Ringen um den Regelsatz

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In 2010 the German constitutional courtobligated legislative and government to revaluate the rate of welfare payments. Hence a windowof opportunity opened for poor people’s movement activists to initiate a broad debateon scarce benefits in the German workfare regime of „Hartz IV” and to promote significantlyhigher benefits. We discuss the crucial factors of their campaign’s failure such as the weaknessof the hardly existing movement of the unemployed, the interests of parties and administration,and the important politico-economic function of „Hartz IV”.