The "Family" Argument

This week, the first real test of the new CDU/CSU/SPD government of Germany occurred.  The topic?  Well....the SPD has charge of the Family Ministry of the government, and that SPD minister came out in support of this radical idea of a 32-hour work week....for parents of young kids, and the missing eight hours of pay?  It would be covered by a special allowance paid by the government, which would be a tax vehicle somewhere in the German budget.

An American would look at this and first ask.....a family cabinet post?  Really?  Yeah, the German government wants to emphasize and always look positive for family support.  Almost all the parties have some platform and always talk big on this.....although it's mostly to get votes and look pro-family.

So the issue?  The thought of this family minister is that if you are a mother.....and you have a kid who is less than ten years old.....you need to spend more time at home.  It shouldn't be a punish-deal.....so someone needs to cough up the eight hours of missing pay and help make this a positive deal.

There are several problems with this.

First, most business operations don't want some government guy coming in and dictating that you got to have two classes of employees.....one who is a full-time person and one who is a 32-hour person.  Who makes up the missing eight hours of work?  Well....the political folks didn't talk much about that.

Second, there's the issue of who pays into this allowance.  Basically, after that kid turns eleven or so.....then this poor gal who had the 32-hour work-weeks.....now turns into a forty-hour a week person (it's not permanent, just an extended period), and she has to contribute into the pot of money that made that possible.  When she wakes up and realizes that from age 35 to 60.....she's putting another three thousand Euro into a special pot to cover these mothers.....she will shake her head and get fairly hostile over the loss of income.

Third and final.....does eight 'free' hours really fix or make the family situation better?  No.  It basically means that you get roughly 1.5 hours a day off each week.  The kid gets out of school at one in the afternoon, and you won't be there for another two hours.  That eight hours wouldn't be enough to do much....except take the kid to medical appointments, or do housework.  That's about it.  Course, if you said she ought to get a 25-hour a week work deal, and the government make up the other 15 hours of lost wages....that'd make practical sense, but would tear up the support for this real quick.

The sad thing?  This weekend from the various political chat shows on German state-run TV.....this will be topic number one.  They will beat this left and right, and everyone will sit there in a daze.....wondering where the sense to it lies.

Eight hours of lost wages....ends up being paid by a bunch of folks, who can barely afford the current tax scheme at hand.  Might as well have a tax on chocolate and chewing gum to help make this a reality.