Going Dutch

The Dutch monarchy has become the most expensive in Europe. While the population of the Netherlands has faced some of the most severe austerity measures in Europe, the monarchy has cut nothing from the £31m it receives from the taxpayer each year – overtaking the Windsors as the most expensive monarchy in Europe. The monarchy receives £31m a year from the Dutch taxpayer, four times that received by the Spanish monarchy, despite having just a quarter of the population of commoners to raise the cash.  £14m of the fund received are in personal allowances for the royal family. Before his mother, Queen Beatrix abdicated in April this year to pass over the throne to her eldest son, she stated she “saw no reason” for her family to reduce their burden on the public finances.

 The King Speech, on behalf of the government, told the people of the Netherlands it was time to shift to a ‘Participation Economy’ where people build their own safety nets:
“The shift to a ‘participation society’ is especially visible in social security and long-term care,” he said, continuing “The classic welfare state of the second half of the 20th century in these areas in particular brought forth arrangements that are unsustainable in their current form.”

In the Netherlands in the five years since 2008:
Unemployment has almost trebled from 3.2% to 8.2% in 2013
House prices have fallen 20%
VAT (tax paid on goods and services) has risen to 21%
18 billion euros has been cut from public spending
Retirement age will be raised from 65 to 67
1 in 10 children live in poverty
1 in 8 public sector workers will have lost their jobs by 2015.

From here