Netherlands: Digging Deep Into The Dutch Economy

The Netherlands is among the top 20 biggest economies in the world, and a GDP per capita of over fifty thousand dollars.
There is this topic that individualistic societies are more likely to gain economic success collectively. The government traditionally had a higher regulatory role in the economy. It remains highly regulated but still a ‘market economy. In fact, it is arguably often referred to as the birthplace of modern capitalism with a history of The Dutch East India Company..
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The video also discusses "Tulip Mania" and "Greater Fool Theory”.It also discusses Groningen gas and it's impact on the Dutch economy as well as "The Dutch Disease".
The video also discusses certain behavioral economics aspects, employment rate, part-time employment, income inequality, wealth inequality, welfare programs and spending, household debt and housing, population density, tax havens and corporate tax avoidance, importance of Rotterdam, EuroZone and the possibility of Nexit, Agricultural innovation & Wageningen University, and Doughnut Economics.
#netherlands #dutch #Amsterdam
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[Joey GB]

High rents is not only an issue in Amsterdam, but all over the country.

[Olivier]

Rents are high buying a house is basically impossible at this moment :(

[VarietyPieClassified]

@Olivier "Student loan debt will not affect your chances of getting a mortgage." -The government "Hmm, yes we can see you earn x euros a month and you saved y on your bank account, buuuuuuuuuuuut that student loan debt..." -The bank "Hmm, yes if I buy these houses here and leave them empty, I can wait for the land to appreciate in value over time due to demand." -The speculant "Hmm, yes I will pay 20-50k over value to buy your house. Thus also inflating the value of the houses of your neighbors." -The landlord "Hmm, yes lemme just buy some more houses to pay less taxes on my literal fortune." -Prince Bernhard Jr. God, I love my country. :(

[Olivier]

@VarietyPieClassified what makes it even worse is that I for example paid of 20k already but it is still looked at as if I have the full dept left instead of just a portion of it :(

[Tamara Hargrove]

Yeah, they really are. I'm in the Randstad and the size of my flat for the rent I pay is laughable.

[VarietyPieClassified]

@Olivier The system is flawed, dude. Hope something will change soon, but I guess only time will tell. :/ Either way, we're all gonna make it brah. :)

[Stijn Snijders]

As a Dutch person, reading the thumbnail made me laugh immediately.

[Casper Höweler]

hahah same!!

[Epik Doge]

Ik ook

[Pizza]

Same

[KSSB outdoor]

Me2

[Wauw]

Same :)

[Syed Mohammad Aanas Farukh]

My grandfather went to the Netherlands to study in 1971. He too was impressed by the marvellous engineering and their economy. I remember him telling me how many Dutch people would joke and say "God created land, except Netherlands!" Because of their sea level issue.

[V N]

I have never hear anyone say that tbh

[Letheas]

@V N Schools must be improved then, the phrase ''God created the world, but the Dutch created the Netherlands'' (or variations) are so well known.

[TheHopparoo]

I'm a Dutchie living since the 1990's in Australia. What often strikes me as the biggest difference is the Dutch direct way of communication. If we have something to say ... we just do it direct to the person / entity who needs to hear it. In contrast most Aussies prefer to talk 'about' someone and not 'to' someone. Resulting in miscommunication - stagnated communication processes and ... large scale failure. Example: In the Netherlands exists the 'product responsibility code' : a seller of say a magic machine is responsible for its good functioning. The seller can not redirect the buyer to the manufacturer to get the problem solved - the seller 'Is Responsible' and must in turn address the wholesaler of the product who must fix it. This may sound like a silly example at first sight - but just think about it: By enforcing responsibility the whole chain of the sale all the way back to the manufacturer benefits: the product becomes better. Combine this with the Dutch directness of communications and we have a recipe for success: Every one is so used to communicate direct and demanding quality products and service that in the Dutch way of thinking there simply is no room for blaming for failures. Here in Australia it is mostly the opposite: Indirect communication is rife , demanding quality a sin and the result: Even in Sydney potholes are the standard !

[Jan Rozema]

So true

[Ewout Geentriangeldus]

Prima voorbeeld

[insomnia 01]

I'm Indonesian we have dark past with the Dutch but to be honest I always admire Dutch efficiency to do things, the way you explain that Aussies like to talk about someone and reluctant to say something directly is exactly the same with indonesian, instead solving problems it will create another problems and I hate it so much. 😂

[Jeroen van Hulzen]

if you tell a Dutchman that he is doing something wrong in his job, for example, and tell him how it can be improved, he will not see it as an insult, but as a gift

[TheHopparoo]

@Jeroen van Hulzen Perfectly observed. But not everyone is 'up to that' - in standup comedian Wim Sonnevelts parody 'de humor ligt op straat' [theHumor can be found on the street] he yells to a man standing on a ladder to repair the roof "hey man you're dong it wrong" - interested in improvement the man comes all the way down , ask what he does wrong , whereup 'Sonnevelt' in his drunk manner says " You should some one else have to do it for you and you could have a beer" .... and that is a recipe for an instant street fight ... highlighting another treat of the Dutch : Don't fool around !

[vTaqz]

Small note: the VOC was at its prime in today's money, more worth than Apple, Amazon, and Google combined

[Robert van der Padt]

@Antrinh they were the first-ever company selling stock to investors. Which let to the first ever 'profit over everything' mentality. To get a crew for the ship they'd just empty the pubs at the harbor, about 2/3 wouldn't survive the trip. And since they needed profit asap they would force anyone to trade with them exclusively, for prices that they considered 'fair enough'. There are multiple examples known of farms having all their trees cut down or simply entire villages being killed if they expected that they'd traded with the Spanish or British. And yeah, they'd enslave people everywhere. Rape them, kill them, sell them. Yet we still have statues of their captains and consider it our 'golden age'...

