from bartender B. Stehle //
Conversations with strangers sometimes open up completely new perspectives. It's like walking along a high wall without seeing what's behind it, and suddenly someone opens a door and reveals the view. Beforehand, you may have imagined what it might look like behind it, but most of the time you will simply not have paid any attention to this area. Interaction with guests can have such a character. In this case, it was the insight into a property. A well-heeled guest was talking about his property, or more precisely about his many projects to maintain it. He said a remarkable sentence: the problem with large properties is often not the high purchase price at all, something like this can be managed somehow. The problem is the expense and the cost of maintenance. If you think fiscally from month to month, such thoughts may seem strange. Nevertheless, the sentence resonated.
After these introductory words, two further examples should clarify the scope of this column. In the winter of 2023, such large amounts of snow fell at times that the word global warming was temporarily removed from our vocabulary. It was striking that these amounts of snow were allowed to remain almost untouched in a German city with over a million inhabitants. There was simply virtually no snow clearance. Some streetcar lines did not run for over a week. This made it clear where the city had cut corners in recent years.
Another example, given the occasion, are the many remnants of an exuberant New Year's Eve. It is a purely anecdotal comment, but the memory of the amazement at the spick and span streets on January 1st are just that, distant memories. At this point, most readers can probably think of countless examples of the decay that is becoming apparent. The rail network, the bridges and the condition of many roads are likely candidates.
It can be assumed that many of these grievances are partly caused by society or politics. However, the problem probably goes beyond this and by no means only affects Germany, as numerous reports from the USA, for example, show. Back to the beginning of this text: It is one thing to acquire or build something and another to maintain it. This can be applied to other areas of life: it is easier to stick to an ambitious diet for two months than to eat sensibly in the long term.
In the last two centuries, Western industrialized nations have experienced an unprecedented expansion of social infrastructure. These projects were often popular. They were investments in a growth-oriented future and led to a more comfortable life with new opportunities and shorter distances. However, maintaining this infrastructure requires enormous effort and ties up large amounts of resources. Politicians, who theoretically serve the electorate but in reality primarily want to be re-elected, are left with less financial leeway for more attractive projects. Dealing with this inherent challenge of representative democracy can at best be described as immature. It also exemplifies how politicians treat voters like minors by avoiding complex contexts and favoring populist positions.
With a little distance, it can be stated that, generally speaking, we have created and continue to create a very complex world through countless "purchases". It is time to ask ourselves how this relates to the well-being of people and the well-being of society, which is the actual goal. Although modern life offers us countless opportunities and great comfort, it is also characterized by a great lack of clarity, which unconsciously overwhelms us and turns us into restless beings. It would be desirable to take stock and engage in an objective social dialog that begins by clarifying an important question: Where do we even want to go and what do we need to get there?
Since it is much more difficult to let go of material and immaterial things than not to acquire them in the first place, a maxim for the individual for the coming year could be to make every new account, every further purchase and every further commitment in the knowledge that this decision will continue to accompany and commit you, even if unconsciously.
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P.S.: The debt orgy was cloaked in the mantle of "Keynesianism". A sheer impertinence towards one of the brightest minds in economics, John Maynard Keynes. He had written nothing about this, but only about a "breathing state budget", which in times of an economic downturn would be filled by state investment through debt, which would be reduced again in times of a good economy. The second part of the sentence was omitted by politicians.
Politics is the field of charlatans. That is why public sector accounting is a simple income/expenditure statement like in the days of the Kaiser. (When Bismarck raised the income tax to 3 % and a storm of indignation broke out) No income/expenditure account and no asset account. If we had this, which would be possible without further ado, it would immediately become clear that the state budgets, infrastructure and state services have been run down. The follow-up costs of investments, the necessary maintenance depreciation or even funds for innovations to keep the infrastructure in good shape would be recorded. Social balance sheets would show the returns on political investments in relation to their costs. There have been entire libraries on this in economics since the 1970s. But politicians don't want to do this. - The result of their refusal can be seen today: First came the tax state: the middle class was consistently fleeced, it paid for the party that politicians caused with the more than fifty percent taxes and levies. When that was no longer enough, came the debt state: every year, more money was spent than was taken in. Mountains of debt were hidden in over 150 shadow budgets, called "special assets". (Isn't it cute?) The upper classes and their assets and incomes were left untouched. Instead, capital income rose by 7 percentage points compared to labor income. And are thus as high again as they were in the Weimar Republic. That's how it looks.
Such a consistent comparison between the private obligation to look after one's property and the public obligation to maintain all of our "property" hits the nail on the head. Unfortunately, however, since those we have elected for this task probably do not feel responsible despite the funds we have made available for this purpose, the next time we have the opportunity to replace staff, we must also make sure that we choose the right janitors and not just the right teaching staff, who will still explain to us as smart alecks which tasks we should actually do ourselves.