As you probably all know, most of the world is currently experiencing the worst economic crisis since the 1930s. Nearly all governments (except the Scandinavian countries and the U.S.) are dealing with this crisis in a way that cannot be described as anything short of "incompetent". However, recently the Dutch (far) right-wing government has taken matters a step further, and have compounded incompetence with outright evil.
To put things shortly, The Netherlands will have to free up 18 billion euro's to fix our national problems. The left wants so save about half that amount through spending cuts, and the other half through selective taxation (mostly for highly polluting industries and big business). The right wants to get the entire sum from spending cuts. If this were the whole story, it'd just be a matter of different opinions, and I'd side with the left out of ideological views, and would respect the position of the right. However, a much more sinister thing is in play.
To their, completely feigned, shock, Dutch political leadership 'discovered' that The Netherlands are a tax haven when the Obama-administration published a list of tax havens where Americans illegally store their money. In fact, this had been known for years if not decades, and had been covered up by successive governments.
On average, a Dutchman can expect to pay slightly more than 40% of his/her pre-tax income in income tax. The rate is slightly lower for lower incomes, and slightly higher for higher incomes. A significant percentage of this income tax is later returned in the form of subsidies on numerous things, including either rent or mortgage, healthcare and schooling.
Dutch businesses pay a similar amount of taxes, so very few people complain about the system in general, although everyone complains about the taxes he/she pays him/herself, of course.
Over the past few years, two extremely disgusting semi-legal constructions created by the Dutch right-wing governments between ca. 1970 and 2010 have become known.
First of all, the lesser of the two evils, it has been made public by several newspapers that the Dutch IRS doesn't really check the tax statements given by businesses, opting in stead to trust them fully. This means that a private citizen committing tax fraud is more than 100x more likely to be caught than a business. The Dutch treasury misses out on an estimated 5 billion euros per year through this (this estimate, given after political pressure from the opposition, is from the Dutch IRS itself).
That is shocking enough, but there is something even worse going on. Foreign companies with a branch in the Netherlands would normally fall under ordinary Dutch law. However, the classical liberal party (VVD) in the Netherlands has created a very dodgy racket to help its foreign friends: if a foreign business is large enough to have *multiple* branches in the Netherlands, they suddenly qualify for a very complex construct called "deelnemingsvrijstelling" ("exemption because of participation"). This constuct means that only the official "parent" company pays taxes over its income, and all subsidiaries are (almost) completely exempt from taxation. Needless to say that several multinationals have (ab)used this system resulting in an official figure of...20 billion (!) euros a year in missed revenues for the Dutch treasury.
So, the VVD wants to save €18,000,000,000.- by cutting social security, healthcare for the chronically ill, dental care for children, unemployment benefits, schooling grants, hospital staff, foreign emergency aid, etc.
...but they *refuse* to take *any* action against the above mentioned construct. In fact, they *even* refuse to support an inquiry to research if the construct is being abused.
Interestingly, nearly all the former ministers provided by this party who are not still in politics are 'working' in high positions *with the very businesses that are responsible for the largest tax evasions in Dutch history*.
The only defense the VVD gives, is that action against this tax evasion "would hurt the Dutch economy", because said businesses might move elsewhere (unlikely, because they're not *just* here for the tax benefits). However, the fact that Dutch businesses or smaller international businesses that do not have multiple branches in this country are given a far worse deal than multinational moguls proves that this argument doesn't apply.
I call this corruption. To add insult to injury, the VVD claims that most of the damage done to the Dutch economy was inflicted by "left wing government". The last, and only, (center-)left coalition government The Netherlands had ruled in the early 1970s. It was also the only government since 1970 that did not contain the VVD.
These people are completely and utterly evil.
mooghead · Member since
In other words the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.
Nothing new really.
The Real Wizard · Member since
Unreal. But not surprising in the least.
The conservative party of Canada just passed a bill that dismantles virtually every environmental law we've ever had. It was a "budget implementation" bill, but the 400+ page document had little to do with the budget. It was basically written by the oil companies. The bill was rammed through parliament with minimal debate, and dozens of changes to many laws were hidden in the bill dubbed the "jobs, growth and long term prosperity act." The opposition filibustered the bill to vote on every amendment one by one. It took 24 hours of consecutive voting, everyone standing up one by one for 150 or so votes, all of which the conservatives voted down. One can hope the people of Canada are waking up and realizing that we are being run by borderline fascists.
Speaking of Holland - Canada has the Dutch disease. The manufacturing sectors of the rest of the country (outside Alberta, where the oil sands are) is suffering largely because of the rising Canadian dollar (it rises with the price of oil). The government is completely against renewable energy, because it will be lost revenue for the oil companies who finance them to keep them in power. Now with a majority, they can pass whatever bills the oil companies want them to pass. Anything for a quick buck now, and screw 50 years from now.
So the rich are running the show in Canada too. It's all about who has the most money to lobby and get their way.
Is there any place in the civilized world where this isn't the case? Maybe Sweden or Denmark? Or maybe Iceland, after the bankers were jailed and the government overthrown ??
