The Netherlands could not maintain its purchasing power. Because of this, the coalition agreement that was promised could be thrown in the trash. That’s what Professor of Economics Lex Hoogduin of the University of Groningen says. ‘The coalition agreement states that everyone must maintain purchasing power, that the coalition agreement must be discarded. You should not pretend to citizens that ‘he has prospects of maintaining purchasing power.’

Hoogduin says in BNR’s Big Five that it is an illusion that everyone will retain purchasing power. ‘The Netherlands is getting poorer. You can compensate some groups, maybe compensate completely, but then others will suffer, it is unavoidable. It’s no different.’ Indeed there is something that can be directed, there are efforts that can be made to direct the preservation of purchasing power’ to the weakest who really can’t afford it, but it must be paid for by those who can. It is inevitable that there is an account.’

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Business

Hoogduin not only downplayed the image that everyone could be compensated, but according to the professor there was too much focus on the purchasing power of citizens and not on preserving the competitiveness of the business community, which is the club of VNO entrepreneurs. -NCW is constantly advocating. From a macro perspective, he calls it a ‘huge blow to the competitiveness of the entire EU vis–vis the outside world’ and a ‘loss of prosperity’ that could spread even further once the industries that can now be run profitably here are taken over. Becomes. ‘And then it becomes a structural problem.’

wishful thinking

Of course you can only spend a euro once. So implementing all the ambitious government plans and maintaining the purchasing power of every citizen is wishful thinking. ‘If the government continues to follow the coalition’s line of agreement, and that’s, for example, a big housing program, a lot of money in nitrogen policy, a big fund for the energy transition, that’s all money that won’t be available for the purchasing power of citizens.’ So that purchasing power will continue to be under pressure.

Rubbish bin

Hoogduin said he was surprised by the attitude of Minister Jetten, and the cabinet he represents, that feasibility and affordability were not an issue in the energy transition. ‘You can’t say you’re going to compensate a large group of people at the same time, it doesn’t work out mathematically. Now it’s time for a sharp choice: what can we expect from this cabinet from the development of purchasing power in general? Coalition agreements state that everyone must maintain purchasing power, that coalition agreements must be thrown in the trash. You do not have to pretend to the citizen that he has prospects of maintaining purchasing power, then he will face a very difficult time.