2 thoughts on “No more vacation for Balkenende

  1. Agree. Shouldn’t be getting 100% there.

    It’s been long discussed that there’s two general systems of building up pension. In the first, the ‘omslagstelsel’, which we use for the AOW, current workers collectively save up a sum that is given to retireds asap. The second system, the ‘kapitaaldekkingsstelsel’, people save up money (forcibly by way of the government) that they get once they retire.

    AOW is based solely on the omslagstelsel-system. This leaves it vulnerable to changes in demografics. It should be more of a mixed system, with my preference being on a bulk in the kapitaaldekkingsstelsel as that gives more options of risk coverage and risk spreading.

    Of course, a switch in such a system is a tedious and drawn out process as you can only start a system based on the ‘kapitaaldekkingsstelsel’ from the start of an employee’s career. Which means it’s not really politically attractive…

    Back to the matter at hand: we’re in a financially solid period, so everyone’s handing out money as if there’s no tomorrow – now’s the time to rake in the votes! I’m a keynesian economist at heart so I disagree with that attitude in general. The reasoning is also flawed. Guest workers are basically being rewarded more for their work than non-guest workers, as they get an equal amount of work for a lesser period of time. There’s a reason the current system is in place, and it’s not to rake in popular votes with easy short-term measures.

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