Abolishing the state pension will not solve anything: the costs will only shift to institutions that have to help. And the experiences with palliative sedation are so personal that some people call it degrading and others call it ‘a gift from heaven’. These are some reactions from readers to the news of the day. You can submit your own response via [email protected].
Abolish AOW | Grandma couldn’t make ends meet, but luckily we could
Rethinking is welcome, even about the AOW (A.D 11-6). Hans Nijenhuis compares apples and oranges by saying that in 1956 there were seven workers for every retiree and now three for one. The comparison is not valid, because most incomes were very low at the time. The fact that pensioners are now doing well, here we go again, is a dead giveaway. Yes, we are even a little better off than when my husband was working, but for us no expensive car, expensive holidays, expensive clothes, dinners and outings. And if one of us falls away, the other will struggle to make ends meet. It’s so nice not to be financially dependent on your children, like my grandmother was. If only the JOVD had called for the AOW to be looked at. Then there would have been more understanding. Indeed, we must ask ourselves whether everyone should receive an AOW pension.
Bea de Bruin-Bijl, Vleuten
Abolish AOW II | Still, the JOVD deserves a compliment
The JOVD proposes to abolish the AOW, one of the most important pillars of the welfare state. People apparently have to be self-reliant, arrange their own pension and organize their own care. That sounds attractive if you are young, healthy, highly educated and financially comfortable. But a society does not only consist of people who can arrange everything themselves. Previous generations understood that old age is a social issue. The AOW exists because they realized that people have the right to social security after a life of work.
Abolishing the state pension will not solve anything. The costs don’t disappear, they shift. Older people with insufficient pension will still need support.
Yet the JOVD also deserves a compliment. She mentions what other parties are silent about. Aging will be the greatest financial challenge of the coming decades. The costs of state pension, healthcare and pensions are rising, while a smaller working generation has to bear the bill. The irony is that the same parties that want to limit migration must find a response to fewer workers and more elderly people. That issue will not disappear by dismantling collective facilities. Generations are responsible for each other.
Thomas Janssen, chairman Young Social Contract, Venlo
Abolish AOW III | Call them to order, VVD
The VVD youth want to abolish the state pension and mortgage interest deduction. I can imagine something about the latter, but stay away from the AOW. This club means that
elderly people must become self-reliant. To compensate, income tax will be reduced. Temporary, probably. I’m curious to know what these young people think about receiving their own state pension. Although these are usually young people from wealthy circles who do not need an AOW pension. Should the average Dutch person just take a newspaper route? Hopefully the VVD will call them to order.
Wim Tijssen
Pepper spray | It seems to me that a woman can defend herself better
Pepper spray remains illegal: too dangerous for women themselves (A.D 11-6). I read with amazement the reasoning of Minister Van Weel, especially his statement that carrying pepper spray actually makes women defenseless, because it can be taken away by an attacker. If an aggressor has a knife or other weapon with him, the victim is already at a great disadvantage. It therefore seems to me that someone has a better chance of defending themselves if he or she has access to a means such as pepper spray. Of course there is a risk that an attacker will take the spray, but in my opinion that risk does not detract from the fact that in many situations it offers an additional option to escape a threatening situation.
R. Koens
Palliative sedation | Begged for her suffering to be alleviated
I agree with letter writer Kruitwagen (A.D 10-6): palliative sedation is hypocritical and a degrading way to die. A week before my wife died, I had to beg to at least put her to sleep. It was clear she was going to die of cancer. Since then I have serious doubts about ‘humane’ palliative sedation, which means that a person is no longer given food and fluids, but is given pain medication. My wife and her loved ones really suffered. I hope that one day there will be relief for people who have to suffer like this, because it is truly degrading.
Fred Louder, De Kiel
Palliative sedation II | Gift from heaven
I am annoyed by the letter from writer Kruitwagen. As a layman, I have experienced a situation in which palliative sedation was applied three times. The first time with someone who underwent this without pain. The second time it involved someone who was terminally ill and was in a lot of pain, but fell asleep peacefully. The third time, as a mentor at a healthcare institution, I had to give permission because there was no family. This person also fell asleep peacefully. The experiences guided by a qualified doctor contradict the stigma that palliative sedation is not a gentle death. Unlike the letter writer, I see palliative sedation as a gift from heaven from a medical perspective.
Ton Stoffels, Rotterdam