Social security failures coupled with structural gender inequality leave many people in Germany mired in poverty, especially single-parent families and older women.
Major gaps remain in the world’s third richest country between the amount of social security support received and the poverty risk threshold.
The parties in coalition talks should prioritize strengthening social security protections and addressing longstanding structural barriers to gender equality.
And here we see the gulf between legal requirements and implementation even in still-functioning democracies. It’s still surreal that Germany is holding but the U.S. has failed.