Families that work full-time often earn less than families that do not. Only a small aspect of undesirable developments. Experts warn and present a reform package.
“We can barely make ends meet, despite both parents working full-time. Seven children, six of whom are of school age, cost a lot. The family from Wels in Upper Austria came to the public eye through a documentary on the broadcasting organization Servus TV. The “Krone” also reported on the remarkable family.
The reason was the debate on social security, sparked by a case involving a Syrian family with seven children in Vienna, who receive a net 4,600 euros per month. Without work. A proposal by SPÖ leader Andreas Babler would have yielded 2,200 euros more, which the ÖVP happily used.
“We believe justice is important”
The family from Wels receives between 4,000 and 4,500 euros net income. Various benefits for people without income or child benefit are not included in the comparison. Otherwise the difference would be even greater.
After the report on ServusTV and in the “Krone” there were strong reactions on the internet. Not always pleasant for the family. “We also want to put this right”, say the parents, who both work at WIFI. “We are not concerned with ensuring that foreign families get more here, but rather we are critical of an imbalance. That sometimes, despite working full-time, you get less than when others receive social assistance.” Both parents also work with many people with a migrant background. “This is also the reason why we reject a separation between citizens and foreigners.”
The couple refers – just like the ÖVP – to the Danish model. Here you have to have contributed to the system for a few years to receive the full benefits. Work must be worth it, a much-used slogan.
Concerns about “Greek conditions”
That is how economists Carmen Treml and Denes Kucsera of Agenda Austria see it. The think tank has drawn up a dossier for a reform of the social system. ‘Plan A’ was the title. Economists are worried and are pushing for structural and far-reaching reforms. More incentives are needed to work. “In 2023, social spending amounted to around 145 billion euros.” The OECD sees “Greek conditions coming to Austria if we do not counteract the spending in time.”
Key point: put the brakes on subsidies. Easy to implement. Another piece: pensions. The system is tilting. There is an urgent need to increase the retirement age and adapt it to rising life expectancy. And – as is usual in other countries: strengthen private and company pension schemes. Denmark and the Netherlands are a hundred times ahead of us here.
Further demands: standardize social benefits and only for people in need. Stricter rules for those who do not want to work (for example, benefits in kind instead of money). And: introduction of the nursing care insurance. The next government will probably have a lot to do.
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.
