The federal government plans to motivate more recipients of citizens' income to take up work with stricter regulations. This is evident from a 31-page document of the traffic light coalition, which is available to the news agency dpa. The "Bild am Sonntag" was the first to report on this.

As part of a growth initiative aimed at boosting the faltering German economy, the new measures are intended to particularly strengthen the principle of reciprocity. "To maintain the acceptance of services and to bring more affected individuals into work, it is necessary to reinforce the principle of reciprocity," the paper states.

The following regulations are intended for recipients of citizens' income:

1. Zumutbare Pendelzeiten: Bei einer täglichen Arbeitszeit von bis zu sechs Stunden soll eine Pendelzeit von zweieinhalb Stunden (Hin- und Rückfahrt) zumutbar sein. Bei längeren Arbeitszeiten sind auch drei Stunden Fahrt akzeptabel.
2. Erweiterte Jobsuche: Das Jobcenter soll im Umkreis von 50 Kilometern nach einem Arbeitsplatz suchen dürfen.
3. Härtere Sanktionen bei Arbeitsverweigerung: Wer zumutbare Arbeit "ohne einen triftigen Grund ablehnt", muss mit "erhöhten Kürzungen des Bürgergeldes" rechnen.
4. Strafen bei Schwarzarbeit: Wer schwarz arbeitet, begeht eine Pflichtverletzung und soll mit einer Leistungskürzung von 30 Prozent für drei Monate bestraft werden.
5. Vermögensverzehr vor Bürgergeldbezug: Bevor Bürgergeld beansprucht werden kann, sollen Betroffene zunächst vorhandenes Vermögen aufbrauchen, wobei die Altersvorsorge davon ausgenommen bleibt.

Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP) defended the planned measures: "Those who voluntarily work more will have more net income from their gross. Those who don't want to work despite being able to will face stricter rules regarding citizens' income," Buschmann wrote on the platform X. "This is socially just and economically wise in times of labor shortages.

The planned regulations aim to strengthen the personal responsibility of citizen's income recipients while simultaneously increasing the acceptance of social benefits among the population. Additionally, they are intended to help reduce unemployment numbers and stabilize the German economy.

The discussions about the new measures will certainly continue to be conducted intensively in the coming weeks. It will become clear whether the tightened regulations achieve the desired effects and how they are received by those affected and the general public.