Should asylum seekers receive vouchers or benefits in kind instead of money in the future? Chancellor Nehammer wants it, the German communities are already testing it. However, the city council of Vienna is divided on this sensitive issue.
In the German state of Thuringia, the first districts are testing payment cards instead of cash for asylum seekers. Newcomers can use the cards to shop at local stores. This has meant that some of the asylum seekers have already left, German media report. Suspicious background: Because transfers to their home countries or paying debts to smugglers are no longer possible, those affected moved on. Where there is cash.
In Austria, Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) also wants to change the system. This means: only benefits in kind for people who do not have a valid residence permit.
Return: “Benefits in kind more accurate”
The issue is likely to play an important role in the election campaign – and is also causing division in Vienna’s city council. Vice Mayor Christoph Wiederkehr (Neos), also responsible for integration: “In many areas, benefits in kind are more effective than cash benefits. This mainly has consequences for matters such as rent and heating costs, but also for family benefits.”
Hackers: cash instead of vouchers
Social councilor Peter Hacker (SPÖ) argued differently from the “Krone”. He favors cash and social assistance vouchers. His reasoning: people would forget how to manage money through benefits in kind.
To be precise, and not to compare apples and oranges: Asylum seekers are currently excluded from social assistance (minimum income) anyway. If you live in a living space, you will receive 40 euros per month. The Ministry of the Interior is responsible for this and not the city of Vienna. Sometimes this is politically (consciously) lumped together.
Back to the asylum seekers: Hacker does not want to use payment cards as in Germany or force refugees to do community service, but instead wants to open the labor market to asylum seekers. ‘They have to do real work and get a decent wage.’
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
