US/GERMANY: Rolf has the life most Germans only dream of: a life of leisure with an apartment in sunny Miami and a nice car. What most Germans only learned this week, however, is that they are paying for Rolf's life of leisure.
Although he lives more than 7,000 km away, the German social welfare department pays the €783 monthly rent for his Miami apartment, €645 living allowance, and €331 in other miscellaneous expenses. Their generosity even extends to the €146 a month bill for a cleaning lady. Total monthly bill to the German taxpayer: €1,905.
"Germans shouldn't get so excited about the few dollars that I receive. I'm only using the legal possibilities," said the man called "Florida Rolf" by Germany's Bild newspaper.
Though physically fit, he is diagnosed as clinically depressed and entitled to the welfare payments. The case came to light when German welfare officials tried to reduce his rental allowance.
Rolf hired a lawyer and a psychiatrist, at taxpayers' expense, who said the reduced rent allowance would subject him to an unacceptable trauma of having to move to a less expensive neighbourhood. The psychologist said that would cut him off from the support provided by his friends and make him a suicide risk.
The case has been a huge embarrassment for the German government as it tries to reform the welfare state. "Social welfare cannot be used to fund the good life for Germans in Florida," the German Health and Social Affairs Minister said.
Rolf has lived in the US for 23 years, one of around 1,000 Germans living abroad who still claim social welfare.