German scribe on social benefits sanctions: punishment works

Germany's federal employment office published a study from its own think tank that says sanctioning recipients of the bare bones means tested Hartz IV benefits shows they have a strong effect on young people under 25.

Twice as many young single people take up regular employment after being sanctioned than those who are not sanctioned, tout articles like this one. When they move into regular employment or a training program, they do, however, earn less than other people.

If twice as many sounds good, what should we think when we read almost four times as many?

Almost four times as many, that's the increase in the number of young single people who drop out of the labor market altogether as a result of their very first sanction. The only good news about that increase is that the overall number of youngsters disappearing into the "shadow economy", as the study calls it, is small, only a few percentage points of the total.

Media reports on the study itself are relatively balanced across the major papers, though the headlines do indicate certain overall leanings. The socially more moderate Zeit goes with the title "Researchers recommend reform of Hartz-IV sanctions", highlighting the call for reforms by the authors of the study. On the other hand, the more conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine chose "Hartz-IV sanctions accelerate return into employment", focusing on the number of people going into regular employment.

Both articles do mention that loss of all benefits can and does lead to homelessness, which is one reason the study authors suggest reforms.

Things get a lot more interesting in the comments department. Here, Frankfurter Allgemeine fielded a nastygram: Punishment works.

The scribe emphasizes the fact that its is a "benefit of solidarity" coming "out of tax revenues", i.e. not an insurance to which recipients have previously contributed. He also sneaks in the standby of any good German conservative, which is "they don't have something like that in America".

What a shame that the gentleman does not mention the outstanding "benefit of solidarity" extended by everyday citizens to German company heirs who get to forgo inheritance tax because it would be a burden on the business.

Follow this up with the reminder that "careers on Hartz-IV" (a more euphemistic version of the old welfare queen) should be avoided, and you have a great dog whistle that appeals to envy without using the word. The last paragraph of just three short ones insists that sanctions are only the final means of compliance for those who "willfully ignore appointments" and "refuse reasonable offers of employment".

Real life is a little different because the official administrative language he quotes makes no mention of what is considered willful and what is reasonable.

Young Germans finding a job before an appointment at the local jobcenter have been called Arrogant and lazy by their case worker without the slightest hint of empathy.

The blogster is slowly inching closer to the belief that the venerable term "social conservative" might really mean "fuck the downtrodden conservative".