On the Attack: NRW Needs 156 Billion for Greater Opportunities and Equality
Demand for Financial Allocation: Alliance Seeks Billions for North Rhine-Westphalia, Health and Living Sector - NRW Alliance Advocates for Billions in Funding for Health, Housing, and Infrastructure
Want a society where everyone has a fair shot at success? Look no further than North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), where a motley crew of social groups, including welfare and charity organizations, churches, and labor unions, are demanding 156 billion euros over the next ten years for the state's infrastructure. If you're wondering what's at stake, it boils down to everything from schools and hospitals to affordable housing and digital infrastructure.
Gabriele Schmidt, chairwoman of the United Services Trade Union (Verdi), has a bone to pick with NRW's gloomy state of affairs. "In comparison to other European countries, Germany in general and NRW in particular are skimping on public infrastructure spending. This means our education, social work, transportation, and healthcare sectors are all feeling the pinch, from municipalities to the public," she declared.
Neglecting these essential services only fans the flames for far-right extremists, warns Schmidt, who foresees a need for a complete turnaround and sustainable financing plans for municipalities and social institutions. And she's not alone.
The coalition calls for sustainable debt relief for municipalities, overhauling the debt brake, and a higher tax rate to make it all possible. According to them, a fairer tax system will generate the necessary funds to meet the total investment requirement. The allotted funds from the federal infrastructure package should mainly be invested in NRW and its municipalities.
Housing woes
Affordable housing is a growing concern, with 25,000 rent-controlled apartments needed annually - a figure the housing associations haven't been able to deliver. So, the coalition is pushing for a state-owned housing company to bridge the gap, along with 35 billion euros in investments.
As the unrest in France over the cost of living demonstrates, the housing crisis is a ticking time bomb. Christian Woltering of the Paritätischer NRW Board urges decisive action, while the state chairwoman of the Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund, Lisa-Kristin Kapteinat, is more direct: "The fate of the sick child, the single mother, and the elderly neighbor depends on it. Therefore, it's high time for substantial investments in social infrastructure."
- Investment Offensive
- NRW
- Düsseldorf
- Action Alliance
- Housing
- Climate Change
- Infrastructure
- Digitalization
- Healthcare
Bonus Insights
Healthcare Infrastructure
- The investment offensive includes plans to modernize healthcare facilities, with a focus on integrating climate change measures. The healthcare sector will be required to make all procurement and investment decisions with climate adaptation in mind, making the healthcare system more resilient. [(Link to source)]
Digitalization
- While specific project details were not provided, the coalition stresses the need to enhance digital infrastructure for improved efficiency across public services, healthcare, and other sectors. [(Link to source)]
NRW Rail Investments
- As part of the broader infrastructure enhancement goals, NRW has earmarked €568 million in additional subsidies to support the operation and expansion of S-Bahn and regional trains to improve public transportation services in the region. [(Link to source)]
- The investment offensive in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) aims to provide a fair society for everyone, distributing 156 billion euros over ten years for infrastructure.
- Gabriele Schmidt, Verdi's chairwoman, emphasizes that Germany and NRW, in particular, should increase public infrastructure spending for sectors such as education, social work, transportation, and healthcare.
- Neglecting essential services could encourage far-right extremism, warns Schmidt, requiring a complete turnaround and sustainable financing plans for municipalities and social institutions.
- The coalition proposes sustainable debt relief for municipalities, overhauling the debt brake, and a higher tax rate.
- They believe a fairer tax system will generate the necessary funds to meet the total investment requirement.
- Most of the funds from the federal infrastructure package should be invested in NRW and its municipalities.
- Affordable housing is a significant issue, with 25,000 rent-controlled apartments needed annually and no progress being made by housing associations.
- The coalition supports establishing a state-owned housing company and investing 35 billion euros to bridge the housing gap.
- The housing crisis is a pressing matter, as demonstrated by the unrest in France over living costs, and swift action is necessary.
- The fate of vulnerable groups, such as sick children, single mothers, and the elderly, depends on substantial investments in social infrastructure.
- The coalition's plans for modernizing healthcare facilities incorporate climate change measures to make the system more resilient.
- Digital infrastructure should be improved for better efficiency across public services, healthcare, and other sectors.
- NRW has allocated €568 million in additional subsidies to improve S-Bahn and regional trains for enhanced public transportation services.
- The coalition's policies cover industry sectors such as science, workplace-wellness, health-and-wellness, fitness-and-exercise, mental-health, therapies-and-treatments, industry, medicare, finance, investing, wealth-management, business, housing-market, personal-finance, real-estate, and commercial.
- In addition, the coalition addresses residential and residential issues, migration, education-and-self-development, social-media, war-and-conflicts, entertainment, policy-and-legislation, car-accidents, politics, general-news, crime-and-justice, accidents, fires, and employment policy multiple times throughout its proposals.
