Social expenses are increasing dramatically: municipalities in NRW come under pressure!
The financial burdens of the municipalities in Germany are increasingly becoming the focus, and the recent increase in social spending is alarming. As early as the first half of 2024, many cities and municipalities had to accept new debts to meet their obligations. According to the alliance "for the dignity of our cities", which also includes Mettmann, social spending last year rose by more than twelve percent. This results from the cash statistics of the Federal Statistical Office and shows particularly worrying growth in North Rhine-Westphalia, where the costs per inhabitant have risen by around 75 euros.
The reasons for this concern for this are diverse and primarily affect the areas of education, participation and youth welfare. While the municipalities have to bear the financial burdens, the reimbursement of costs by the federal government and the federal states is insufficient. Christoph Gerbersmann and Martin Murrack, spokesman for the campaign alliance, emphasize that financial weak cities in particular are affected by this increase, since an above -average number of social benefits have to be paid.
increase in liquidity loans
This increase in social spending has serious consequences. The municipalities are forced to secure their liquidity through loans, which further increases debt throughout the Republic. In the first half of 2024, the newly recorded liquidity loans was around 2.4 billion euros. A look at North Rhine-Westphalia shows that the municipalities there are responsible for 1.7 billion euros alone. Without the debt relief measures in Rhineland-Palatinate, this increase would even increase to over 3.34 billion euros. The total amount of liquidity loans in Germany is currently around 33 billion euros.
This development raises questions: Where is the money that is needed to improve infrastructure, public transport and education? Instead of flowing into urgently needed investments, a significant part of the resources is used to replace debt. This inevitably means that citizens are increasingly losing confidence in the ability to act.
claims of the alliance of action
- old debt solution: It is becoming increasingly clear that many municipalities have come into a financial emergency that they largely did not cause themselves. The federal government and the federal states have to take responsibility and find a fair solution for the old debts of the municipalities. North Rhine-Westphalia presented a proposal in summer, but the Federal Ministry of Finance announces that there is currently no majority for a legal regulation in the Bundestag.
- Fair financial distribution: In order to prevent such problems from repeating themselves in the future, the financial distribution between the federal government, the states and municipalities must be revised. The cities and municipalities need adequate financing so that they do not have to fault for the fulfillment of delegated tasks.
The tense financial conditions, which are characterized by rising social expenditure and inadequate reimbursements, considerably affect local ability to act in Germany. More details on this topic can be found in a detailed report
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