The Hartz IV benefits system is actually an old thing... This kind of new arrangement of the social benefit became valid by 2005. The concept was worked out by someone called Peter Hartz (manager at Volkswagen until July 2005), the initiative to reform the benefits system came under a government formed by the SPD and the Green party. It was put in force under chancellor Gerhard Schröder (yep, Schröder from Gazprom).
Core issue of the reforms (it doesn't say IV for nothing... IV is only like the decisive paper for the total new arrangement) back then was the purpose to reduce the official unemployment quota and to cut down the costs of the sprawling old social benefits system at the beginning of the millennium.
In fact, if there are any stories around still about a generous German social benefits system, those tales must be from the time before this. Or these tales must come from Russlanddeutsche (but who also mostly came to Germany in the 90s still - long before the new concept became valid).
This whole thing actually is like a symbol of a deed from the Social Democrats who was so anti-people as it can be which still keeps haunting them here today...
(Severe in a way also because Hartz name also appeared in a corruption scandal in the VW enterprise, involving pleasure trips with prostitutes and such stuff. This scandal actually is the reason why he left the enterprise.)
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This kind of new arrangement of the social benefit became valid by 2005.
The concept was worked out by someone called Peter Hartz (manager at Volkswagen until July 2005), the initiative to reform the benefits system came under a government formed by the SPD and the Green party. It was put in force under chancellor Gerhard Schröder (yep, Schröder from Gazprom).
Core issue of the reforms (it doesn't say IV for nothing... IV is only like the decisive paper for the total new arrangement) back then was the purpose to reduce the official unemployment quota and to cut down the costs of the sprawling old social benefits system at the beginning of the millennium.
In fact, if there are any stories around still about a generous German social benefits system, those tales must be from the time before this. Or these tales must come from Russlanddeutsche (but who also mostly came to Germany in the 90s still - long before the new concept became valid).
This whole thing actually is like a symbol of a deed from the Social Democrats who was so anti-people as it can be which still keeps haunting them here today...
(Severe in a way also because Hartz name also appeared in a corruption scandal in the VW enterprise, involving pleasure trips with prostitutes and such stuff. This scandal actually is the reason why he left the enterprise.)