Out of Work? Sell Your Body!
 

German Government May Ask Un-Employed to Work in Brothels

Obviously there is a comic aspect to this but after reading it I learned some things I never knew about Germany.

1. Prostitution is legal
2. Unemployment is at an amazing 10% (and has been for a decade)
3. There are "penalties" 'imposed' on people who "voluntarily give up work."

Hey, look! Welfare makes people lazy!!

This fills my quota for "learned stuff" for the date of february 5th, 2005.

I find it peculiar that the German government is so "involved" with its citizens' lives to the point of suggesting jobs for unemployed people. This is the type of "parenting" I don't want over here in the states and I think there is already too much of. I recently quit my job/got fired (some of you may remember my thread on "humorous ways to get fired"). There is something very satisfying about quitting a shitty job, and I wouldn't want the government on my back about it.

Recommending a new job is a position already filled: by my mother. She broke out the newspaper, went into the help wanted section and started nagging me about getting another job before I even quit my old one. I'm glad my parent is doing the parenting and not the government. Whether I want to work or not is my personal freedom, the government can stay out of it.

Thoughts? Particularly looking for Meister's opinion.

I don’t think it’s fair to say welfare makes people lazy, the statements incomplete. I think a more correct statement would be “If the welfare system provides a high enough standard of living that working is not significantly better it makes people lazy”.

Shouldn't this problematic make them reconsider the amount of pressure and control they feel they can effect on people?

But no... they go "hey, lets just exclude prostitution from the jobs we can force people to take!"

Ugh.

In America, when you go on Unemployment, you have to show that you are looking for a job. And if you choose not to take a job, you can lose your unemployment. Seems pretty much the same in Germany, albeit perhaps to a different degree.

So, nothing is being "Forced" on anyone. It's just, if you want to get your check for not working, you are supposed to show that you are, at least, TRYING to work.

Of course, telling people "suck cock or you don't get your unemployment" is retarded and degrading. In America, I have to pay unemployment insurence while I work, and if someone told ME that I had to be a whore, or not get back the money that I was forced to pay, I'd throttle them.

I think what the author of that article wrote was in perfect wording: " ...generous welfare benefits that in many cases have dulled people's desire to seek work."

The question is where do you draw the line between welfare benefits that are high enough to pay the bills but low enough that you don't have welfare queens popping out a new kid every nine months and living the high life at the government's expense?

I retract the use of the word "force", especially since it doesn't alter the meaning of my post except in a very little way.

It's pretty amusing to hear all the time that welfare has to be devalorized (not a word, I guess) instead of valorizing work.

it just goes to show how socialism can screw up a country. it is not the governments job to find work for you. if you dont even look than its YOUR fault. the problem is that for all too many people in todays society, having the bare minimum is enough of a deterrant to working.

I don't see too much of a distinction between AMerican and German policies, are there actually laws which give prison sentences to the unemployed? I don't think so, I think its just a loss of government support, which is fine by me. Just because the government advocates its populace being employed, doesn't mean it forces them to, the US government wants everyone to have a job, but it can't lock you up for being a bum. (unless you sleep in the wrong place, or dig in the wrong garbage can, and even then you can typicaly get off with a warning or a pity glare from the cops, trust me on this, ok? :) )

all in all, I think I'd rather be a bum than a prostitute, no sure why exactly, just think it would be the prudent thing to do!

Please don’t lump all socialism together. mistakes are made in every system to say that this is typical of socialism of a generalization of the highest order. Oh and congrats on blaming unemployment on people being lazy.


The oft seen oft ignored dark side of the American dream is as follows. If one can succeed and clamed all he feels entitled to through hard work the inverse holds true as well. If on has failed, lost his footing and cannot get up, no extraordinary circumstances have taken place. No bad luck or fatal mistake took place. He only gave up the ghost and accepted himself as a falter. This is where we see the horrible danger of the myth of the American dream, when success is all but guaranteed those without the will to grasp it are less than the scum on you feet. They are beyond pity and beyond hope, and should be consigned to die