"Exactly 10 years ago today, Germany's labour market was subjected to the first of the so-called Hartz IV reforms. Brought about by the smooth centre-left chancellor Gerhard Schröder, it was a watershed moment that changed the way the German government deals with poverty ... But the measures recommended by the Hartz commission ... boiled to down to this: the bundling of unemployment benefits and social welfare benefits into one neat package." (Quoted from article)