[vTaqz]

@Antrinh not te be rude or anything, but that was probably every major western country at that time

[Samuel Claessens]

@Robert van der Padt All the things that you discribe are truely awful… Can you tell me where you got the info about killing whole villages if it was “expected” that they had traded with Spanish or British merchants?

[Jim]

Samuel Claessens Sorry maar hij heeft helemaal gelijk, hij praat over de slachting van de Banda eilanden.

[basbekjenl]

I left the Netherlands not because I didn't like it but because I wanted to know what it is like living in other countries, I do miss it and a lot of things which I took for granted are not so normal in other places. I moved east to the Czech Republic in 2019 and have been in lock-down here ever since (kind of a shut in) growing up in the east of the Netherlands every day there were fields with animals, I'd take the bike to forests the pool friends or school. Going anywhere further public traffic was my first choice and I hated 2 hour drives in the car to family in the bigger cities, the city never appealed to me it was loud and so busy but not gezellig, it wasn't fun or welcoming. Healthcare was never a concern and the only worry I had about school was which direction or field I wanted to study in. If I had stayed I would have no doubt been happy with what I had, I'm confidant I would have learned a lot of the same lessons I have learned after leaving just without the first hand experience. Experiencing it however did leave a good impression, I am proud of the Netherlands, it's not perfect but it does a lot of things right. Our history has many unpleasant stories but I believe as long as you can condemn evil as evil you aren't evil, I do also believe because of the head start we have enjoyed that it comes with an obligation or responsibility to use that advantage for the good of others and this is again something where I am happy to see dutch engineers around the world fixing problems with their knowledge and technology. Our current politics might be a bit of a mess but that might just be the times we live in, I see crazy wherever I look in terms of leadership. For the future I hope we will maintain our culture and heritage and stay proud of our identity as a Dutch people, as long as we continue to work hard for a better community for us all then there is nothing wrong with standing tall proudly as a Dutch man should.

[tvs883]

The real reason why the Netherlands are wealthy, is because they send a “Tikkie” for everything directly afterwards.

[mo k]

Hahqhhqhqhqhqhqhhqh

[Crazy Family]

Not realy

[Luke Septer]

Lekker man

[Rose Desert]

😂😂😂😂

[Vincent Fransen]

hahahahaha

[Luuk Hakvoort]

As a Dutch person who used to live in Groningen I can say that the gas fields are a really controversial topic because it has lead to earthquakes in the region and many people who live there feel like the wealth escaped Groningen to go to the Randstad which is the cluster of cities around Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht and The Hague

[Flavien109]

The Groningen gas fields is also one of the reasons our country is rich

[Sim]

indeed, however, the largest problem was with the government not helping the people that have a damaged or collapsing home, it took a long time, lots of paperwork, second opinions and then when things where fixed more earthquake damage came and it all started again. If the government had a pro active approach, had build-ed lots of earthquake proof houses for the people, that would have made a large difference. by the way its a part of the Groningen Countryside, the City of Groningen was only effected by an earthquake a few times, while, the countryside has several quakes a year, slowly taking a brick building a part.

[Spyxl]

All true but I hate the word ‘earthquake’ for this because its nothing like a quake. It’s the ground collapsing because of the gas sucked out of the ground forming a hole. Earthquake is the wrong defenition for this bro

[Widdekuu91]

@Spyxl They described it as a train driving through your livingroom.

[0-•Aurxella•-0 🍃]

I’m not born here but I moved here 5 years ago and I have to say- I agree

[Ben Goacher]

The best story of Tulip Mania was of a young man on return from a merchant venture to the colonies wanted some onion to eat with his eggs. So he stole what he assumed to be a small onion from a stall. As it turned out, the "onion" was a tulip that was worth more than the ship he had spent the last year on. He was sentenced to life in prison!

[Lily]

I didnt know😂

[het edele ambacht]

good grief

[barebare]

This is an urban legend though. It doesn’t make sense to leave such values lying about for anyone to take it.

[Oh Hi]

dont lie on the internet

[Oh Hi]

they dont even grew in the same season I PITY THE FOOL WHO MADE THIS UP

[Rudolf]

Well... that was surprisingly nuanced and well researched. Not sure dedicating a large portion of the start of the video to tulip mania is all that useful, but it's a minor niggle. Also, keeping superficial but consistent tabs on financial development within my country, I must admit I've never heard of this doughnut model, so I'm not sure how pervasive this, let's put it mildly, philosophy, has yet become. In any case, good video, I'll do my part and share it in my circles.

[Tweeter]

I think this is a good and concise analysis of our economics. I always am a bit suspicious of such videos at first, since there are many scams on KZbin, but you have positively surprised me. Well done!

[S M]

Yes!!! There's a lot of KZbin creators who have false info. They prioritize quantity over quality.

[Traveling is FREEDOM]

This seems to be a very interesting place, I hope I can visit sometime in the future. Seeing and sharing places like this is why I love traveling and make videos so much! And please keep up the great job! Subscribed!!

[Norbert Van Hamond]

Really enjoyed the video here in Breda. Heard you briefly mention the 'nexit' proposal and I really hope we can avoid that. Import/export is the name of the game in the Netherlands. We still have trucks in England that can't cross the border because of paperwork issues. And they had years and years to prepare for it, we will not do better by making trading with us harder for other countries.

[Dennis van Dijk]

Have you ever crossed the border into Belgium by car? If so, did you notice the potholes on the road? Trash on the highways and poor lights on the road? Giving you the feeling that you’ve just entered a 3th world country? Well, the belastingdienst is the reason we have a well maintained infrastructure!

