Germany edition

Man refuses food over welfare cuts

Published: 19 Nov 12 11:48 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/society/20121119-46251.html

An unemployed Berlin man who had his state welfare cut to nearly nothing is refusing to eat, in an attempt to make the government consider introducing a basic income.

Long-term jobless 'lazy and picky' say Germans - Society (16 Oct 12)
Basic jobless support cut nearly a million times - Business & Money (11 Apr 12)
More jobless only getting basic support - Business & Money (29 Dec 11)

Ralph Boes, 54, has not eaten since November 1 and, he told the Stuttgarter Zeitung on Monday he would not stop his protest until his demands are heard. Until then the occasional cup of vegetable stock will have to do.

Boes refuses to label his protest as a hunger strike, preferring the idea that the government has punished him with starvation. The job centre recently cut his monthly jobseeker's payment to €37.50 – a tenth of what it was. It still pays his rent.

He denies bringing the situation upon himself by turning down multiple job offers, saying that as a trained and experienced occupational therapist, it would be unthinkable to work in a badly paid, unskilled job.

He turned down shifts at a call centre for €7 an hour, calling it “slave labour”, while a job in the office of a temping agency would make Boes what he called a “slave master” both of which were, morally, not options for him.

Instead, he wants an unconditional basic income paid by the government for everyone. In the fight for this, it was time that someone trying to be heard, “replaced their voice with their life.”

“I'm being punished to the point of death,” he added. “But I will not die, I will win.”

Boes told the paper he believed a basic income should be available to everyone from the government to fund them to do what they consider right, important and sensible.

Until then, he said he was recording his daily activities and weight loss in a blog - he has lost nearly seven kilos in the last nearly three weeks.

To the critics who have labelled him a parasite, Boes said “I asked them what they think of bankers; whether they too are not parasites?”

The Local/jcw

What do you think? Leave your comment below.

Your comments about this article:

14:08 November 19, 2012 by veetann

_{Comment removed by The Local for breach of our terms.}

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14:42 November 19, 2012 by auslanderus

You refuse to work at a job beneath you; I don't feel sorry for you. Why not hold out for an auto, a paid trip and a room at the Ritz. There are people that would jump at a job that your turning down because "you" feel it's below you. Enjoy your hot soup, some people would be thankfull to even have that to drink.

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15:09 November 19, 2012 by smart2012

here it is a major issue in Germany, whicg Verkel is hiding keeping attaking the greeks. after introduction of 400 Euros and temp agency jobs (which are hiding the real unemployemnt rate), people around 55 years old are in trouble. After two years of unemployement eg from an engeenering job, u enter hartz 4, and there u can get offered unqualified jobs badly paid and not qualified. big problem in germany, i fully understand this guy.

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15:56 November 19, 2012 by Zubair Khan

Germans have the habbit of sticking the whole folk with one stick irrespective of the qualification some one possesses. This is unjust and brining bad name to the country. Top notches to consider it seriously. Man has right to get a job according to his profession and qualification.

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16:07 November 19, 2012 by StoutViking

If he is a therapist, why not open his own practice?

Ah wait, a bank would never give him the loan. They're busy subsidising their buddies... Small business loan? Nooo... A loan to a stuffy tycoon for a financial escapade? With pleasure!

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16:23 November 19, 2012 by gorongoza

Ralph, I like your statement: ´´ I asked them what they think of bankers; whether they too are not parasites ?``

Many of us as taxpayers hold the same view but we are powerless to challenge it - inside we are completely burnt out.

At least somebody must do something about it. You have started the protest in your own way: you are assured of my moral support.

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16:54 November 19, 2012 by pjnt

I agree and disagree at the same time! Finding a job within his field is his responsibility and accepting payments from the government requires that he accept a lesser job, should it be offered while HE continues to explore other options. So I would say, cut his payments and let him go hungry until he realizes he is obligated to put in his own effort.

The other thing is I am certain he didn't care at all about hertz 4 recipients and their struggles before he became one himself. I would have taken this more seriously had he been an employed occupational therapist fighting for more rights of the poor, then being poor and calling out the gift bearers.

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17:12 November 19, 2012 by Bulldawg82

Survivors do what they have to do to live. Being employed in an area that is "beneath you" (arrogance is NOT a virtue) will do while you keep looking and working your way back up. I've been there (and done that). This is symptomatic of a spoiled and entitled person.

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18:43 November 19, 2012 by onemark

I fully agree with pjnt and Bulldawg.

This rooster is an arrogant prick who is not prepared to accept any employment below his self-assessed status. Unfortunately he is not the only one in this country who thinks that way.

I'm pushing 60, have a bachelor's and a master's degree and have worked both for temping agencies and a call-centre. The work was not particularly inspiring but I was never to good or too fine to do work like this.

He should swallow his pride and get his arse into gear. He deserves no support for this posing.

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#10

18:45 November 19, 2012 by raandy

The occupation is not that highly in demand under a more conservative gov.

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#11

19:41 November 19, 2012 by bwjijsdtd

Oh well, one less mouth to feed ...

