Basic child protection:

“No measures would be economically stupid at best”

Every fifth child in Austria lives in a family at risk of poverty.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com null)

Social Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens) is convinced that if the state does not invest in the education of the youngest children at an early stage, it will be much more expensive in the long term. Together with Vorarlberg's State Councillor for Social Affairs Katharina Wiesflecker, he advocates rethinking and restructuring the entire social system. 

For Johannes Rauch and Katharina Wiesflecker, the introduction of basic child protection is not only a question of fairness and solidarity, but also of economics. "It will be in place in ten years at the latest," Rauch is convinced. Due to demographic trends - people are getting older and older, and there is already a shortage of young people on the labor market - it will simply not be financially viable for more and more people with a low level of education to make use of the social security system, while the number of employees is decreasing and therefore the number of taxpayers is also shrinking. "Not introducing basic child protection and affording the luxury of a high number of people with a low level of education is economically stupid at best," Rauch sums it up.

Costs due to child poverty

According to an OECD study, Austrians have to spend 17.2 billion euros a year to combat child poverty. This corresponds to 3.6 percent of economic output.

The figures are already alarming: every fifth child in Austria lives in a family at risk of poverty. According to a study by the OECD, this already costs 17.2 billion euros a year. "The social and financial situation of a family has a major impact on the employment situation and health of children in adulthood," explains Wiesflecker.

Recently, 40 members of a Vorarlberg working group considered how disadvantaged girls and boys could be given opportunities for advancement. The result: it's not just education that needs to be addressed, cash and non-cash benefits and adequate housing are also necessary. "The key to combating poverty is education. That is why the expansion and quality assurance of elementary education is just as important as support for elementary school and the expansion of all-day schools," emphasizes Wiesflecker.

"If someone goes to work and then social welfare is completely eliminated, that is nonsense and the opposite of an incentive," says Social Minister Johannes Rauch.

(Bild: Mathis Fotografie)

The Vorarlbergers are therefore in line with the Minister of Social Affairs, who also sees the basic child benefit as being based on three pillars: In addition to a basic amount, which is to be paid regardless of the parents' income, there is to be a second income-dependent part. The third pillar includes benefits in kind, ranging from free childcare and free lunches to free tutoring. All benefits are to be paid out automatically.

"The key to combating poverty is education. The conditions in the areas of elementary education and elementary school are important," Katharina Wiesflecker is convinced.

(Bild: Mathis Fotografie)

However, it is not quite so easy to implement a basic child benefit. Rauch expects it to take around three years, as existing social benefits would first have to be restructured and simplified. "In the nine federal states, there is a wealth of benefits such as family allowance, childcare allowance, family bonus plus, additional child allowance or school grants that are not coordinated with each other," explains Rauch. Due to the differences, the first step would be to get the federal states on board, then numerous legislative changes would be necessary - more than a dozen at federal level alone.

It is also very important to Rauch that there should be a sliding scale for social assistance - similar to the heating cost subsidy in Vorarlberg. Those affected should not fall out of the system from one day to the next. "If someone goes to work and then their social welfare is completely cut off, that's nonsense and the complete opposite of an incentive to go to work," says the Federal Minister.