[Mounir H]

And the reason we have the "toeslagen affaire". hunders of children being kept away from their parents and leaving thousends of parents in dept and unjustified poverty

[stainless Smart]

Most Southern Europe are very fast declining.... Brussels is Dirty like Paris and Southern Italian Cities.... Could you imagine that at the Brussels main Train Station, Ppl were defecating and urinating on the Floor in a broad day light in the 21Century? Touts roaming every where at the Stations as well. But when I got to Rotterdam I was marvelled by the Level of SANITY in every corner of the City.

[Robert Butlin]

Also worth understanding that if many of your people get around by bike you have less traffic on the roads. Less traffic on the roads means less money is needed to maintain the roads.

[Tim]

Actually the people who are workin on the roads are the reason for it. The belastingdienst only makes sure they get the money... :p

[ryu fight]

@Mounir H it's still 100 times better over here then let's say across the border of Russia Moldavia Poland middle east

[ioc.daoland by Rene Goris]

The dutch privatization was meant to lower prizes for public services, but the opposite happened. The government decentralized taxes, but thus the control on tax was lost causing more taxes and more individual tax rises. Likewise tje difference between poor and rich became enlarged because this cost rises left less income to invest in life development. Since that time polititianss are stopping holes instead of regulate

[Martinos]

Got to love Thatcher and her privitization frenzy, right?

[Louis Friend]

The actual cause of the high rents, besides the current asset and stock bubble worldwide, is actually a tax on social rents, ie rents below € 752,33. Below that rent, rent corporations pay extra taxes of about €1600 per year per home, removing most profit they make on them. This disincentivizes them building or developing more social rent homes. Meanwhile, if a private investor buys those social rent properties, refurbishes them a bit, and rents them for € 1000 a month, those taxes change to €160 per year per home. It's a CRAZY bad incentive.

[Jan Visser]

@Martinos Actually, people are way to hard on Thatcher. From an economic standpoint it had to be done. Those companies were run really inefficient. The UK had dramatically mishandled their social programs. Socialism can work to a certain extend, but it most definitely didn't work in the UK, not in the way they were trying to do it. You don't find politicians like that any more, that actually look at the long term consequences of their policies. I don't say she didn't do things wrong, or that she was a nice person, but the privatisation was needed.

[Jogan81]

Everything that goes private gets more expensive. It has never been any other way. Companies want to make profit, even if it's over the backs of others.

[Vic Vasquez]

I was in awe when I saw the hundreds of bicycles parked in the parking structure. I live in the automobile capital of the world Los Angeles , Ca and I sometimes get lost and couldn't find my parking spot in places like the mall. I spent a week in Amsterdam about three years ago. Love those canal boats. . . .I think they're romantic.

[Snoflakes]

An interesting and informative take on the subject. Thanks for the insight. Like many people say in the comments, high rent is quickly becoming a nationwide problem, especially for first time buyers. Surrounding the blunder collectively called the 'toeslagenaffaire', social systems are under pressure and now the pamdemic put us into a lot of debt as well. Basically, we have a lot of money problems, but the rest of life is awesome here

[marco Vervoort]

I did miss the part of the Technology hub in and around Eindhoven. Where ASML is the biggest supplier in the world of lithography machines which produces the chips in all electronic devices. It started off small, but grew to be the number 1 player in the world

[Mr. Matti]

I'm Dutch and impressed by the knowledge and well thought over commentary about our small country. Only thing I didn't hear was the profound knowledge of languages here especially English. That's also a plus in connecting with people and to trade.

[Bram Gierkink]

Wauw meneer Maty. Wat een goede comment

[Sun Rabbit 🇨🇿]

This is true. Everybody speaks English, unlike where I live right now in Germany.

[Jeroen van der Wal]

Haha!!! Wat een onzin.

[wilfred vanvalkenburgh]

Thank you for mentioning language knowledge! I am an American of Dutch descent, and blessed to have a long family history. My 7th great grandfather, Henry Jacob VanValkenburg, was born in New Amsterdam (New York) in 1640. As a child, his family's neighbor was an Indian interpreter. Around 1680, he moved to Fort Orange, or Beverwik (Albany NY), where another neighbor was also an interpreter. Beaver furs were traded with the Indians, primarily by children, because of laws preventing adults. He traveled the Colonies, settling with the Swedes in New Sweden (Maryland). He spoke Dutch, French, Swedish, Finnish, English and five dialects of Algonquin Indian language. He was a trusted "middleman" between traders, as are the Dutch of today. My son is, purely coincidentally, also a language Nerd.

[Sun Rabbit 🇨🇿]

@wilfred vanvalkenburgh Sure, the more languages you speak, the more international business you can transact. That's why the USA is on a downward trend because the vast majority of Americans speak only English. I speak 4 languages but feel most comfortable in either Czech or English and I recently visited Egypt where I was shocked at how many of the Egyptian people there speak English AND Czech. Shocked! Only 11 million people worldwide speak it, and we have one of the tiniest diasporas of any European country. That tells me that Egypt is probably a more interesting long-term investment than the USA.

[Victory for Equality]

Fantastic summary of my home country! (and funny to see my own street filmed in it).. I think that our level of security and hpw safe we can feel on our streets even at night is very good and something I deeple appreciate, especially after traveling and living in many countries. I also think that the relative equality (compared to many other countries) between men and women, helps the economy a lot!

[Rishi Binda]

Its about where you live man in alot of cities you dont wanna be around at night

[smurfiennes blue]

You don’t want to walk around in big cities alone at night.

[Carel Goodheir]

@Rishi Binda I've done so often in Glasgow, Edinburgh, London, Den Haag, Utrecht, Hamburg and New York and survived. The trick is not to look rich enough to be worth robbing and I don't need to try hard to do that!

