There are a number of offers for young people who are interested in trying out and getting involved: you can choose between the federal voluntary service, the voluntary social year or the European voluntary service. The trades recently came up with the idea of ​​a voluntary year in trades, and it probably won’t stay that way. Because wherever there is a lack of young talent, attempts are made to counteract this with trial offers.

Apparently Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier does not trust this friendly courtship with the prospect of new contacts, insights and a change of perspective. He recently spoke out in favor of the idea of ​​a compulsory social year that does not take into account the interests of those to be recruited, but instead decrees commitment. He cited “social cohesion” and the “bubble” as justification, leaving it as a social duty.

Steinmeier was mainly criticized for this. Rightly so. How much better would it be if he held his own age cohort accountable? It also puts a lot of strain on social cohesion. Not only will one be able to say in general terms that the baby boomers are responsible for the crises in the world. One can also lament that the generation is retiring in large numbers (and often as early as possible). This creates gaps in the working world – and puts a strain on pension funds because the following generations will be smaller and smaller in number. A trend that – well? Exactly – the baby boomers started.

So there would be enough reason to approach them with the idea of ​​a compulsory social year. All job leavers could put their life and work experience to good use in the service of the general public. Not to forget: The baby boomers are able to retire sooner than almost all those who follow. And if they discover an activity that they enjoy during their compulsory year, they would have a nice volunteer job for their retirement. Win win!

It would be different for the boys who had to go into work. In general: the Corona generation in particular did without all sorts of things during the pandemic years. She certainly earned a lot – but not a compulsory social year. The fact that this thought has not dampened the popularity of the idea could be taken as a snippy indication of who has the most “bladder” problem.