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January 31, 2005
Welfare Reform in Germany
Most Western European nations need welfare and job reform. Germany has had double digit unemployment for years now and until recently you could stay on the dole there for years without having to work. Germany recently added a work requirement that if you are offered any job you have to take it in order to keep your benefits. Because prostitution is legal in Germany now women are being denied unemployment benefits if they turn down offers to become prostitutes.
Although it strikes us as obviously wrong to force women into prostituion, it does not strike me as wrong that people have to take some jobs they do not like. When I worked with welfare recipients in Texas the social workers and related laws were much more reasonable. They tried to find jobs that were appropriate to the person and avoided dangerous jobs, but that still meant people sometimes had to take jobs they did not like.
The other problem in places like Germany is the ammount of restrictions put on employers that are supposed to help workers, but end up making employers reluctant to hire people. The story linked to above says that brothels are required to provide health care for their workers. For instance in France it is extremely hard to fire any employee (It can take months!) and the burden of proof is on the employer to show that an employee deserves to be fired. In the long run these policies end up hurting workers more than they help because there are fewer job openings, less businesses to employ people, and less wealth overall.
Posted by Pete at January 31, 2005 10:54 AM
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