Social inequality in Germany is on the rise Germany's poor are getting poorer, and the rich richer. A new government report has made clear how wide the country's social divide is growing. More and more people in Germany have precariously low incomes Djamila Kordus is a brave woman. The trained retail saleswoman ventured onto television on the ARD talk show "Hart aber fair" on May 10, entitled, "Poor despite work — is social advancement an empty promise?" Kordus is a single mother. Money is always tight. Although she has a full-time job at a large online retailer as a warehouse clerk, she says she is left with around €500 ($610) to live on per month after deducting all her fixed costs.