Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2007/01/21
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]The figures for unemployment in Germany are heavily influenced by the new laws forcing the unemployed into so called "1 Euro Jobs" - a sort of work or starve measure in which people perform menial work for only 1 Euro per hour, the money earned in these jobs becomes a supplement to unemployment benefits under ALGII (generally known as Hartz IV, and named after the the VW executive Hartz who is currently in court on corruption charges). Although these people are working, they are not in a position to live on their earnings without further state subsidies - however, they don't appear in the unemployment statistics. QED, the unemployment figures look "good" but aren't . Further reductions in the figures are a result of the "ICH AG" system which provides people with subsidies to start in self-employment - the success rates here are very low. After becoming redundant a few years ago, I took advantage of a "bridging grant" to set up my own business in translating, fortunately a resounding success. Nathan is correct in mentioning that unemployment figures are actually falling in parts of Europe, for example Denmark is actively seeking workers from Germany, and has representatives in German Job Centres in the northernmost German state of Schleswig Holstein, similarly, many long term unemployed German workers have crossed the border into the Netherlands to work, for instance, on tomato picking. Strangely enough, long-term unemployed Germans were not prepared to take low- earnings jobs picking vegetables and fruit in Germany - jobs traditionally performed by itinerant Polish workers - not only this, the farmers reported that German workers were either unable or unwilling to perform these jobs satisfactorily. Job vacancies in German are rising, but predominantly for qualified and highly qualified workers, there are still very few opportunities for unqualified workers to earn a living wage, or for that matter for anyone, qualified or unqualified and over the age of 50 (as I personally discovered during 2 1/2 years of unemployment - 30 years of experience in geophysics just doesn't count if you are over 50, though I eventually got a 7 month job as a consultant for geothermal energy exploration - in the company that had made me redundant in the previous year). Douglas Nathan Wajsman wrote: > Obviously, the situation varies by country, but just to correct > something Douglas wrote: unemployment in Germany (and across Europe in > general) is falling, not rising. The four million figure for Germany > sounds high, but it is down from over 5 million at the beginning of > the year (see: http://www.destatis.de/indicators/d/arb110ad.htm). The > same picture holds in the Netherlands (latest unemployment figure is > 224000, down from 297000 one year ago and 316000 two years ago, > http://statline.cbs.nl/StatWeb/table.asp?HDR=T&LA=nl&DM=SLNL&PA=37948&D1=a&D2=453,465,477,489,501,513,525,537,549,561,573,585,597,609,621,633,645,l&STB=G1) > > and so on. So if you are seeing more homeless people than before, it > cannot be because of the economic situation, since that is improving > pretty much everywhere in Europe. > > There are of course variations in the strength of the social safety > net across countries. Based on what I know about Denmark, for example, > there is no reason why any legal resident of that country should ever > be homeless. Even after your unemployment insurance runs out, the > basic welfare payment you receive is sufficient to guarantee food, > shelter and other basic necessities. Most of the homeless I see in > Copenhagen are drunks or people with other addictions and/or mental > illness. It is a complex issue: how paternalistic can the state be? > Can it force someone to use their welfare money sensibly rather than > spending it all on booze? > > In places like Spain or the UK, many of the homeless are illegal > immigrants. In the UK, they may even be legal--for example, some of > the close to 1 million Poles who came to the UK after Poland joined > the EU have not been able to find jobs, and end up on the streets. > There are charities who help them get temporary shelter and pay for > the trip back to Poland. > > In Amsterdam, most of the homeless are junkies or addicts of one kind > or another, and many are foreigners. Many are also young--the city > attracts drug addicts from across Europe due to its liberal culture > and the ease with which they can blend in. > > And so on. > > Nathan > > Peter Dzwig wrote: >> Sounds pretty mich the same as back home in blighty Douglas, >> >> Peter >> >> Douglas Sharp wrote: >>> From a Brit who has been living in what is/was probably the >>> smuggest European country (Germany) for over 30 years Larry, >>> homeless and particularly the homeless or unemployed with an alcohol >>> or drug problem are a common sight in most German cities. And if you >>> don't actually see them, there are enough reports of them being >>> beaten up by neo-nazis and young German-Russian immigrants - two >>> cases alone last week in Hannover. >>> Much is done here in the way of giving them a bed at night - if they >>> accept it, and quite a few don't on the grounds that what little >>> they have is often stolen by their bed-neighbours. Similarly there >>> are organisations offering free meals, a bath and medical/dental >>> facilities too (Salvation Army, Samaritans etc.) In the same way >>> much is being done on the drug addiction front - controlled >>> methadone dosage, clean needles, hygienic "fix-rooms" and Hannover >>> planned the free and controlled provision of heroin - cheaper and >>> with less detrimental side-effects than methadone, Federal >>> Government has now scrapped this plan in the course of cost reductions. >>> >>> Similar to the magazine "Big Issue" (UK), there is a magazine >>> project here called "Asphalt" which attempts to get them back into >>> an "ordered" life. They sell the magazine and get a proportion of >>> the proceeds, the magazine publishers organize various measures for >>> reintegration of their sellers. >>> >>> Although homelessness is a big problem here, the situation will get >>> even worse over the next few years, rising unemployment (at present >>> over 4 million unemployed) cut-backs in unemployment and social >>> security payments mean that more and more people will be ending up >>> on the streets. The main reasons given by the homeless themselves >>> are - in order of significance - poverty after becoming unemployed >>> - divorce (alimony payments, supporting children) - deaths in the >>> family - release from imprisonment and most of these also in >>> conjunction with accompaniment of alcohol or drug abuse. >>> >>> The police here do tend to keep the "Penners" out of the main >>> shopping areas and public transport by quietly requesting them to >>> move along: In earlier years there were a couple of cases of police >>> transporting them to the city limits (e.g. in Frankfurt) until two >>> men froze to death in mid-winter, that soon stopped it. >>> Begging as such is not forbidden here, "Have you got a Euro?" is >>> common in all railway stations and city centres, but aggressive >>> begging is considered to be on a par with assault, and arrests are >>> common. >>> >>> The general public and shopkeepers tend to more or less ignore them >>> as long as the aren't making trouble, in a country where becoming >>> unemployed no longer has its social stigma it is certainly a case of >>> "There, but for the grace of God - Go I", people are too worried >>> about their own situation to look down on them from the heights they >>> used to. It has become noticeable over the last 15 or 20 years how >>> many stores, restaurants, public transport operators etc. now employ >>> security personnel to stop the homeless entering their premises to >>> get warm. >>> >>> From a civilized country >>> Douglas >>> >>> >>> >>> larry.k@rcn.com wrote: >>>> >>>> >>>> So, what do the smug Europeans say on this subject? Do they have >>>> any answers to the plight of the homeless? >>>> >>>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Leica Users Group. >>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >>> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Leica Users Group. >> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >> >> >