Acknowledging that my perception might be skewed because there are still a ton of social safety nets in place.

The same might not be true everywhere.

thatjoeoverthr 4 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Last time I was in Germany I saw what appeared to be homeless children

	▲	ipaddr 4 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Did they look Ukrainian or Syrian? Germany let in millions of people over the last few years and never built enough housing.
	▲	yakshaving_jgt 4 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Welfare doesn't entirely eliminate homelessness. It's… like… not that simple.

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retired 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Last time I was in Germany I saw elderly people going through garbage bins in the park I sat at. I think you overestimate the safety net in Germany. In my European country the elderly sit at cafes drinking coffee, not going through bins.

Update:

Every street corner has a yellow garbage bin for recycling. That is where your plastic bottles go. Seems like a better system than having elderly going through bins.

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Avalaxy 5 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Maybe in your country they also don't have a deposit on bottles/cans, making it pointless to go through trash cans?

	▲	retired 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Plastic bottles go in the yellow recycling bin. Deposit systems are dumb.

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ezst 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Not OP but many people eligible for social benefits don't seek it, for all kinds of reasons (not knowing about it, pride, ideology, peer pressure, ...)

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spacechild1 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Keep in mind that not every old person who searches garbage bins is actually poor. Some of them just have dementia. I personally know such people in my home town.

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hypfer 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

That's why I said "mostly"