The Dutch love subsidies. Whether we need the government’s money or not, we beam with pride when we get a pat on the head from those above us. Think of owners of very expensive Teslas who still receive a few pennies in purchase premium. On the right track!
Politicians also enjoy providing those showers. ‘There is no such thing as crazy without a State Secretary who puts on a serious face and a wallet’, wrote columnist Gerrit Komrij in 1984. NRC Handelsblad .
At the price
Komrij died in 2012, but he would undoubtedly have laughed about a new scheme for which Drenthe deputy Henk Jumelet (CDA) is allocating 75,000 euros: people over 65 can receive a 25 euro discount on the purchase of a bicycle helmet. You have to purchase one for at least 49 euros, which is quite expensive for such a thing.
In a country with still pretty much the best pension system in the world, you would say that it is not immediately the highest priority that seniors are supported by the government to cycle safely. Of course: there are elderly people for whom purchasing a bicycle helmet is still quite an expense. But thanks to these pensions, poverty is considerably less common among the elderly than among children, for example.
If you read the weekly decision list of the provincial government, you will notice that these types of subsidies are provided very often. The provincial government building sometimes looks like a large ATM. How bad is that, you might ask? We are a very rich country and we can afford a few generous deputies.
Maze
“The most necessary conditions of life are being cut back with passion. So money is made available for trivialities with greater enthusiasm,” Komrij wrote in the same column. Forty years later, this is still a striking observation. A large maze has emerged of subsidies, allowances and remissions that all kinds of handy Harrys can make use of. But for people who are really dependent on government support, it is all far too complicated and they drop out. The recent report on the WIA and Wajong disability schemes speaks volumes.
It is important that politicians spend public money better, instead of increasing expenditure further and further. But whether that will ever succeed is highly questionable. Because it takes courage to distinguish main issues from side issues. This is a lot to ask in the current political climate.