Strangely, the conservative policies of the Dutch government coalition are beginning to pay off. For years and years the poverty level rose. Now, however, they are once again decreasing.
The CDA and VVD had to clean up a lot of the mess left by the coalitions in the 1990’s (and of course from before that decade). Reforms like that always increase the povery rate for a limited amount of time, but if all goes well – as planned – that situation will improve after a couple of years. The reforms the CDA and VVD (and of course D66) pushed through are finally beginning to pay off.
To change the coalition now would be a disaster for the country. We need to rebuild our economy: more market, less government.
The problem with the policies of our so-called ‘social’ parties, is that – by refusing to help people help themselves – they encourage dependency on the government and, as such, they increase poverty. At least in the long run.
