Hi,
I believe you don't lose your benefits immediately; I think it will happen after you've denied three jobs offered to you, but I could be wrong.
I agree, that part of the law sounds reasonable to me too, assuming scenarios like these (woman forced to work as prostitutes) won't happen. But Hartz IV is a lot more than that, it also means a lot less money for people that were unemployed for over a year, and things like forcing people to move if a job far away gets offered to them. Now here in Germany, we don't move so often and so readily like you Americans seem to do, and additionally, people were used to the high social welfare. Horror scenarios like the one mentioned in the article and a lot of false information floating around about the law heated up the discussion as well, and so good effects like unemployed single mothers receiving more money than before, got drowned in the uproar.
The law is in effect since the beginning of the year, and I really hope things will cool down around here...
-Kylearan
Nystul,Feb 2 2005, 10:41 AM Wrote:Oddly enough, the law in question seems fairly reasonable to me (although I'm sure the devil is in the details). If someone is going to claim unemployment, and they are offered jobs they are capable of, they should have to take one within a certain amount of time or lose their benefits. Now, making someone immediately take the first job offered may not be a good approach, because you end up with skilled laborers in professions they are not the most efficient at (or something they flat out don't want to do). But at some point, you have to draw the line and make the people take a job or pay their own bills.
I believe you don't lose your benefits immediately; I think it will happen after you've denied three jobs offered to you, but I could be wrong.
I agree, that part of the law sounds reasonable to me too, assuming scenarios like these (woman forced to work as prostitutes) won't happen. But Hartz IV is a lot more than that, it also means a lot less money for people that were unemployed for over a year, and things like forcing people to move if a job far away gets offered to them. Now here in Germany, we don't move so often and so readily like you Americans seem to do, and additionally, people were used to the high social welfare. Horror scenarios like the one mentioned in the article and a lot of false information floating around about the law heated up the discussion as well, and so good effects like unemployed single mothers receiving more money than before, got drowned in the uproar.
The law is in effect since the beginning of the year, and I really hope things will cool down around here...
-Kylearan
There are two kinds of fools. One says, "This is old, and therefore good." And one says, "This is new, and therefore better." - John Brunner, The Shockwave Rider