The German Taxpayers Union presented its new “Black Book”. It contains 100 new cases of waste of public funds from the state, provincial or municipal budgets. Excessive bureaucracy leads to the unnecessary waste of billions of euros, the organization writes on this occasion.
Five examples of waste of public funds
In the Stapelfelder Moor protected nature area on the outskirts of Hamburg, a wooden observation platform rises. It is only 1.5 meters high and nothing special can be seen from it. It was built with public funds – it cost 27,000 euros.
In the town of Eberbach in the state of Baden-Württemberg, authorities have removed a zebra crossing after an inspection found it was too close to a bus stop and was dangerous. But in the 13 years since it has been in existence, there has not been a single incident there. This has cost taxpayers €3,000.
The story from the town of Biedenkopf in the province of Hesse is similar. There it was found that the local public swimming pool was 5cm shallower than it should have been. Therefore, it was decided to demolish the jumping tower, which stood there for 30 years – again without a single incident. Dismantling costs - 2000 euros.
In Weimar, Thuringia, 260,000 euros were spent on the construction of a bicycle parking lot. However, the two-story building near the town hall has a capacity of only 16 bicycles. About 46 thousand euros were spent on the construction of the garage itself, and the rest of the total amount was spent on landscaping the surrounding space, a roof and a charging station for electric bicycles.
In the southern part of Hesse, a bridge from the 18th century, declared a cultural monument and damaged by agricultural machinery passing over it, was restored. 315,000 euros have already been spent on the renovation. There's just one problem: this bridge leads nowhere. On one side of it, between the settlements of Heppenheim and Lorsch, there is a fence – no way further. Therefore, the local authorities have decided to fence off the area of the nature reserve.
Criticisms against “The Black Book
These are just five examples from the “Black Book” of pointless spending - a report presented annually by the Union of German Taxpayers. According to its head, Rainer Holznagel, bureaucracy in Germany not only burdens the authorities with unnecessary work, but also increasingly defies common sense, leading to the loss of billions of euros and harming the economy. In this regard, he calls for a consistent reduction of bureaucratic "nonsense".
Critics accuse Germany's Taxpayers' Union, funded by business donations, of acting as a lobbying organization, protecting business interests and demanding excessive savings from the government. But the facts presented in the latest report really make us think.
Author: Marina Jung