As of: April 2, 2024, 7:57 p.m
By: Sandra Sporer
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“Hartz und Herzlich” protagonist Elvis has found a mini-job. However, this is not a financial advantage for him, he thinks, and calculates how much money he and his wife have available to him each month. © RTLZWEI
Many unemployed people want to find a job again. Elvis from “Hartz und Herzen” made it – and still barely had enough money to live on.
Mannheim – Contrary to fears, there are only a few “total refusers” among the citizens’ benefit recipients who would rather collect state aid instead of working. And this despite the fact that a job doesn't always automatically make you better off. “Hartz und Herzlich” protagonist Elvis is currently having this experience. He calculates how much he earns per month and how much he has available to support his family. The result and its conclusion are sobering.
Harsh reality at “Hartz und Herzlich”: Working instead of citizen’s money, but there is still hardly any money
The RTL2 series “Hartz und Herzlich” shows the lives of several citizen benefit recipients and the problems they have to contend with. One of the couples from the show is Elvis and his wife Katrin. Both received citizen's benefit, but now have a mini-job. They work as companions for people with disabilities, earning 520 euros per month each. In total, her income amounts to 1040 euros. Not exactly much.
Therefore, the office is currently covering their rent, electricity and gas costs and paying them 79 euros per month. “So we have 1,120 euros to live on,” Elvis calculates. He adds: “There is no child benefit.” If you add this, the couple has around 2,100 euros to support their family of six, according to the news portal
Der Westen
.
“What’s in it for us?” – Citizen’s benefit recipient Elvis sees no point in working
That may not seem like much to some people. However, if you divide the sum, each family member has a budget of just under 12 euros per day. Even if only groceries had to be paid for, it could be tight. With Elvis and Katrin, however, this must be enough for all necessary expenses. So it's no surprise that Elvis asks himself, "We're going to work. What’s in it for us?”
The 50-year-old comes to the conclusion that the work is hardly worth it from a purely financial perspective. “From a financial point of view, it doesn't help at all.” The couple still only manages to make ends meet “by scrap.” But even if the bottom line is that there isn't much more money, many unemployed people would still prefer a job to receiving a salary from the state. A young mother at “Hartz und Herzlich” was extremely happy when she found a job. Another protagonist of the show wants to get started on TikTok and convince the job center of this career. (
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