Eligibility checks, identity cards, someone literally stamping a record card - doesn't seem very Germanic. Are so many people really going to food banks without a good reason that you need to have this authoritarianism to catch them out? If someone turns up asking for food can they not be trusted that they're probably not doing something so embarrassing for fun?
During the war (and still for a significant time after it!) you literally had to hand your personal ration booklet over to a merchant who'd stamp your "quarter pound of butter", hand you the butter and your ration book back.
It's the most German system I could think of. Everyone's grandparents used it, and everyone's parents probably heard about it. I find it baffling that you consider it baffling.
Exactly - I thought German's extreme distrust of things like credit cards, identity checks, surveillance, etc, was a strong reaction against that part of their history?
Imagine if you had to show your one ID (the one with your biometric data on it) to every single company you interacted with. If that card and data leaked, you would be ruined.
- that's how you know someone's got their knowledge about modern-day Germany from American website aimed at teenagers ;-)
As in, your bank doesn't try to push credit cards on you constantly, you have to ask in restaurants and shops if they take credit cards, etc.
Didn't they make the €500 note basically just for Germany?
I assume that some would even do it just to save some money.
Then when you take into consideration that there are organized beggars and such, I believe they would also take food and try to resell it, etc.
As you say, it doesn't seem very German, so I would bet that there probably was a reason to include the checks.
I actually wonder where it would be more relaxed.
I'm very skeptical of the idea that rich people are putting themselves through the humiliation of saying that they aren't able to support themselves in order to get free grocery basics.
2 other anecdata's :
In the US, people are converting their food stamps into soda, because soda is more tradeable ( more liquid ) than anything else. They sell it to SMBs to convert foodstamps into money.
I frequent the second hand stores which are partially aimed at the same group. They sell stuff, furniture, electronics and clothes for very low prices ( think € 3 to € 5 for a pair of pants, € 20 for a TV etc ). These shops use very very very adhesive price tags, to the point I need solvents to remove them.
I asked them about it : do people really try to switch price tags on € 3 items? Yes they do.
Why do you care?