Unintended consequences

Nathan of Brain Fertilizer has brought an article to my attention. It seems that when Germany legalized prostitution back in 2002, it was in order to stymy the organized crime racket. Now, though, when women are receiving unemployment checks from the government, they can be cut loose from the federal teat if they turn down any job offer... including an offer to work a brothel.

A few quotes:

Under Germany's welfare reforms, any woman under 55 who has been out of work for more than a year can be forced to take an available job – including in the sex industry – or lose her unemployment benefit. Last month German unemployment rose for the 11th consecutive month to 4.5 million, taking the number out of work to its highest since reunification in 1990.

Under fifty-five? Yikes... but talk about a disincentive to applying for federal funds, eh? I think I'd be motivated to keep my current job or get another one quick, rather than being a layabout while I leisurely consider new job prospects. Seems to me that it's the logical progression of things. We want things to be legitimate when we want them to be, and illegitimate if we want them to be. Sort-of like the abortion argument, where people say they would never do it themselves, but that they support someone else's right to it. Either you're for it, or you're against it. It really is that simple. Particularly when you're dealing with public funds, as in the unemployment "industry."

The government had considered making brothels an exception on moral grounds, but decided that it would be too difficult to distinguish them from bars. As a result, job centres must treat employers looking for a prostitute in the same way as those looking for a dental nurse.
(...)
[Attorney Merchthild] Garweg believes that pressure on job centres to meet employment targets will soon result in them using their powers to cut the benefits of women who refuse jobs providing sexual services.

"They are already prepared to push women into jobs related to sexual services, but which don't count as prostitution,'' she said.

"Now that prostitution is no longer considered by the law to be immoral, there is really nothing but the goodwill of the job centres to stop them from pushing women into jobs they don't want to do."