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#12

20:00 November 19, 2012 by Englishted

If he owned his house ,they would not even give rent money .

But what would the people who cut his money do if their employers (us tax payers) decided that the should also work for €7 a hour as part of the austerity drive ?.

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#13

21:45 November 19, 2012 by wxman

Maybe if this parasite croaks, it will put the rest on notice.

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#14

22:20 November 19, 2012 by Reltih

Anyone who is too lazy and weak to work a job they don't like is certainly too lazy and weak to commit to a hunger strike.

We're supposed to believe that he can't tolerate a job that is "beneath him" but he's going to starve himself?

How do you say lol in German?

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#15

23:17 November 19, 2012 by Steve1949

I think he should be grateful for any job offer. I was also on hartz 4 until I took myself off of it because I had to go back to the states to look after my mother. I was 62 at the time and didn't even get offer a job at a call center.

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#16

23:17 November 19, 2012 by joshuef

While I can appreciate all the people saying, 'he's lazy and doesn't want a job' and 'I did it, it's something you have to do' and so on. Somethine you have to ask yourself is... Do you want to? And why should you work a low skilled slave labour job?

Because someone else did? That's not a reason to do anything...

I wouldn't want to work a job like that, and I would hope that no one qualified for something would have to.

At the end of the day, it is us that decide what money *should* get spent on. And if everyone stopped calling people 'lazy' for not wanting to work an awful job, and rationalising it with 'I had to, so they should', then perhaps we could work society to a point where more people can find more fulfilment in their work.

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#17

01:15 November 20, 2012 by bobmarchiano

Yes he should work until he finds a better job BUT 7 per hour after taxes is .... All of you

Why do you not demand a living wage.

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#18

01:41 November 20, 2012 by Berlin fuer alles

I don't want to work in a call centre and I am not as qualified and experienced as he is. Suggest proper alternative employment to him or leave him alone. This attitude in Germany where it is smiled upon to see someone who wants to work in better employment but is let down by the employment system is sick. Germans are jealous by nature. He is standing by his principles. He has worked hard and does not want to work in a rubbish job.

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#19

02:18 November 20, 2012 by Reltih

"Because someone else did? That's not a reason to do anything...

I wouldn't want to work a job like that, and I would hope that no one qualified for something would have to."

BECAUSE if YOU don't work then someone ELSE who does WORK has to pay YOUR way. You live off of their taxes...the government can never give anything to anyone that it did not first take away from someone else.

Children don't want to eat vegetables. They don't see why they should. Most children would choose chocolate cake over vegetables and good food. Should the state provide all you can eat cake buffets to children? Think how fulfilled they would be. And obese.

Able bodied people should work instead of stealing resources from people who truly need it. I don't care if you like your job...do you think I like paying taxes? The difference between you and I is that the gov will come and force me to pay taxes at the point of a gun...while you lay on your entitled ass.

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#20

03:00 November 20, 2012 by Berlin fuer alles

You sound like an american Relith. This guy wants to work and is well qualified and shows a long history of working. He has studied hard to even get a start in what he does. I doubt this is as simple a situation as not wanting to work unless it is his full prefference job. He is being forced to work in a Call Centre. I wouldn't work there either. Smile while you dial. Give me a break. Those jobs belong to monkeys who are trained to press the answer switch and the relevant answer template.

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#21

06:58 November 20, 2012 by Reltih

"You sound like an american Relith. This guy wants to work and is well qualified and shows a long history of working. He has studied hard to even get a start in what he does. I doubt this is as simple a situation as not wanting to work unless it is his full prefference job. He is being forced to work in a Call Centre. I wouldn't work there either. Smile while you dial. Give me a break. Those jobs belong to monkeys who are trained to press the answer switch and the relevant answer template. "

You sound like a soft Euro weenie.

He doesn't "want to work." He wants to do what he wants to do. Nothing else. But food isn't free. Housing isn't free.

Funny how most of you are commie sympathizers...yet you believe from each according to his desires. You should read your Marx.

Who cares what he wants to do? Do the people paying taxes to support him get to opt out if they want to?

No. So who are the slaves, again? I'd say it is the taxpayer who is forced to pay for a grown, able bodied man who doesn't WANT to do anything but what he WANTS to do.

Let me ask you something...If I get a degree in Navajo Blanket Construction...does someone then owe me a job in that field? Why not? It's what I WANT to do.

You sound like a spoiled child crying over his mother's choice of dinner. Eat what's on the table or go hungry should be what mother says.

Imagine...being an educated man in an industrialized nation...fully aware of the billions going hungry on the planet who don't even have access to clean water...but you're so spoiled and entitled that you will only do something befitting your station. What principle.

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#22

07:24 November 20, 2012 by realist1961

While it is noteworthy he is standing by his principles, the logical conclusion is absurd. Does the Government owe everyone a job that is not beneath them? Does the Government pay these people a wage that is not beneath them while they look for a job that is not beneath them? Where does it end? One may not like a call center job while another may not like working outdoors or any sort of physical labor. The Government is responsible for creating an environment where businesses thrive and can provide jobs to the population. The Government can provide universities where people can learn and be trained. The rest is up to us.