[Ra New]

the high rents though, the prices are starting to get unreasonable big and it actually starting to become a serious concern.

[Mondrella]

Frrr (i’m from the Netherlands btw)

[Ricky bombastic]

So true... But looking at whats happening in China with the real estate market starting to default, Im curious as to wether our politicians saw this coming and are banking on the housing market crashing in the netherlands following their crash

[Misha Bloks]

The problem is that there are more people wanting a house than there are houses available

[Emile Muntinga]

h (I’m from the Netherlands btw)

[Fadi Selim]

Just look at the fuel prices... They're insane and I know some people who own attractions at the kermis. They actually shut down the lights for a short time to save money because it all runs on diesel... It's insane

[Mike S.]

Interesting video, well done. The Dutch also got rich by welcoming religious and war refugees from other parts of Europe. A number of these refugees had vital know-how such as from the cloth industry in Antwerp in what was then war-torn Belgium, and/or were rather wealthy. This happened around the Golden Age and helped build the wealth of the country. Another reason is one I’ve heard, but not properly researched: a significant amount of wealth is apparently “old money” that’s been concentrated in the hands of a small selection of the population for hundreds of years and VERY well invested and carefully managed. Somehow the invasions and subsequent occupations by the French and the Germans didn’t impact this wealth too much??? Peculiar.

[wilfred vanvalkenburgh]

My 9th great grandfather was a tailor in Millen (now Belgium) in 1560. His son, my 8th great grandfather, was a Sargent in The Dutch West Indies Company, on the island of Manhattan. He was a "night watch man", basically one of the first New York City policemen, and owned two farms outside the walls of the Battery (fort). There was a street that ran along the wall, therefore, Wall Street. Around 1680, he sold his farms to another Dutchman by the name of Claus Martinson, from the rose fields (VanRoosvelt). As an ironic twist of history, my cousin Captain Franklin VanValkenburg was the Captain of the Battleship Arizona, and was killed December 7th, 1941, along with 1500 of his men at the Japanese sneak attack at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He and the President of the United States (Franklin van Roosevelt) shared the same first name, Franklin. The connection from Pearl Harbor to the World Trade Center bombing is too amazing as to be coincidence.

[Commander of Kesariya Knights]

Dutch govt encouraged many poor dutch farmers to move to America, Australia during land consolidation Same thing happened in poor Norway with almost 5 million Norwegian origin people in America itself

[Holk Holkman]

It seems to me to be the result of science and the liberation of the mind. With so much land on the world, the Netherlands is protecting its tiny land and trying to grow it. What they've done in this little land is incredible. Science, art, agriculture, architecture, democracy, freedom and so more. Greetings from Turkey, beautiful people of the beautiful country.

[John L.]

Wonder if the Turkish people exported Tulips 🌷 to the Dutch during the mania.

[K]

Freedom is gone here my friend. The netherlands is becoming a pile of crap without any freedom.

[Appien Speedfight]

@K helaas wel..

[MoonStar Red]

Dont forget we still have a lot of probl3ms the goverment isnt that good

[MoonStar Red]

We have more people from other countrys

[David Arditti]

Though it does mention it in passing, and does show it in every shot, what this video underplays (in its script, not filming) is the quality and amazing scale of the Dutch infrastructure. This must be highly significant to the efficiency of economic operation and hence wealth of the country. It amounts to a mania (as it may be seen by the non-Dutch) for continually rebuilding things: roads, railways, canals, bike paths, dams, dykes, bridges, internet, utilities, ports and airports ever better and more efficient than before. This uniquely intense public investment in infrastructure must have its origins in the way the Dutch were always threatened by the sea, leading to an understanding of the necessity of pooling resources to build using public funds for the good of all. You can see references to it in history going back to the middle ages, so it is not new. It is also connected to the density of population of the country, with people living very close together, leading to less of the individualistic ‘my home is my castle’ attitude than is found in the (otherwise rather culturally similar) Anglophone countries, with far less emphasis in the law on the sacrosanct nature of individual property, which makes it basically easier for the state and local government to do this spectacular stuff everywhere.

[Charles van der Hoog]

The tulipmania reached its apogee with the black tulip bulb. As it was deemed impossible to grow (create) a black flower, the idea that you had a bulb that would, created immense value. It was only for the black tulip bulbs that people would sell their houses. Not just any tulip like this video suggests.

[Wonderful house Brussels near Ambiorix .]

The great collectors of original pages or original comics are Dutch, they buy everything and become more and more expensive .

[Michał Kloska]

I am Polish, but the Netherlands is one of my favorite countries. I have nice memories of the time spent there.

[милан 98]

poland is better lol. NL is expensive

[And You Know]

@милан 98 More expensive means higher income.

[Eddie Dutch]

I understand that. That's why we have so many unemployment, most workers are from Poland. Cheap...

[Carel Goodheir]

And I'm duel national Dutch/Scottish, been in Scotland for 72 years now, with only a few short spells back in Nederland. Still got a soft spot for NL, especially Utrecht. People may, just like people everywhere, find it hard to have the standard of living they are sure they need, but what I see when I visit The Netherlands is well dressed, well fed, generally healthy people who appear to be good at making things work. Ik heb mijn moeder taal niet totaal vergeten al maak ik alerlij taalfouten er in.

