Friday, March 05, 2004
Welfare State gone mad
I have always maintained that a welfare state, german style, was unsustainable and would collapse under its own weight at some point soon. There are so many disincentives to finding work that I am actually surprised anyone bothers. Now, here's a story that amplifies the need for countries like Germany to do a rethink.
A German court has rejected a claim from an unemployed man who wanted the state to provide him with pornographic material and free visits to a brothel. The 35-year-old man took his local authority to court after the foreign ministry refused to pay an airfare for his Thai wife to travel to Germany. He argued that they should compensate him for his lack of sex.
The unnamed man argued that, as his wife lived in Thailand, the local authority had to compensate him for his "considerable sexual needs". The 2,500-euro claim (£1,700, $3,050) a month was to fund weekly brothel trips, eight pornographic videos and transport costs to and from a video store. "I require the brothel visits for my physical and psychological wellbeing," the man said in his application.
Yes, the court turned this guy down, but the fact that he can even ask the taxpayer to fund his visits to a brothel I find completely ridiculous. If episodes like these aren't reason enough for an overhaul, I don't know what is.
A German court has rejected a claim from an unemployed man who wanted the state to provide him with pornographic material and free visits to a brothel. The 35-year-old man took his local authority to court after the foreign ministry refused to pay an airfare for his Thai wife to travel to Germany. He argued that they should compensate him for his lack of sex.
The unnamed man argued that, as his wife lived in Thailand, the local authority had to compensate him for his "considerable sexual needs". The 2,500-euro claim (£1,700, $3,050) a month was to fund weekly brothel trips, eight pornographic videos and transport costs to and from a video store. "I require the brothel visits for my physical and psychological wellbeing," the man said in his application.
Yes, the court turned this guy down, but the fact that he can even ask the taxpayer to fund his visits to a brothel I find completely ridiculous. If episodes like these aren't reason enough for an overhaul, I don't know what is.
