Zehn Jahre Hartz IV – eine kritische Würdigung

More than ten years after the introduction of the basic social provision for jobseekers (SGB II) - the so-called Hartz-IV-reform, it has to be stated that its major goal of substantially reducing poverty and saving public budgets has not been achieved to the degree hoped for. Although the system addresses the demands of the needy with some success, and provides basic income support, there are still problems in the area of social and cultural participation. Moreover, the reform’s general “work first” strategy to solve the problem of poverty obviously contradicts the heterogeneity of the life circumstances of the clients. Remarkably, Hartz IV seems to work more towards increasing the negative effects of a flexible labour market rather than compensating for the social risks, even if some crucial questions have not been adequately researched to date.