[L S]

@Eddie Dutch pvv tokkie , wij Nederlanders werken gewoon als watjes heeft niks met de Polen te maken🤫

[Menno van Lavieren]

Liked the video as soon as you mentioned the V.O.C as the first multinational with a critical note. It created a dubious entity somewhere between a private business and a state and this model is still used to exploit offshore regions. However it did not contribute much to the dutch trade dominance as is commonly believed. That was building up well before the V.O.C. was enacted and the V.O.C just profited from the trade that was generated by many small private enterprises. But the state at the time believed it was the only way to counter the other European naval powers who where using military power to secure trade routes. Financing an army is expensive and they sought to finance it by merging many enterprises into one and giving it the right to have a private army. A mistake in my opinion. I wish we would had found a way to use taxes on trading routes to pay for the security and kept the private enterprises small and in a free market. Now we had created this to big to fail entity, which would inevitably fail and take down the whole dutch golden age economy. (Take notes on what is happening nowadays)

[Gripping Stranger]

My exact feeling after living here for 29 years. ''The analogy I came up with is that being Dutch and living in this country is like working in the family business - you'll never get fired, your upside is very limited, and your downside is non-existent as long as you follow the rules. Don't be the black sheep of the family, make sure to get married and have children at the appropriate age, attend all the birthday parties, and you'll never have to leave the bubble. It takes real balls to be a renegade here. Nobody is stepping out, nobody is rocking the boat, everyone is trying to keep everything gezellig, which in the end creates a soul-crushing sense of dullness, like a winter’s day in the Dutch “countryside” (a swamp with cows in it).''.

[groom boek]

If you prefer violence and extreme inequality, you can always go to the US.

[Herman Mateboer]

Amen. I busted out of that cycle though. There are people that do, but overall, you’re right. Living in the lap of this ‘luxury’ makes one lazy.

[François Lechanceux]

@groom boek Why the US and not russia ? Or why not Romania ? And outside of Europe, why not Brazil or China ? Only the US exists for you ?

[BD]

Wat is dit voor slap gelul. Je land de schuld geven wanneer je geen leuke vrienden kan vinden ahaha

[Piotr Stoppel]

I consider this to be impressive. Could you please tell me more. My ancestors left Nederlands and settled in Żuławy. Tell me please more. You impressions are valuable.

[Kelkschiz]

You forgot to mention the ”moeder negotie" which roughly translates as: our core business. That is the name for the Oostzee (Baltic) trade. This trade was far larger than all other seaborne trade combined.

[Hailey Leonard]

This is a good introduction to the economy of the Netherlands. Do consider making one on the semiconductor industry in Taiwan as this is of strategic importance now. Thank you.

[Sue Ferreira]

The Dutch firm ASML makes the machines that make the semiconductors - they are way ahead!

[LucieA11]

high rents for students is a problem all over the country

[Coldius]

Not necessarily true, it's mostly the shortage in housing that is the issue.

[Josselino Lopes Neves]

Move to a village and it'll be alright

[Anaïs]

@Josselino Lopes Neves Unfortunatly thats not true. Even in smaller towns rent is skyhigh right now. I cant even find a room or appartment for less than €750 in Zuid Gelderland.

[- Mikabe]

That's not a problem the students themselves are a problem. 🙃

[Josselino Lopes Neves]

@Anaïs I live in Groningen, and in a remote village called Delfzijl, there are apartments that cost 350 a month for rent

[Matthijs Terpstra]

You cannot compare countries only by GPD. In The Netherlands we have high income (average) but also high prices in shops due to high tax rates. And the inequity is very high. The difference between the rich and poor is bigger than in most of the countries in the world

[Vilakkattu Life]

I lived and worked in the Netherlands way back in 2000. I still cherish the memory. Great nation and great people.

[Grand Ralph]

was before the euro

[Erik Averink]

@Grand Ralph The Euro made travelling easier, and no redundant money in the wallet when the vacation ended. Price comparison is easier, no calculator needed. No exchange of money costs, but hey i guess tou want to go back to the gulden, het kwartje en de stuiver.

[lucas rem]

did we hire you, are you a coder? Woerden?

[Grand Ralph]

@lucas rem no i am a decoder

[De Ouders Van]

We are the best, Netherland's my country❤

[Blind Spot]

I think you nailed it, especially in the beginning when you said, "if you are Dutch.." and "please share your opinion...̈, that was a stroke of real insight into the Dutch spirit. Oh, and cudos on the "bedankt". I couldn´t tell if you were Dutch.

[T KRISO]

Hah,share ur perspective here yet.

[Emre Kourou]

I worked in the Netherlands (which I will probably go to work again), in the Greenhouses which the good thing is they give a place to stay but paying weekly about 90€, and it would be 1/4 of my monthly income, and was kind of "lucky" to think that people giving about 1600€~ for Rent + electricity and such..

[Sky Broome]

As an American, after working for a Dutch company for 7 years and with many Dutch people during that time, I have such deep respect and love for the Dutch. They don't do "uptight" or work their people to exhaustion like in the US. Very forthright, too, which I love. We could learn a great deal about life from the Dutch that would create a happier environment for living and work!

[Daniël Bom]

Awesome video, can tell you put a lot of research into this. Great job! A little feedback for your next video about the Netherlands 😉: - You speak a lot about Amsterdam, and show it a lot. Yes, it is our biggest city, but maybe mix it up with some other big cities and smaller places. I know, no every small town contributes as much to the economy like Amsterdam or Rotterdam, but in my humble opinion the balance is a bit lost. When you show countryside, it’s almost exclusively footage of tulip fields. - Not really a problem, but it would be nice to see something different for once: in the introduction you talk about tulips, windmills, etc. Yes, they are very Dutch (or we ‘made’ them Dutch), but don’t forget about some other great things we are known for. For example: Philips and all of it’s inventions/massively popular products. Or: we were (one of the first) to give more or equal rights to the LGBTQ-community. Again: great video and you’ve got my sub to the channel. Hope this feedback helps or at least is interesting to read!