The Real Wizard · Member since
And another question - has this kind of thing happened anywhere else in the civilized world? Maybe in Italy, where Berlusconi owned and ran the media?
"Parks Canada employees across the country have received letters warning they're not allowed to criticize the agency or the federal government."
Taking form the poor and giving to the rich has been made easier by globalization. Billions of Dollars/Euros/whatever have been shifted in favour of the richest in the last two decades worldwide. Join the occupy movement - the only chance to give the majority a voice.
thomasquinn 32989 · Member since
[QUOTE] [b]YourValentine wrote:[/b]
Taking form the poor and giving to the rich has been made easier by globalization. Billions of Dollars/Euros/whatever have been shifted in favour of the richest in the last two decades worldwide. Join the occupy movement - the only chance to give the majority a voice.[/QUOTE]
What bothers me about the Occupy movement is its lack of clear positions - they're just as populist as the rest. Take the "we are the 99%" slogan: no, you aren't. The very fact that you're living in the Western world means you're part of the privileged 1%. But it sounds good, and makes it look like you're siding with the underdog, so just by wearing a t-shirt with the slogan, you've done your job. That's the way large numbers of people see it.
The real culprit isn't globalization, it's not even just the rich. We, as a whole, are the guilty ones. The reason we are guilty is because we haven't taken our democratic privileges seriously. Democracy means rights on the one hand, and responsibilities on the other. The population of the 'free world' has, en masse, rejected the responsibilities: we vote with our purses, not our brains. We refuse to take the time to look into the issues that matter, and opt instead to vote on the basis of tv appearances by politicians who aren't states(wo)men. Unless something happens pretty soon, parliamentary democracy will truly be dead.
Even as we speak, parliamentary democracy is being replaced by a new kind of feudalism: large banks and businesses can now move and act with complete impunity, disregarding the law themselves, and using it against their adversaries. We used to call it "divine right", now we call it "too big to fail" - it is still the same thing. And it is every single one of us who has allowed it to happen. The moment we refuse to defend our freedom, we lose our right to it. It appears that this moment came and went decades ago.
As for globalization - we have a simple choice: nationalism or globalism. No ideology in the history of mankind has brought more war, death and suffering, more wastage and injustice than nationalism. A just globalism is our only way. I will never, under any circumstances, submit to nationalism.
thomasquinn 32989 · Member since
[QUOTE] [b]The Real Wizard wrote:[/b]
And another question - has this kind of thing happened anywhere else in the civilized world? Maybe in Italy, where Berlusconi owned and ran the media?
"Parks Canada employees across the country have received letters warning they're not allowed to criticize the agency or the federal government."
Sounds like 1984 to me.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2012/06/14/ns-parks-canada-letter-warning.html [/QUOTE]
Italy does come to mind. That country was not a democracy by any stretch of the imagination when Berlusconi was in charge. South Korea is also pretty close, it's pretty easy to be charged with subversion there, too. But let's be frank, this is the kind of government we expect to find (and do find) in Russia or Pakistan.
Incidentally, is it just me, or is anyone else beginning to notice that our cold war complaints about the inhumane, corrupt and undemocratic Soviet Union have less to do with the Soviet Union than with the way Russia has been run for centuries?
Incidentally, as far as Scandinavia is concerned, Denmark has left their healthy course and gone for the populist solution the rest of Europe has taken, too. I guess Norway and Sweden are the only ones doing a really good job, with Finland and Iceland lagging slightly behind (Iceland is still trying to deal with its own semi-criminal banking sector, so it really doesn't have any time or attention for anything else, as so much of their economy depends on it).
Micrówave · Member since
[QUOTE]Join the occupy movement - the only chance to give the majority a voice.[/QUOTE]
Plus you can drink and smoke pot with the homeless.
thomasquinn 32989 · Member since
[QUOTE] [b]Micrówave wrote:[/b]
[QUOTE]Join the occupy movement - the only chance to give the majority a voice.[/QUOTE]Plus you can drink and smoke pot with the homeless.[/QUOTE]
Is that really all you have to say? I thought you American conservatives were all for small businesses. Doesn't this way of making corrupt deals with economic behemoths at the expense of smaller businesses clash at all with economic liberty?
The Real Wizard · Member since
Microwave - I absolutely agree. As clearly demonstrated in this picture, all of the people protesting against the corrupt financial system are homeless pot smokers.
The Real Wizard · Member since
TQ - thanks for all that. Sad to hear Denmark is jumping on the bandwagon.
But from what I can tell, Sweden must be the best country in the world to live in. They seem to have their marbles together.
Micrówave · Member since
You're right, Mr. Wizard. That Occupy movement was completely legit.
Sounds like you missed out on one hell of a party.
Micrówave · Member since
Sorry... didn't mean to hijack this thread. But lets not reference some outside group like the Occupy Movement before realizing the amount of problems with it. I doubt the Dutch have anything as silly as that happening in their country.
thomasquinn 32989 · Member since
Congratulations on killing this thread, Micrówave. I hope you enjoy it.
