5 ms·

Are the public services so great? If you are unemployed, Harz IV, provides barely enough money to live a decent life (especially compared to other Western-Europ

Are the public services so great? If you are unemployed, Harz IV, provides barely enough money to live a decent life (especially compared to other Western-European countries). Healthcare often distinguishes people who have private insurance (only accessible to public officers, self-employed, and employees earning more than 50,000 Euro) or public insurance. Germany also doesn't have a minimum wage.

thomasz 15y ago
Yes, when compared with US/UK, they are quite good. You have guaranteed access to decent and affordable socialized medical care. My sister has Multiple sclerosis, treatment is very expansive. The treatment is very expansive, the medicine alone costs a few thousand euros each month, she has to go into a MRI a few times a year, and she still doesn't have to pay more for her insurance than anyone else. If she would lose her job, insurance would be taken over by other public services. Basic unemployment benefits are quite low, but still enough keep you warm, fed and clothed. In fact, you get paid more than I had while studying. You are not forced to liquidate property that doesn't exceed reasonable limits. Loosing your job doesn't bring you on the edge of being homeless.
mjwalshe 15y ago
Try living on the uk JSA (£67.50 a week) if you think that German unemployment benefits are low. That is asuming your employer has been paying its NI properly my previous one was not and I got nothing.
gcp 15y ago
If you are unemployed, Harz IV, provides barely enough money to live a decent life (especially compared to other Western-European countries). As someone in one of those other Western-European countries, I can only say this is a good thing. If unemployment benefits are so high that the cost of child care, transportation, etc dwarfs the extra income from a real job, you aren't going to work. Harz IV was harsh, but it allowed the Germans to get their finances right, and they did so timely. Every other European country will face much more serious cuts or go bankrupt. (Or pray to the Germans to pay for their excessive lifestyle, which is what's happening now)
Tichy 15y ago
Hartz IV is not unemployment benefits, it is social welfare (which you get once your unemployment insurance runs out). Unemployment insurance pays a percentage of your previous salary, but you also pay for it while being employed with a percentage of your salary... How much is social insurance in other countries, if it exists at all (does it exist in the US?)?. It has a bad reputation, but I always thought that Hartz IV is actually quite high. The numbers that are being floated in the press seem very low, but they always forget to mention that on top of that the state also pays the rent and health insurance for Hartz IV recipients. Where the system runs into trouble is when it sabotages the recipients through bureaucracy, for example some are being forced to move to a smaller flat even if it is more expensive. If they don't find something suitable in time or are simply unable to keep up with the bureaucracy, they might end up on the street. In that sense it is rather demeaning to people, but I think the amount of benefits received is probably OK. Healthcare still works very well for publicly insured people, although I worry for the future and it has some annoyances. But for example I personally am scared of going private because I worry that physicians will do too much useless stuff to my body just to make money (I know enough stories of that kind). Sometimes more is less...
- eru 15y ago
  About Hartz IV and Bafoeg, etc: I hope the talks of moving to a guaranteed basic income lead somewhere. That would eliminate lots of bureaucracy.
bosie 15y ago
isn't public transportation quite good in germany?
- FrojoS 15y ago
  It is, though the intercity one is very expensive. Its usually cheaper to go by car for multiple people, despite the high gas prices.
skurry 15y ago
When I tell my friends here in the US about Hartz IV, they can't believe it. The government pays your rent, your healthcare, and on top you get an allowance of $480 per month that you can spend however you'd like (note that groceries are much cheaper in Germany, too). Why would anyone ever want to work when he can retire immediately?

thomasz 15y ago

Yes, when compared with US/UK, they are quite good. You have guaranteed access to decent and affordable socialized medical care. My sister has Multiple sclerosis, treatment is very expansive. The treatment is very expansive, the medicine alone costs a few thousand euros each month, she has to go into a MRI a few times a year, and she still doesn't have to pay more for her insurance than anyone else. If she would lose her job, insurance would be taken over by other public services. Basic unemployment benefits are quite low, but still enough keep you warm, fed and clothed. In fact, you get paid more than I had while studying. You are not forced to liquidate property that doesn't exceed reasonable limits. Loosing your job doesn't bring you on the edge of being homeless.

mjwalshe 15y ago

Try living on the uk JSA (£67.50 a week) if you think that German unemployment benefits are low. That is asuming your employer has been paying its NI properly my previous one was not and I got nothing.

gcp 15y ago

If you are unemployed, Harz IV, provides barely enough money to live a decent life (especially compared to other Western-European countries). As someone in one of those other Western-European countries, I can only say this is a good thing. If unemployment benefits are so high that the cost of child care, transportation, etc dwarfs the extra income from a real job, you aren't going to work. Harz IV was harsh, but it allowed the Germans to get their finances right, and they did so timely. Every other European country will face much more serious cuts or go bankrupt. (Or pray to the Germans to pay for their excessive lifestyle, which is what's happening now)

Tichy 15y ago

Hartz IV is not unemployment benefits, it is social welfare (which you get once your unemployment insurance runs out). Unemployment insurance pays a percentage of your previous salary, but you also pay for it while being employed with a percentage of your salary... How much is social insurance in other countries, if it exists at all (does it exist in the US?)?. It has a bad reputation, but I always thought that Hartz IV is actually quite high. The numbers that are being floated in the press seem very low, but they always forget to mention that on top of that the state also pays the rent and health insurance for Hartz IV recipients. Where the system runs into trouble is when it sabotages the recipients through bureaucracy, for example some are being forced to move to a smaller flat even if it is more expensive. If they don't find something suitable in time or are simply unable to keep up with the bureaucracy, they might end up on the street. In that sense it is rather demeaning to people, but I think the amount of benefits received is probably OK. Healthcare still works very well for publicly insured people, although I worry for the future and it has some annoyances. But for example I personally am scared of going private because I worry that physicians will do too much useless stuff to my body just to make money (I know enough stories of that kind). Sometimes more is less...

eru 15y ago
About Hartz IV and Bafoeg, etc: I hope the talks of moving to a guaranteed basic income lead somewhere. That would eliminate lots of bureaucracy.

bosie 15y ago

isn't public transportation quite good in germany?

FrojoS 15y ago
It is, though the intercity one is very expensive. Its usually cheaper to go by car for multiple people, despite the high gas prices.

skurry 15y ago

When I tell my friends here in the US about Hartz IV, they can't believe it. The government pays your rent, your healthcare, and on top you get an allowance of $480 per month that you can spend however you'd like (note that groceries are much cheaper in Germany, too). Why would anyone ever want to work when he can retire immediately?