[Oriantar]

He also showed the hague

[PoorSquid NL]

lgbtq isnt really doesnt have anything to do with economics tho

[Mitch Zv]

lol don’t forget that the golden age was just us at the top of drug dealing

[NNicky]

It has to be said that household debt is so high because it is financially very lucrative to have a high mortgage. You can sort of pay your mortgage before you pay tax over your salary, meaning on paper your salary is much lower, meaning you have to pay a lot less tax.

[Rob Feldkamp]

Unless, ofcourse, there is a market crisis. Or some personal crisis. It may be practical but, don't forget, it's the banks that own your house, your business, your credit and most of the rest of our country. Nearly every Dutch citizen is in debt until about the age of 60. Paying less tax is not lucrative, it''s less terrible. But...then again.. we have among the highest income tax rates, VAT rates, wealth tax rates, fuel tax rates, and inheritance tax rates in the world. best case: Lood om oud ijzer. We do have a high standard of living though. So for better or worse i guess. But i would never call these amounts of debt nor our tax system lucrative.

[Ross Speirs]

Netherlands is awesome. Total football, literally living under water, great food and biking infrastructure. Good social safety net and economy. Back when I was into fitness KZbin channels too I used to watch Merijn and he would show a lot of cool places.

[Julian Verweij]

Apart from bitterballen/kroketten our food sucks IMO lol

[Julian Verweij]

@Ronan inderdaad. We leven letterlijk onder water door johan cruijff lol.

[Letheas]

@Ishaan Nag We should embrace everyone, that's literally what made the Netherlands (and places like Amsterdam) what it is today. It is the foundation and formed the foundation of many other nations and worldwide systems and beliefs. It literally made Amsterdam the richest city of Europe at certain times, because multiculturalism and the freedom of religion brought many groups of people to the Netherlands that significantly contributed to growth and prosperity. If you ever meet someone who claims to be for the Dutch people and the Netherlands in general, that is against multiculturalism (PVV for example), you found yourself a fake dutchy. Or at least someone that knows so little about basic national history, that you shouldn't in any way take his arguments seriously.

[Letheas]

@Ishaan Nag Yeah, except for my language skills. Most fellow dutchies are so good with languages, and here I am only knowing the basics of English (and Dutch offc) Well I am trying to learn Indonesian but that is difficult as fuck, lol, but I digress. Yes, yes I am:)

[Jorden L]

Dank u for making this amazing video about the Netherlands, very balanced and in depth. This is a very good introduction to our country

[Economic Raven]

Thank you for watching 🙏

[Jeppe]

The government is working hard to reduce the meat sector, a lot of people are complaining about the airports looking to lower their size and Rotterdam is also under a lot of pressure where a lot of it's import and export could be moved to Belgium or France docks. Looking at this video their might become a decline in our wealth with us steering away everything we are standing out for currently. Might wanna look at some new innovation fast ;).

[Tri Ratnawati]

Thank you very much for sharing your informative video. Do you think that Dutch colonialism in a certain country in the past, is one of the factors which causing the Netherlands a rich country at present ?

[Tiemen Hakvoort]

I'm Dutch and it did help with our riches today, but we are always innovative and after the colonisations ended we found our riches in other ways like trading, overseas trading, selling our watermanagement knowledge etc. We have the biggest economic harbour in Europe

[Herman Mateboer]

I doubt it. The country’s wealth came much more from the grain trade with what is now Poland. The Dutch East India company was the first multinational to sell shares. it took them 50(!) years before first paying out a very meagre dividend. Their success was hampered a lot by a disease no one understood back then, malaria.

[Jaap Gorter]

Nice video, posted a few weeks back, I do feel it skips over a few hot topics rather quickly: - housing bubble - energy dependency since shutting off the natural gas flow in Groningen - growing political problems with not being able to found a new government in more than 6 months - breakdown of educational system

[divat 10]

Breakdown of educational system?

[Jaap Gorter]

@divat 10 In the past decades investment in education has only gone down (cutbacks and relatively less budget per student). Also the education itself reverts away from gaining factual knowledge towards learning how to find the information you need when you need it.

[smurfiennes blue]

Make it 1 year without government. But don’t worry Belgium was once for 5 years without government. So, we aren’t winning yet 😂

[smurfiennes blue]

@Jaap Gorter if you mean student loan, it should be 100% on whomever wants to study. You can’t expect factory workers to pay for your medical education, can you? And in return when you become a doctor, you would charge them €100 per consultation.

[Collin van Dijken]

@smurfiennes blue One, i am pretty sure it is not what he is talking about. Two, currently when studying to become a medical doctor in the netherlands you have to pay back all of your student loans, there is just no interest on the loan itself. Any student loan requested for a HBO or WO study is to be payed back in full by the person who took out the loan. Three all consultations for general medical problems should be covered under your base insurance which is manditory to have as a dutch citizen (maybe some costs fall under "eigen risico").

[andrew De LA Cruz]

The quality of these videos are unreal thanks for the awesome content

[Economic Raven]

Thank you 🙏

[willemivo1]

But what makes the Netherlands so wealthy? As a Dutchman living in South Africa, my perspective is that the Dutch look for opportunities to grow (not just to get rich quick), they are inclusive (rather than turning their backs on problems), they have serious resource constraints which forces them to develop opportunities rather than just exploit the next resource, they fix problems at all levels (instead of letting them pile up), they are down to business rather than political which means challenges get addressed instead of digressing into personal emotions, they are time conscious which means things get done, they are efficiency mad which means things get done cost effectively and sooner rather than later, they want value for money, they hold people accountable which means corruption is not rampant. There is a strong culture of education and protestant hard work. When things are done, they are done at a high quality standard, which allows them to fix one issue and then move on to the next instead of having to fix the same problems again and again.

