The fate of the fathers

Mr. Federal President
Alexander van der Bellen
Hofburg – Ballhausplatz 1
AT-1010 Vienna

“Now is the time to dream about how we can make our world better. Now is the time to look further. For us, for our children, our grandchildren. Without hesitation to think completely new. Without fear of thinking too big.”
(Alexander van der Bellen, New Years Address 2021)

Dear Federal President!

Today, at the beginning of the year, I would like to take a look at a group that paradoxically rarely appears in public discussion: the fathers. Being a father can in some ways threaten your existence. I would like to tell you about the fate of the fathers using my own example:

For a long time, my income as an artist consisted of completely irregular and unpredictable income. Since I studied business administration and economics, as a father, before and after the divorce from my wife, I always earned good money on the side. I was, as I always ironically called it, “my own patron”. For some time now, my income has consistently consisted of a so-called “minimum pension”, which is a pension in the amount of the reference rate. This means that I now receive EUR 1,000.48 monthly, paid 14 times a year. The twelfth of the year is therefore EUR 1,167.22.

My two adult children are studying. So they’re entitled to 20% of my income each. This means that I owe both children a monthly maintenance fee of EUR 233.45 each. This leaves me with an income of EUR 700.36. Because they are paid out 14 times, they remain as EUR 533,58 in a normal month.

So I have to get on with my life with a payment of EUR 533.58 in a normal month as long as my children are studying. How does that work?

Now I can already hear the voices calling out to me: “Go to work!” I am working. I work as an artist. I decided to do this at the beginning of my adult life, with all the risk that goes with it. With children, this risk becomes life-threatening after divorce. And the risk of divorce affects not just artists, but every father.

I am lucky that I have successfully sued for my pension to be paid out and that I now have a regular and predictable income that allows me to survive. The children can also plan their maintenance in advance, which is always a problem for self-employed parents.

Other fathers have 3 children. These would have to get by on EUR 300.13 in a normal month if you received a minimum income after the divorce. And before that, after separating their wife and children, they have to build a completely new existence for themselves. In the worst case, fathers can be sued by their children for up to 75% of the subsistence level until the end of their studies.

We have known about the hard fate of single mothers for at least a generation. Nobody speaks of the existence-threatening fate of divorced fathers, whose children are suddenly torn from their lives. Who cares about these people living out of the public eye? Who can we turn to? And who, under these circumstances, still gives birth to children? The population development in Europe tells about it.

In my opinion, the only solution in this generation and gender conflict lies in an unconditional basic income for all people, including children. It is, in the truest sense of the word, about the future of humanity.

One approach to this would be the following:

The Universal Basic Income (UBI)

I sincerely ask you to work towards such a solution.

With kind regards

Peter Wurm

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