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#23

07:29 November 20, 2012 by auniquecorn

Amen Reltih

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#24

09:29 November 20, 2012 by BobbyBaxter

If this guy is so educated he should know about the laws of 'Supply and Demand'. Hence, his skill is obviously not in 'Demand' so why should he then be 'Supplied' anything.

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#25

11:39 November 20, 2012 by Berlin fuer alles

@ Ralph Boes

OK, give them their pound of cheap flesh that they seek. Go to work in this idiot job. As a trained and experienced occupational therapist you should apply the skills you have to the phone job they offer you. Cannot imagine it being much use to the call centre though. Just sit there and massage the phone and answer about 1 call per hour. Taking up their desk space in such a manner will cost them more than they make by forcing you to do this job. You are after all only there becasue they are not willing to pay properly for someone to do this job in the first place.

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#26

17:31 November 20, 2012 by Bulldawg82

Working crappy jobs while you keep looking for your better job (in your chosen field) is far better than mooching off of the German people while you complain about having to work while you look for your better job. Those who are truly in need have a better claim to those resources.

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#27

20:26 November 21, 2012 by jmclewis

This man is a leach, he is able bodied and should support his self. It is not fare other are supporting him and he is taking money from people truly in need of help such as the handicapped.

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#28

20:45 November 21, 2012 by AClassicRed

I simply think the irony is that there are plenty of professionals with degrees as relevant as this piece of arrogant trash, who are from EU countries who can't find a job in their home country but would be willing to take such call centers job just to have any money coming in than be destitute while they are continuing their job searches.

The thing people like berlinfuralles can't seem to comprehend or entirely dismiss is that these jobs are offered WHILE the person should/could be continuing to apply for other jobs. This guy just wants to sit on his backside getting benefits until the perfect job he desires suddenly appears.

And consider those from non-EU countries in Germany who have relevant and often high credentials for professions that the government refuses to recognize, although they've spent years in study and have experience and are trying to make a life here. Even with those credentials, they might be glad to have a job at a call center not because its their ideal work, but because it leaves "a paper trail". It shows they have a job so they can then getting housing in their names without having to pay out of the wazoo to subletters. Yet they are not allowed to take these jobs even if they want them, yet Germans like these scorn them.

I find it sickening, and actually know some Germans who brag they've not worked in years and only get benefits so they can sit around in coffee shops and alternatively moan about their sad lot in life or laugh about being free to do whatever they want. As others have said, he is a self-absorbed moron with a huge sense of entitlement. If he really, really wanted to work in his profession, he would do like others who may find themselves in a situation where there work is not in demand: GO someplace where it is. You can take a job in another country or city where you can work in your field. Yet no, that is too cerebral and reality for him to consider.

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#29

09:02 November 22, 2012 by Zeppelinfan

I can understand why this guy is fighting it out....when one has a better job previously, one will not succumb to a lower-paid job for its demoralizing factors. It is asking a manager or a judge to do a cleaning job. People just have to under the psychological part of going through this sort of life challenging moments: it is a radical shift in the mind and people do get depressed and unhappy so how can they perform well in the given jobs like in a call centre???

It is like asking your grandma who is so short of money now due to the high costs of living to work in the Reeperbahn in Hamburg to continue her kaffee and Kuchen routine. It is as bad as that...

I hope he will eventually eat something and get help for his fragile mental and physical condition.

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#30

15:33 November 26, 2012 by franconia

I can not believe how many of you people support this Guy, are you Socialist Germans? Bleeding heart Americans, or? Guys like him are a dime a dozen in Germany. That includes Russian, and whatever other country assylum seekers who want a 4 room Apartment , free transportation and a monthly "salary" from the hardworking German taxpayer. That includes "ewige Studenten" , going free to Universities forever, never getting an Abitur and mostly live at home. I know them all.

Give this Guy a broom and a water hose to clean the puke and broken beer bootles off the streets of Berlin.

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#31

22:42 January 7, 2013 by johnaustralia

Too many people are interpreting this guy as fighting just for himself and not wanting a job 'beneath him'. Nowhere does it say that this is the reason he does not want to take these jobs. It states that he feels the jobs he has been offered are either slave labour or being a slave master. He has a fundamental objection to wage slavery for all, not just for himself, and hence the protest. You should all read more about the ideas behind basic universal income - it would be for all, regardless of how rich or poor one is, freeing people up to 'work' (which would often be volunteer work) in areas that are truly meaningful, like fighting for human rights, cleaning up the planet etc. And before you start arguing that this would be too costly, just think about the fact that the vast majority of jobs from 100 years ago are now done by machinery/ computers and a fraction of the human input (i.e. we have the efficiency to produce all of our needs very easily with only a small amount of 'work' required), and that the vast majority of jobs being done today are largely pointless, having been 'created' in the blind pursuit of economic progress.

You should read this:

http://radicalunjobbing.wordpress.com/what-is-radical-unjobbing/

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