About a decade after the reunification of Germany....bringing DDR into the Federal Republic....the national government decided it was time to rebuild the national welfare program. A number of folks had spent years studying the various problems and a collection of projects came out of this effort....all to refer to 'Hartz' (Heart) as the project title.
So Hartz I came around to exist at the end of 2002. It promoted three things: (1) vocational training was hyped up and given a new status in life, (2) temp agencies and temp work was 'blessed-off' as being part of the future of Germany, and (3) temp employees had to be given the same basic rights, pay-scale, time-off, etc....as regular employees.
Hartz II came into existence at the same time. It promoted two things: (1) mini-jobs were now legal, and (2) all government employment offices (in each city) were rebranded as 'Job-Centers'. The rebranding episode meant that money could be spent to 'beautify' the centers and make them appear modern. Most Germans would say that the marginalized job employment offices, now a Job-Center....was barely working and this change was cosmetic in nature. The mini-job thing? It created a part-time job situation where you paid no taxes. The problem here was that you were limited to 400 Euro a month, and a general maximum of 15 hours per week. Germans are mostly split on the mini-job thing. They agree....you need something like this, but in several ways....it's been misused.
Hartz III? It came along a year later, at the end of 2003. It forced a structural change on the Job-Center empire and some rules brought the agency into the modern era. Germans are mostly divided on the success or impact of Hartz III.
Finally, you come to Hartz IV on 24 December of 2003. Social assistance and unemployment assistance were merged into one single program. A standard was established for 2004....each person on welfare would get approximately 295 Euro per month. This was on top of your rent. Every year, the amount is reviewed and increased as necessary. Almost immediately, everyone blasted the amount and argued that this would simply not be enough. The government folks went out and demonstrated that if you shopped in a frugal way....that each person could survive at this rate.
Kids in this Hartz IV situation? They were originally classified as 65-percent adult....so that's the amount of the 295 Euro (2004 numbers) that they were dished out. A year or two later.....the government even went to adjust the percentage down to 60-percent.
The last part of Hartz IV was the limit on unemployment money to 18 months. After the 18th month, if you were still unemployed.....you went on welfare.
What did Hartz IV really do in the end? The budget folks had projected out these massive problems coming in a decade or two prior to Hartz IV.....with a fantastic amount of money required to carry the welfare program of Germany. So in some ways....they rebuilt the system to prevent major financial issues....and in another way built it to convince you to look for work, and get off welfare. Welfare wasn't supposed to be a life-goal.
Since 2003? Fifteen years have passed, and you can generally say these three things:
1. A large number of Germans found ways to leave welfare and get employment. The negative here is that they marginally make more now than they did while on Hartz IV. They rest now on the edge of poverty....working forty hours a week.
2. A whole generation of kids have grown up under the shadow of Hartz IV and it's dramatic change on their lives. Some survived and made their lives better. Some are handcuffed to the ghetto-like lifestyle and live marginal lives even as an adult.
3. A large segment of society believes there is some unfairness to Hartz IV but they are divided on how to proceed. What if you doubled the monthly money? Would it really change things? Would it be better to allocate more money into job programs or training programs....getting totally off Hartz IV?
So as you sit and watch the various chat forums and Germans argue over this....it really comes down to your level of compassion and reality. The Germans would like to fix this....but the solution is not simple.
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