If there is just a tiny bit of truth in the stories about the Hartz IV system from Germany, it's actually the means tested welfare system and its case workers (

If there is just a tiny bit of truth in the stories about the Hartz IV system from Germany, it's actually the means tested welfare system and its case workers (who don't have much time per case) that strip people of their dignity. Up to the point that you think the whole system is designed to punish rather than to help. Just getting some extra cash with no strings attached certainly doesn't strip you of your dignity, and if it does, you can always refuse and demand food stamps instead. In Germany, getting food stamps is what strips you of your dignity. You hold up the queue at checkout while they figure if they can accept those and if they are allowed to give you change, etc.