Thomas Wasilewski, 60, has been dependent on citizens' benefit for 12 years. He worked for 30 years and supported the long-term unemployed and young people with professional integration at the employment office for 10 years.
The father of three is plagued by existential fears and reports on the consequences of poverty, which manifest themselves in insomnia, palpitations and mental illnesses. The CDU is planning drastic reforms to make it more difficult for people to access citizen's money. “I will be poor until the end of my life. I never thought that I would be dependent on transfer payments myself,” explains WasileWSki to the audience. Only around 14,000 people are described as so-called “total refusers”. This small group resists reasonable work and rejects work and qualification measures. If there is a change of government, the CDU plans to replace citizens' money with the "NEW BASIC SECURITY" Instead of social security money, citizens would like to use social benefits in a targeted manner.