Alleged abuse of benefits | A law to punish poverty

Down to the last shirt: laundry hangs on the window of a cell in the Cologne Ossendorf prison. Photo: dpa/Oliver Berg Now the federal cabinet has approved the action plan against so-called social fraud. De facto it is an action plan against poor people. For example, Black and Red is cutting social benefits for EU citizens, simplifying forced evictions and depriving people who do not serve a sentence of basic security after being sentenced.

The latter will also increase poverty. Because poor people are more likely to end up in prison: because of accelerated procedures and unpaid fines. And because of systematic differences in the prosecution of so-called poverty crimes compared to white-collar criminals, who are usually much better off financially. “Social benefit fraud” is punished much more severely even without the tougher measures, as the citizens' movement Finanzwende recently denounced.

The new withdrawal of benefits for people with outstanding arrest warrants is not about “welfare fraud” at all. In North Rhine-Westphalia, for example, more than half of the outstanding arrest warrants are based on a fine. This often involves shoplifting or driving without a ticket. This means that the courts had originally judged the offenses to be too minor for a prison sentence.

If those affected cannot pay the fines, alternative prison sentences will be enforced. According to studies, this largely affects people who live in poverty, with mental illness and addiction. Many were convicted in absentia, cannot be reached and may not even know about the arrest warrants, as the Federal Working Group for Criminal Assistance denounces.

If the federal government deprives these people of basic security, it is abusing social law to further punish poverty. His original goal was to have a decent existence. So have people with outstanding arrest warrants forfeited them?

The “nd.Genossenschaft” belongs to those who read and write it. With your contribution, you ensure that our journalism remains accessible to everyone - without any media corporation, billionaire or paywall.

→ report independently and critically → focus on overlooked topics → give marginalized voices a platform → counter misinformation → initiate and further develop left-wing debates

You can make the difference with “Voluntary Pay” or a cooperative share. You help keep this newspaper alive. So that nd remains.