Hartz IV was selected by the Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache as the “Wort des Jahres” (Word of the Year) in 2004.

Hartz IV is the name given to the financial support for the long-term unemployed.  The term derives from the name of the person who led the commission to reform, amongst other things, unemployment benefits.

The length of time that someone is unemployed before they stop receiving normal unemployment benefit (Arbeitslosengeld) and receive Hartz IV instead depends on a number of factors such as their age and the length of time that they have paid unemployment insurance (Arbeitslosenversicherung).

The amount of support that someone receives depends on factors such as the size of the flat that is considered to be large enough for them, any savings they may have, how many people are dependent on their income, etc.

For example, the allowance for food is set at 4EUR per person per day, which led to the publication of a so-called “Hartz IV menu” earlier this year.

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When I read this article in “Die Welt”, it made me think about food rationing during the Second World War in England, with everything planned down to the last ounce how much a person needed to live on every week.

Now a German politician has done the same sort of calculations for the long-term unemployed to show that the benefits they receive are sufficient to live on.

Germany had to have very good unemployment conditions – provided you were actually looking for work and had paid into the benefits scheme previously, then you could reckon with a certain amount of income.  These days, even if you have been paying into the scheme for all of your working life, you only receive two years of “normal” unemployment benefits – after that you are reliant on the “Hartz IV”.

Hartz IV has been calculated based on the minimum that a person needs to live on, and if you have savings above a certain amount then you will be expected to use these up first.

Anyway, back to the menu.  Here is how to live on 4EUR per day:

Breakfast
2 rolls
jam
1 slice of cheese
1 apple
1 glass of fruit juice
2 cups of tea

Lunch
1 Bratwurst with Sauerkraut and mashed potato

An evening meal is not mentioned in the article, but this should give some idea of the scope of the menu.  Apparently it has been calculated using current supermarket prices and effectively means 128EUR per Month.

I think the problem is that the calculation does not take into account the number of people living in a household.  Just being married with one child means that you can buy larger amounts of food without the waste that may occur if you are a single person, so in the end the amount you spend per person can work out less.

When I calculate the food budget for large events (eg. Scout camps) I work on 5EUR per person per day, because I know that with bulk buying (eg. for 20 people) that is the sort of amount that I will be spending – based on experience.

But is the same true for a single, unemployed person?  Is 138EUR per month enough to live on?