Midtown Blogger/Manhattan Valley Follies: Die Welt

Leila comes from Syria. A few weeks ago she fled with her baby Nabila and her husband from Aleppo to Berlin. What they have experienced at home, hardly can be described. War, violence - everywhere. She is happy about the accommodation in the Traglufthalle the City Mission Berlin. Until into September, you can stay here.

Ortrud Wohlwend of the City Mission through the hall. Everything is clean. The huge hall is divided by walls into smaller rooms. Men and women sleep separately. Even if it concerns families. In the little compartments are bunk beds.

It's quiet here. "28.17 Euro costs the night here," says Mrs Wohlwend. Money that pays the Berlin city mission. This includes accommodation, the security guard of around eight and a half points, social workers, care. The City Mission knows exactly what costs how much and why.

Costs per capita have increased tenfold

For the State of Berlin can already no longer say with certainty: Since 2010, the cost of accommodation of refugees rose from 2.1 to 95 million euros. The reason: Five years ago, only 2708 people came to Berlin, which had to be housed as refugees. 2014 there were 11,262. The costs per capita have increased more than tenfold - so it has made the country itself. They rose in the same period of 778.73 to 8425.19 euros.

In Euro and Cent released the country what it has spent on the accommodation of refugees. Only the calculation does not fit with another statistic together, which also publishes the land: According to the definition of the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act (AsylbLG) is the total expenditure, which in addition to accommodation and food and clothing are, only increased by two and half times to 185 million euros.

An increase in accommodation costs tenfold would have to make a lot more noticeable in the statistics however. Especially as the accommodation costs so that now make up half of the total expenditure. 2010 on the other hand, there were not three percent. On demand, the Senate can not explain the huge discrepancy.

Federal Interior Ministry is unable to cope with their own figures

Berlin, like itself since many think in other states. The build can not have an airport, you can also expect not. And on the financial equalization they live at our expense. If only it were so simple. A query of the "world" in all 16 provincial governments shows all expect different. Officially, the expenses doubled after AsylbLG of 2010 to 2014 to 1.7 billion euros. This resulted in a survey of 16 federal states.

Only allows the output statistics nationwide hardly compare. Many countries can not even explain what they expect as well. Even in the interior ministry you are overwhelmed with the number of own salad. For cost control that is a disaster.

Federal Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière (CDU), for example, increased in the past week its forecast for the number of refugees at 800,000 for this year. At the same time, he stated that they had now changed the statistics. Instead of predicting the number of asylum applicants, we now call the expected refugees.This number is significantly higher, because many people in fact not at the very beginning for asylum.

So far so good. Just how many refugees would the minister then expected after the old method of calculation? How big is the difference? How can you compare that? A call to the Authority. He could not explain, says a spokesperson for de Maizière's after a long conversation. With numbers can make policy. Especially with these. But the ministry can not explain a change in the calculation method professionally. Here, these figures are but a calculation basis for fiscal planning.

There are only target figures, no concrete calculations

In addition to AsylbLG come in many provinces still state laws. The rules, which services should receive an applicant except housing, food and clothing. In Baden-Württemberg there are, for example, the "Refugee Reception Act".Refugee issues are there the Integration Ministry assumed a budget of 247 million euros in 2014th

Distribute the money on four items: the packages for the asylum seekers to municipalities, the initial reception for which the country has jurisdiction, the integration budget for integration courses and the like as well as the material and personnel costs of the Ministry. Only the accommodation costs in order to dive in two different positions.

So Baden-Württemberg calculated on packages. Bavaria, Saxony and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern count against it, "pointed at" as a spokesman for the interior ministry in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern says. "Very beneficial", the spokesman called the solution. Any increase in the number of asylum seekers is so balanced "one on one" by the country. And you keep track of the actual costs incurred.

From because: If you ask for the relevant government departments under the relevant expenditure, obtained in response, only the number that was entered in the budget for this area. Budget figures therefore, no concrete calculations. On demand for specific issues: here's much too expensive.

Container and tent villages raising prices

The Bavaria - very proud of its solid financial management under Finance Minister Markus Söder (CSU) - are also unable to. As long as the refugees living in collective centers in Bavaria, for example, housing costs were still out count.Once people are but distributed to the counties and municipalities, it's over with transparency. For this count with the Free State all costs from, including the voluntary services such as integration courses and welcome classes. These costs are therefore inextricably linked to those for accommodation, it is incomprehensibly in Bavaria.

Even where is a flat rate and so that everything would be clear, there is confusion. In Brandenburg for example. In the packages that was "housing, care and the provision of benefits according to the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act" included, says the Ministry of Social Affairs. But accommodation and care are benefits under AsylbLG.

The very fast, very strong growing number of refugees overwhelmed the authorities. Although the civil war in Syria has been raging for years, in this country no one had prepared in the policy to the people. Now, however, the cost increases rapidly, partly because there is not enough accommodation in the short time available. Now container and tent villages must be built. Hostels rent their rooms to the refugees. All this drives the prices, because the policy has not made provision.

An inquiry to the Federal Court, the highest supervisory body of the Federation, leads to a further surprise. Although the federal government the countries so far decreases half of the expenses, there are no little criticism of the comparable statistics. Not our topic, it says. That was the states. Where that leads, so you can see.