First, there is entrepreneurship. The economy grows. Then comes prosperity. Then redistribution. Too much redistribution stifles growth. Then even more is redistributed, from less and less. Then economic decline begins. Europe (Belgium) must be careful not to go further down that spiral. (translated)
The great pain of this country: political parties have been engaged in a carpet trade over the position of the West Flemish governor for months. About the disastrous budgetary situation of that province and the political governance level of a banana republic, including illegal taxes and usurpation of powers: you hear not a word about it. This is why we have the poor budget and zero economic growth. (translated)
Europe is increasingly being hit hard by the industrial advance of China, leading to growing trade deficits and panic among politicians and companies about the consequences for jobs and deindustrialization in the region. (translated)
It should be so simple: what do we as a government still do (and do very well)? We will cut all the rest of the expenditures. Instead, we will receive a whole lot of very clear tax increases again. And some very vague promises to reduce a minimum amount of expenditures. Meanwhile, economic growth is zero. We are approaching the point where there is no longer any wealth to redistribute. (translated)
This country has no economic growth and is therefore in trouble. This is the responsibility of the political parties of the past 10 years. There is little vision, no strategic thinking. Repeating the old recipes will not solve this. Cutting expenses. (translated)
The reading skills of Dutch children are continually deteriorating, which experts say could have a negative impact on the future labor market and economic growth. (translated)
Is there really no one who believes that you can properly organize the Flemish budget and government during a chaotic weekend? The result will again be the following: a number of clear tax increases will be implemented. The promised reduction of inheritance tax (largely highlighted during the formation of the government) will be sacrificed. The reduction in spending will be extremely vague again. A number of "growth paths will be capped." There will be a whole series of "technical adjustments." And the evergreen: "there will be cuts to subsidies and government efficiency will increase." With, of course, some vague references to "more use of AI." For those who've been paying attention: that has been said every single time over the past four years. And each time, the budget deficit turns out to be much larger six months later. Then the same vague matters are repeated again. I continue to be amazed at how little the media punctures that narrative. Why do all the parliament members accept this course of action? A massive, thorough reform is truly needed. What are we as the Flemish government still doing and what should we stop doing? Which departments and agencies do we still need? Which very expensive systems (like service vouchers) should we abolish? Where do we set priorities? It's incredibly sad and amateurish how this Flemish government operates. Every single time. On Monday there will again be talk of "a historic agreement." (translated)
The growth of the far-right in the Netherlands is partly possible thanks to the cooperation of 'ordinary' right-wing parties, which often get swept up in the normalization of far-right ideas and rhetoric. (translated)
"But the lawsuit is ongoing and we cannot get ahead of it," says Minister Stientje van Veldhoven of Climate and Green Growth, stating that they carefully considered the choice. (translated)
Minister Stientje van Veldhoven of Climate and Green Growth advocates today in a letter to Parliament for 'strategic reserves.' (translated)
The normalization of right-wing extremism in the Netherlands poses a growing threat to democracy, with political parties such as Forum for Democracy, PVV, and JA21 contributing to the acceptance of racist ideas and radical imagery without sufficient counterbalance. (translated)
The debate about the growing wealth inequality in the Netherlands must finally get underway, as the situation in the United States shows, where the fiscal treatment of labor and capital leads to a concentration of wealth and power among a small elite. (translated)
The Danish military intelligence service warns that Russia is likely to attack Western countries more frequently in the coming months, with greater consequences than previous attacks, while there is also a 'low but growing risk' of a small invasion in a neighboring country. (translated)
China and the US are both determined to take the lead in the development of artificial intelligence, which is an important source of economic growth and national security for both countries, while they adopt different approaches to their AI strategies. (translated)
Two messages on two days. A little bit of good news? If Merz manages to get the German economic engine running again, that would be extremely important for European, and certainly for Belgian, growth. (translated)
Good morning. In 2002, the Netherlands exchanged the guilder for the euro and has since contributed, on balance, many billions (~57 billion net/visualization 2) to Brussels as a net payer. Meanwhile, the purchasing power of the average Dutch person has barely changed for 25 years, while other countries in Europe have shown clear growth. For me, that is not a good deal: we gave up control over our own money and budgetary policy, and the promised prosperity gain has barely been felt by the average Dutch person. Source: OECD (translated)
We are open to discussions about limiting shared risks and preventing our two systems from completely diverging. (translated)
In the Netherlands, more and more consumers are ignoring legitimate payment reminders out of fear of being scammed by artificial intelligence, which leads to payment arrears and growing distrust towards financial communication. (translated)
An article about growing homophobia. Just search for "Islam," "Muslims," "Quran," "imam"? ZERO search results. "Religion" then? One result, in a sentence about "ultraconservative Catholic groups." Okay, and now let's search for "manosphere" and "online misinformation"? BINGO. Yes, because https://t.co/GO3yocpHaa (translated)
Xi Jinping and Donald Trump currently see no necessity for stricter regulation of the dangerous development of artificial intelligence, despite increasing concerns about the risks and a growing competitive struggle between China and the United States. (translated)
