West east in Germany.docVIP

West v east in Germany 德国：西部控诉东部 A Ruhr deal 鲁尔区很差钱 Poor westerners don’t want to hand money to thriving easterners 贫穷的德西人不想再把钱交到蒸蒸日上的德东人手里 CRACKED streets, silent factories, idle workers. Eastern Germany circa 1992? Yes, but also parts of western Germany today. The Graf Bismarck coal mine in Gelsenkirchen, once one of Germany’s biggest, closed in 1966. Like many of its neighbours in the Ruhr region, the city has not recovered from the near-extinction of coal and steel production. Its unemployment rate is 14.6%, roughly the same as Ireland’s. Nearly one-third of its 258,000 inhabitants receive benefits. By 2016 Gelsenkirchen will be deemed “overindebted”, sharply restricting investment. “A city that can’t invest goes kaput,” says its spokesman, Martin Schulmann. 破破烂烂的街道，死气沉沉的工厂，游手好闲的工人。 这是大概1992年的东德吗？ 是的，也是今天德国西部部分地区的状况。 位于盖尔森基兴的俾斯麦伯爵煤矿早在1966年就结业，曾是德国最大的煤矿之 一。 正和鲁尔区其他城市一样，这座城市还没从几近灭绝的煤钢产业衰退中喘过气 来。 这里的失业率，几乎和爱尔兰的一样，高企14.6%。 差不多258，000人口中的三分之一居民靠政府福利过活。 在2016年之前，盖尔森基兴将会“负债不堪”，严重破坏投资氛围。 “如果一个城市不能吸引外来投资，那就完蛋了”，城市发言人Martin Schulmann说道。 Meanwhile, eastern Germany sparkles with freshly paved roads, roomy university campuses and lovingly restored town centres. Some €1.3 trillion ($1.7 trillion) has flowed into the east since unification in 1990. Germans in poorer parts of the west think they deserve some of this money. “The need here is much greater,” says Gelsenkirchen’s mayor, Frank Baranowski. 与此同时，德国东部城市在刚铺就的道路、新落成的大学校园和修葺好的镇区 中熠熠生辉。 自从1990年两德统一以来，大概13000亿欧元资金被注入到东部地区。 但是西部人确认为他们更需要这批钱。 “这里(对资金)的需求更大”，盖尔森基兴市长Frank Baranowski如是说。 The Ruhr has been moaning for decades. But the explosive idea that poor westerners are furnishing luxuries to the east has grabbed national attention and enlivened an election to be held in May in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where the Ruhr is located. The main target of complaint is “solidarity pact 2”, which is to transfer €156.5 billion to the six eastern states between 2005 and 2019. 鲁尔区的不济已经持续几十年。 但最近认为‘西部正在奢侈地供应财力给东部’的民意