particularly targeted assistance to people and families on very low incomes”. This is an important first step for children and families, adds Klaus Schwertner, director of Caritas Vienna. However, it is also clear that despite the increases and the measures, many people and children will remain below the poverty line. “These measures presented today cannot be everything,” Caritas said in a broadcast.
De Diakonie reacted to the measures in a similar way: “The support for children in poverty launched today helps in everyday life inflation, even if they do not replace a fundamental reform of the poor social security and an improvement of the unemployment insurance”. Volkshilfe director Erich Fenninger was also happy, but also emphasized that the measures against the inflation do not replace structural reforms – for example in unemployment benefits.
The Red Cross took the same stance: “The previous one-off payments from the federal government have temporarily helped those affected, but there is no noticeable lasting effect. Now it is time for politicians to think about long-term solutions and structures,” the aid organization said in a statement. a broadcast.
The trade union federation described the package as “insufficient”. “Essentials are missing,” said ÖGB Vice President and Women’s Chairwoman Korinna Schumann in a broadcast. “The child benefit for the unemployed has not been valorised for centuries. In addition, unemployment benefits urgently need to be increased to 70 percent of the net replacement rate. Protection against poverty is urgently needed here.”
AK boss: ‘Small plaster on a big wound’
On behalf of the Labor Chamber, chairman Renate Anderl said that it is “good that the government is getting going here”. But she criticized, among other things, that the package is limited. “It’s a small plaster on a big wound.” Sustainable poverty reduction requires “more than money”: “Children’s rights such as education and care for children must be expanded,” says Anderl.
Wifo boss Gabriel Felbermayr was pleased: “Very positive & helpful. The focus on children is just right because it’s targeted,” he wrote via messaging service Twitter. “The next step could be to find sustainable solutions so that child poverty does not arise in the first place,” he also spoke of structural reforms.
SPÖ regrets: “No market intervention again”
For the SPÖ, another day passed “without inflation being fought,” emphasized social spokesman Josef Muchitsch. Party leader Pamela Rendi-Wagner complained: “Again, no market intervention to lower prices. Even today, the government is just trying to alleviate the symptoms.”
“No cause for celebration” for FPÖ
“No reason to celebrate,” FPÖ social spokeswoman Dagmar Belakowitsch said on Wednesday. Due to the record price rises, it is no longer just the socially disadvantaged who are in dire need, but increasingly middle-class families as well.
NEOS see “precise help”
NEOS praised the government for “not unpacking the watering can this time”. Family spokesman Michael Bernhard spoke of “precise help that really starts where it is urgently needed”. Structural reforms are also still on the list of demands for the Pinks.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
