Sjeltur

Today it was announced by the Dutch Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CPB, “Centraal Planbureau”) that the Dutch economy will shrink by 3.5% this year. In December they thought it would be only 0.75%. Unemployment will rise to 5.5% this year and for 2010 they expect 8.75%.

Although the current economic crisis was predictable, the Dutch government acted surprised when it came. In their panic the government gave banks and financial institutions bailouts, just like all the bailouts we’ve seen in other countries with money that’s not really there… The bill is passed to future taxpayers, and the amount of money those taxpayers have to cough up is reaching ridiculous proportions. The debt of the Dutch government was 206.2 billion euros in January 2008, only a year later it’s 304.8 billion euros, an increase of more than 47%! The debt per household is about 40 000 euros right now, and still rising.

Like so many other countries, the government of The Netherlands tries to spend its way out of the crisis, and they will fail. It’s acting on the symptoms, but nothing is done about the causes. So it’s time for elections, the people of The Netherlands should get the opportunity to speak out what should be done. If the current government stays in power, the government debt will continue to explode but it won’t help the economy. We have to get rid of these people who are in power at the moment, before they ruin the country entirely for future generations.