This is a perspective on the dutch elections for tomorrow (or today, depending on where you are living).
(rather lengthy, sorry about that..)
Even though I promised myself not to watch the big last polical debate, while typing this, I am actually hearing it. My perspective on government is 100% different from what all these politicians seem to think.
The national government should in my opinion do this :
- Provide services that are of national interest or are not easily achieved idividually or in smaller communities (highways, public transport, making sure people that this country takes care of can eat, sleep, etc,etc)
- Provide services that are of international interest (supporting countries that don't do that well, because of our previous occupations, funding the European Union)
- Promote the thruth
- Protect people against themselves.
- Collect money to achieve this (although thruth should be free)
In short, a country should be a community, which provides services that are the wishes of the people in the country.
After 55 minutes I have had enough of viewing. In short what it was about :
- Immigrants
- Immigrants
- Immigrants
- Hmm I think I forgot Immigrants
- Variations on immigrants (you know criminal immigrants, getto's, black schools, integration, etc)
You get the picture.
People, get a life. If you really think immigrants are the problem over here, you got it wrong. It is the "natives" that are the problem, since they think the immigrants are the problem (they are even overlooking the fact that "immigrants" are born here, immigrant in the dutch sence is just not being white (the only thing they don't dare to say it though).
A simple example : Someone white from Canada is going to work here. If he can say "Dank u wel" (=thank you) in dutch after 2 years everybody applauds. If an immigrant (or actually someone that is not white) is here for 1 day and can say "Hallo" (=hello, hi) then people are saying that he should learn dutch better.
Ok I am overreacting a bit here, some people who are living here for 30 years, don't speak any dutch at all, which is not good for that person, so you probably have to help these people learn dutch.
Some say Holland is "full" (although we are the most densily populates country of the world, I welcome everybody over here!).
The best question I heard about it was from a 6 year old kid (maybe a bit older..)
If Holland is full, why do you still build new highways ?
No suitable answer came from this of course, but the kid is right, he sees everything in perspective.
There are also politcal parties that come a bit closer to my vision, but they want to control too much and have too much side effects.
One of those side effects is "inkomens nivellering", which means that the lowest income is as close as possible to the highest income.
It is even suggested that I pay for a specific part of my income a 70% tax.
Which means each sweatdrop I put it in more to make some extra money, I have to make 3.30 Euro to be able to spent 1 euro, yeah that will stop me from leaving holland, I will move as soon as they introduce this. (not that I make loads of money, but if I have to give it away, let me decide where I give it too in these cases..)
Enough ranting.. No voting this time and I seriously doubt there will ever be a time again ( unless I can vote on UN elections or something)
Posted by mvdb at January 21, 2003 10:32 PM