Germany, that paradise of social welfare services, has implemented welfare reform in light of rising unemployment. If unemployed workers refuse to take a job, their benefits are cut. Germany also legalized prostitution two years ago.
Can you guess the logical result?
According to the Telegraph story, a 25-year-old woman is about to lose her welfare benefits for refusing to take a job as a sex worker.
Under Germany’s welfare reforms, any woman under 55 who has been out of work for more than a year can be forced to take an available job – including in the sex industry – or lose her unemployment benefit. Last month German unemployment rose for the 11th consecutive month to 4.5 million, taking the number out of work to its highest since reunification in 1990.
At this point the women are only being pushed into jobs ‘related to sexual services,’ but according to the article,
“Now that prostitution is no longer considered by the law to be immoral, there is really nothing but the goodwill of the job centres to stop them from pushing women into jobs they don’t want to do.”
This is a win-win situation. The government is no longer wasting resources going after vice crimes and there is also a disincentive to spend long periods of time collecting social welfare benefits.
Yours truly,
Mr. X
…heh…
ow! i need a band-aid now!
“This is a win-win situation. The government is no longer wasting resources going after vice crimes and there is also a disincentive to spend long periods of time collecting social welfare benefits.”
wow… believe it or not i saw it the same way 🙂
ross
Come to the dark side, Ross.
Yours truly,
Mr. X
…Lord Vader…
From my recollections of living in Germany, the cost of sex in a brothel was not all that high. With a greater supply of labor saturating the marketplace, not only will costs decrease, but it should also lower the non-monetary costs males typically pay when they go on a date with an non-sex worker. In and out of the brothel, sex is a supply-and-demand issue.
Which means, whether you pay for your sex or not, the taxes get lower and it is cheaper/easier to get laid.
I think I’ll ask my wife if she minds if I take a short vacation? : )
I think I’ll ask my wife if she minds if I take a short vacation? : )All I know is that I checked my passport after reading this article. I’ve never visited Germany and what better time then when I can help prop up their economy?
Yours truly,
Mr. X
…cold…
Not that I know anything about the sex industry, especially that of Germany, but since prostitution is a “profession”, don’t they get benefits (i.e. health, dental, etc.)? I’m just sayin’…
Dear Boozie,
As far as I know, yes. The whole argument being made by the employers is that they’re offering a job just like everyone else (along with all the attendent regulations and benefits), so they should get access to the pool of job seekers like everyone else.
Yours truly,
Mr. X
…not moving to Germany…
Man, this makes our debate about Social Security look positively tame and puritan.