Ill Considered Policies in Action

[Occhidiangela]

People do take on all kinds of crummy jobs - jobs I sure would never do, and they still (ostensibly) get the protection of those regulations.  A number of 'they couldn't pay me enough to do that' jobs come to mind - working in a chemical factory, working at a waste disposal site, cleaning sewers.....    The list is long for me.  If that is all I were qualified to do and that is all there was available, should I collect unemployment benefits because those jobs were abhorrent to me and I wouldn't take them?  If moral judgement is your issue, then how about working as a secretary at an abortion clinic?  Should a qualified individual still get (government paid) unemployment benefits if they refuse to take that job?
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Oh dear, Shadow, is it can of worms time?

What is the difference between "that job is too icky/risky for me" and "I cannot do that job on moral grounds/for personal reasons." Who gets to draw the line? Kylaren reports that there is indeed a provision in the German law, see below, that mitigates some of the moral issues in that particular case. The line drawn is via statue or regulation.

On the other hand, job as prostitute is available. Some women figure it pays the rent, and take it up for a while. Others make it a career. Others object on personal grounds, others on moral grounds, and won't do the job. Works for me.

Let's take a less odious, from a moral perspective, job.

You don't want to do the chemical waste disposal job because . . . it's too dangerous? It smells bad?

Not to poke fun at your position, but what constitutes a good an sufficient reason to reject a valid job when one is unemployed and receiving benefits from "the state?"

I have hauled trash, shoveled sh**, swept and mopped floors, cleaned filty restrooms, all for low to minimum wage, in my day. Getting to work moving furniture was a step up when that opportunity opened.

The "moral" and "it's against my religion to . . ." arguments in re employment represent significant difficulties in applying a fair labor law, or fair labor regulations, where benefits accrue for not working. Before the law, aren't all citizens equal? Or, as Orwell observes, are some more equal than others?

I'll sign up for the "more equal" group, thanks very much. :D But if I have to dive septic tanks to pay the rent, so be it.

Occhi

In a P.S. to Kylaren:

Thanks for the sanity check. I sometimes wonder how "right" reporters get their stories.

But there's still the law about prostitution that says no woman (hmm...and man?) can be forced into prostitution, and Hartz IV itself says that you have to accept any job unless there's an important reason against it, and I'd say the law about prostitution is a good reason.  Working as a waitress in a brothel would probably be okay, though, but I'm no lawyer.