Construction costs are currently skyrocketing

Everything you describe as misconduct I also do not find good. The question is how far one is willing to go to enforce "more virtuous" behaviors? Singapore's answer is pretty clear: preferably with violence. And if not immediately, e.g. due to homosexuality or tiny amounts of intoxicants (-> death penalty threatens), then through absurdly high fines, which for a large part of the population, who cannot pay them, leads to harsher punishments, including physical ones. For an undeclared cigarette in your luggage (a.k.a. tax evasion), your face will be nicely massaged there. But yes, everything is nice and clean there. Is it worth it? Always just picking the cherries is easy. Welcome to Utopia. Wrong, we need both. The world is not only black or white, 1 or 0. You forgot to mention that these bonuses only exist if the child is not sent to daycare. Rightly, this benefit is therefore called the "Herd Premium." The opposition wanted to invest the money rather in promoting daycare centers. In poor NRW, one is rather of the opinion that daycare attendance is valuable for the child, so nowadays the last and second last kindergarten year are completely free (possibly plus meal money, depending on the municipality). There are parties here that suggest in their election programs whether the last kindergarten year should even be mandatory to enable a good transition to primary school (educational level, group behavior, socialization, ...). This nation is that far apart culturally.

No, no "Herd Premium." The rumor just persists stubbornly. The family allowance in Bavaria is independent of employment. And it is only 250 euros for months 13 to 36. The 300 euros are from the 3rd child onwards.

Do so many people here really think it's cool to live and support the old patterns? Man works and woman takes care of the children and household?

Well, my girlfriend has been working again since our daughter was 1 year old. I spent my parental leave settling her in with the daycare provider. So you absolutely don’t need to accuse me of narrow-mindedness and 1950s role understanding just because I don’t share the "everything for free" mentality.

I find absolutely nothing wrong with paying a few euros for childcare when it is good. It doesn’t have to be 500€, but the 110€ we paid for 20 hours at the daycare provider, I find quite reasonable. That is just about 1€ per hour (!!!) for 4.5 weeks per month and, even in total over the years, absolutely manageable. If you compare that to what some people spend on purely aesthetic gimmicks on their facades, e.g., rhombus cladding (as a randomly chosen example ;) ), then it still isn’t a significant amount. And there is still the possibility to introduce social clauses that exempt certain children from fees. As an ordoliberal, I don’t see the state as a big caretaker but as an organization that ensures fair opportunities. Those who are capable of contributing may certainly do so when receiving services. Otherwise, you have massive misallocation, and yes, that happens in childcare too.

One problem with our now ex-daycare provider was exactly that. She had other children who barely made use of the booked hours. I then encountered little enthusiasm when I wanted to come at 8:30 in the morning and not like others between 9 and 9:30. Right now, we are juggling childcare with grandma (1.5h drive...) and childcare at my home office until the summer holidays and hope that we will have care again afterwards. By the way, that much again on the topic of breadwinner and homemaker…

To the novel writers here: Are you all on vacation? Oh no, [HomeOffice] :D

In the city-state of Singapore there are also many skyscrapers, along with a lot of greenery in between and good infrastructure, all of which is well maintained/clean. The standard of living is comparable to Germany (or higher/more advanced, keyword digitalization). The middle class lives like this there and is not dissatisfied, but there are hardly any alternatives and the government is rather paternalistic, which the population accepts because stable and secure conditions prevail and the standard of living is very high. It certainly cannot be easily transferred to Germany, but it shows that it can work.

Sure, and a car costs more than an apartment and may only be used for 10 years. Otherwise, you have to pay again. Singapore has very low taxes. Health insurance and a kind of building savings plan are deducted directly from the salary. The ratio shifts as one gets older. There is enough revenue for state construction. Due to the mandatory deduction, there is also a high ownership rate, but privately financed properties are unaffordable for almost everyone. The population is very hardworking and there is no unemployment assistance or anything like that. Thus, the unemployment rate is quite low and no “Harzer” are bred... Singapore lives off the financial sector and also has many tourists. Everything else is imported and is currently problematic. With water and energy, efforts are being made to become more independent. Much is advertised with sustainability and it is clean, but if more space is needed, it is simply taken from the sea. So it cannot be transferred to Germany in any way.

The population is very hardworking and there is no unemployment benefit or anything like that. Therefore, the unemployment rate is quite low and no "Harzer" are bred…

Well, I know a few Harzers who all work, and the Harz itself is also a nice region.

nice to read from you again, I was already afraid you had also disappeared. :)

I can currently contribute little regarding the construction costs, windows (plastic, ohwohow :-) ) with Venetian blinds or roller shutters, 1 lift-and-slide door and an aluminum front door with fingerprint cost about 40k for our renovation. We found that quite okay and hope that the stuff arrives on time. Alleged delivery time: 10 weeks. That would be great, so I don't really believe it ;-)