[Freshy Jazz Productions]

true the answer to why we are wealthy here is becouse we used the time whare we could still steal recoures to the maximum and the colonies that where created to provide tea coffee spices gold silver later aluminium chocolate etc have been put under pressure to keep providing the materials for price that is not conform to our market .the rest of it yeh dutch say just do your job , we work

[willemivo1]

Ragnar Kittenbrok “goedkoop”, hoe werkt dat precies in relatie tot een lokaal inkomen? Ik woon in Zuid-Afrika om heel andere redenen dan geld, en als Nederlander kan ik meer geld verdienen dan de lokale bevolking. Aangenomen dat jij je identificeert met de armen, kom lekker deze kant op om perspectief te krijgen op hoe slecht je het hebt! Zie hoe goedkoop het hier is met wat hier wordt gezien als een laag inkomen.

[Guillaume]

Ragnar Kittenbrok Mijn struggle is welke nieuwe leasebak ik moet uitkiezen. Tesla Model 3, Polestar of toch Hyundai Kona. Wat zijn jou struggles dan?

[Jan Ligthart]

The Dutch disease could have been skipped when a great part of the gas money would have been spent in international investments, like by buying ports all over the world. These investments could have been a help to bring the state pensioen AOW, a system in which the workers pay for the pensionary, to a system in which investments are paying the pensionary. Prime minister at that time, Joop den Uyl (economist), should have known this.

[Razer]

The high rent isn't just in Amsterdam these days, it's pretty much everywhere due to a shortage of rentable homes.

[Celtic@harry]

Hi are you Dutch?

[Razer]

@Celtic@harry Yes.

[sander koekkoek]

@Razer Its actually a combination of not building enough, foreign investors buying houses and more 1 person familys. The goverment must start investing in higher apartment blocks.

[SektorNL]

Very thorough analysis, great to watch. Thanks!

[Economic Raven]

Thank you 🙏

[George 😎]

And it has the best bicycle infrastructure in the world. Nationwide

[Shrinath]

Less energy usage country in the world. USA Energy hungry country in the world.

[NLJeff EU]

And the best weed

[N F]

Also the best stoplights

[George 😎]

And the best swearing

[deck614]

I am French and ... My family came from the Nederlands, two centuries ago! Well, France is not against (!) business but is far from developing a tenth of what NL makes in any considered time. Makes me sad, I admit. E.g. when somebody in France invents (often, too), most of the time it doesn't lead to a business and even rarely to an award from the autorities. Why? Our biggest difference in the cradle is the land: France had an easy land (to grow crops essentialy), which leads to conserve and keep the same process and activity for long, defying innovation mostly, and so not to be a leader in agriculture nor trading... In the past, France never organised a trading force (no commercial fleet...) to enhance its economics, considering the land itself was enough to make French people live o.k.... At the opposite, Netherland of course worked against even the sea, just to have a land, which in my opinion gives a special value to this land (and to work, business and trade...) in NL people's minds...

[Nature]

Without its fomer / present colonies France would be like an African underdeveloped country.

[deck614]

@Nature France is not the Great Britain, don't miss the truth. But we manage for e.g. uranium and oil outside, yes.

[É.W.U.]

France is however very good with food and fashion. I dispise the country in many ways, but I respect their cuisine a lot.

[T. V.]

Great video, kind of dissapointed you didnt talk about seed breeding and export, but the rest was very informative

[J. M. C.]

i've worked in the netherlands, and in other countries, and i must say that their work ethics, organizational eficiency, unclogged comunication ways are the reason plus the underlying understanding of their work force, it's needs, basic or not and the freedom to do whatever you want if it doesn't interfere with the others liberties.

[Jeroen]

Concerning the high levels of debt in Holland; I believe that this is partly because debt is considered a good thing here. As a dutchie I've been told on multiple occasions that 'being in debt' is the best thing you can do at this time. You get tax benefits over the amount of mortgage interest, and the interest rates themselves are at an all time low. Just goes to show how the Dutch think about money and their financials. I believe this kind of thinking is a display of the integral entrepreneurship of the Dutch.

[Anneke Kramer]

The debt is mostly because of mortgages. Many other countries have a large renting population, while we mostly try to buy our houses if possible. I mean, my debt is also a few hundred times my disposable income per month (which makes sense as you're supposed to pay off the house in 360 monthly instalments).

[Sander Bessels]

The high debt is a cultural thing, but also embedded in the system. Most Dutch people see it as normal to take a mortgage to pay for their house and to save for their pension. This course of action is supported by the government with mortgage interest reduction, government backed mortgages and the obligation for the employers to offer a pension plan and there is a mandatory government plan as well. At some point halfway, the mortgage debt and the pension savings cancel out and it would be much safer, simpler and less costly to simply cross them out against each other. This is not done however, so they are left with high pensions and high debt.

[argh100100]

Being in debt was generally considered a bad thing by the generations before us. It has only been in the last couple of generations that this has become the norm. Culture changed because of bad political decisions, which pushes society to take up mortgages. To top it off, taking up a loan is even further promoted in the Netherlands by providing our youth with the oppurtunity of an almost endless loan in recent years. Taking up this loan at least in part has already become a requirement for education.

[Giordano Cattani]

I think that the high debt is also due to the way the the system work. Box 3 wealth tax is on the net worth, so people are pushed to be in debt to reduce the tax burden and having lifelong debt is a tax advantage (I am thinking to mortgage where only interest is paid back for example.

[Andries Quast]

Well, that’s not true, because being without debt feels much better. Anybody telling those things is a lunatic. Kick them.

