Road to hell, volume God knows what

Proverbs are supposed to be the wisdom of nations (especially those lacking any other sort of wisdom).  If that is indeed the case, the most recent ideas of the brains hired by the CDA (Scientific Institute) spell trouble: these guys have good intentions. They want to fix the budget (the tax revenues are falling) – surprise, surprise – by increasing, among others, the VAT tax. Makes you wonder whether any of them heard of the Laffer curve – but hey, who am I kidding? An educated socialist (which is what these folks are, underneath all the “Christian” and “democratic” rhetoric) is just about as likely as a black swan, or a 15year old virgin in Britain.

Then there’s some good news – or at least, so it seems on the  surface – the hired brains suggest a flat income tax rate. They give a rationale which is sort of obvious to anyone with a modicum of common sense:  more money left in people’s pockets, less bureaucracy and parasites from the Belastingdienst feeding upon us, life is simpler…

If the above the description sounds too good to be true, that’s because this is precisely the case: according to Jan Kees de Jager from the CDA, the proposal is very interesting, worth looking into, especially given that now is the time for a major review of the system. Unfortunately, after some blah blah, we get the party’s view: the issue is to be postponed until after the next election, when the new Tweede Kammer takes it up. For the time being, standardization of wages is more important. There is some logic to, come to think about it: reducing income gaps is much more gezellig of giving people some of their freedom back (via their money). And for those of us who work more to get the extra buck? More neuken zonder kussen, I’m afraid.

And to think I could have been stupid enough to actually have a glimmer of hope…