Two of the top stories in Germany today, revolves around the Finance Ministry in Berlin. Both reported by N-TV (commercial news media network).
So, the German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz says that less funding for migrants and immigrants will be the norm in the future. This of course, got states and cities hyped up.
Scholz made a blunt statement at both cities and states in response...they have to get smarter about how they handle the funding that does exist.
Currently, there is a 670 Euro 'flat-rate' for those entering the asylum process, with accomodations being covered.
The new idea by the Finance Ministry? Just a one-time lump sum per incoming migrant/refugee, for a five-year period. The first year, it'd be 16k Euro, but it'd decrease each year after that.
What this means in the long-run? The current national budget for migrants and asylum-seekers would go from 4.7 billion Euro a year....to just over 1 billion Euro a year.
Adding to the mix, you have to remember that the peak period was 2016, and in the past year....they are just under 186k migrants seeking asylum or immigration.
In the minds of the Finance Ministry.....less people means less funding.
In the minds of the states and cities....less funding means less integration and more chances for migration 'failure'.
The second story? The same ministry is now suggesting a fair-sized upswing for social spending over the next five years. 19 billion extra Euro would be found and used for social programs. No one says if this is for the social pension upgrade, or if it's for repairing the welfare program, or for improving the school building structure.
From my personal perception over the past five years with migration, asylum, and integration in Germany....there's been a number of 'mistakes' made by city, state, and federal levels, and basically, it runs into the billions on funding thrown at things with minimum or marginal impact. There was never a clear path, or formulated spending plan that minimized 'losses'. You can blame Merkel and the federal ministries for lack of oversight or just gleeful speeches, but even at the state and city levels....funding was thrown around without much long-term planning. So this clean-up by the Finance Ministry is probably a necessity.
Putting the 'onus' back on migrants to learn German and test-out at the A2 level (basic German language capability) before they ever apply for immigration visas? If you required that one step, you could probably save 10k Euro easily, and have the guy working at some occupation within six months of arrival.
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