[Ed Reeves]

The Dutch East India company ruled Indonesia (by the usual colonial methods) for 200 years before it went bankrupt, forcing the Dutch government, who had previously ignored the rumours of atrocities committed by the company, to go in and take over the administration for the next hundred years. What caused the bankruptcy? Mostly corruption within the company, Batavia was a long way from Amsterdam. On the positive side, the Dutch left hundreds of beautiful buildings and the rudiments of a modern railway and road network. The Dutch Royal family apologised for some of the past misdemeanours only a few years back.

[Fam Fam]

Correctie 400 jaar is het👍

[A17O]

yeah you think after almost 4 millenium we'll get something out of the colonization at least something like what the ex british colonies becomes today, but noooo. corruption reigns, ethics discrimination...good job..

[Tyas Ginger]

Aaah the Netherlands rich because that's country stole from Indonesia. 350 year's they colonialism of Indonesia with suffer of Indonesian people's. So sad 😢.

[Mental hospital gaurd]

I think it is mostly like this because of our colonial times We owned a lot of colonies and where the last country to stop slavery We also are very good at trading We are basically just a marketplace for other country’s

[Angela Vlogt!]

Most of the Dutch are not rich. They can manage, but now, with the gasprices are going sky high many people will get in trouble. The rent on a house is expensive, health insurances are very expensive, taxes are way up. Over all it may seem so but there are many people who struggle.

[Forless]

Enge vlogger wel

[T. Hanks]

@Forless Flikker op man, laat haar lekker vlogs maken. Als zij het maar leuk vindt.

[Jesse]

@T. Hanks lekker tom 👍

[Windsguidance]

My mom is contemplating on buying an electric stove because of the rising gas prices even though we just bought a new one. It's just not feasible anymore

[Barbara Kroos]

Thank you for your honest reply 🌻

[scott]

I read recently that the WHO suggest that the Netherlands has the worlds biggest gap between rich and poor, per capita, which I have to say I found hard to believe having visited several times. Lovely country.

[Coldius]

That's because it is bullshit :D

[Hymn]

About 10% of the people living here have over 70% of the wealth, we do in fact have the biggest gap between rich and poor. And our current government is only widening the gap.

[Lolke Van de Witte]

Well, as a Dutchman I must say, this was highly educational!

[Economic Raven]

Thank you for watching 🙏

[Gexplrth]

The two big companies from Sweden, IKEA and Scania has moved to the netherlands, not because they want to - only because of the taxes. The taxes in Sweden is very high, but its also benefitial if you live here, but its a problem for big companies.

[SENORRUMPEL KOLK]

They tax the citicens high.... they should fax companys

[Aghost 132483]

Don't forget the dutch had colonized Indonesia in South East Asia for almost 350 years handle by the VOC (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie), the VOC at that time was the biggest trading company in the world, they sell the spice and crops from the colonized country. you can imagine how rich the Dutch for taking 350 years selling their colonized product.

[pat newway]

and then Hitler and the german army came, we were poor as fuck. 1970 discovered gas field under the dutch land. this gave us modern welth

[William Geardener]

@pat newway And next the Dutch government decided to give their gas away for next to nothing in another effort to be the best boy in class. And that's why Dutch taxpayers have to pay for the devastation of the houses in Groningen while the companies that profited all those years suddenly have declared themselves not liable. And the Dutch government has decided that the culprits of this disaster are not liable and the blame is on the taxpayer.

[Reyna]

We said sorry for that 👴🏼

[hengky nt]

😣

[Bas van Beek]

as a dutch person i can say that the only reason i work over time every day 7 days a week is 100% to buy either more weed or more stroopwafels

[أنس]

Weeeeeeed weeeeeeeeeeeeeed gasoline kinda smells good???!

[Ben]

straight facts

[Bas van Beek]

@Mr. Penguin no?

[Tim]

stroopwaffel addict

[jkj10]

or both..good combo

[Marc van Drunen]

As a Dutch person who has worked in international companies overseas I can definatly say that one of our biggest forte is our upbringing and mindset. We invest heavily in our children (UNICEF 2020 report ranking child happiness in the world agrees). They grow up to be not just individualistic, but to bring their voice to any table they sit at. This voice is cultivated in schools and at home to be honest and efficient and to accept a different voice than your own without having to agree. This acts as a consensus mechanism that is inclusive and constantly evolves as people evolve, which in turn evolves businesses and government policy at a rapid pace with a strong foundation that shows a surprising amount of similarity with the scientific approach.

[Erwin Djuly]

"to be honest and efficient" If you care to look around, you will see that that is all over now.

[Marc van Drunen]

@Erwin Djuly hehe i can tell we definatly have a different environment that we are in. My friends and family have opened up even more these days to eachother. Stay strong my man.

[Thorsten Fassbinder]

Being of age and how to manage the sequence of returns in those early periods is what seems quite scary in the current market. The market is never a loser in a twenty year cycle, but the 2000s decade scenario scares me and could really disrupt my retirement. When you are no longer accumulating but withdrawing its hard to be anything but cautious.

[Math is not for the faint of heart]

The division between rich and poor has also touched Holland. And yes, there is hidden poverty in that country as well.

[ninasmolders]

It was never not there, you think we learned our divide and conquer tactics without testing them on our own enpoveridged classes first then think again

[Linda]

it's not even really hidden, and it's getting worse :(

[Biology4me]

Great video! I do think the Netherlands is genuigely concerned about the climate change. However, the gass mining in the north of the Netherlands (groningen) is again a hot topic because of the enourmous rise in gass price.

[Top Zozzle]

i can tell you for a fact were not concerned at all. nothing is actually being done to secure a liveable future for oncoming generations. its all about making money of the backs of other people here. countries where billionaires dont have to pay any taxes are always trash, i may not look that way but you wont be able to affort a house or medical bills here among other things.

[Shekhar Veera]

While mortgages themselves aren't a bad thing for individuals, it is the banks who carry the mortgages and trade in derivatives that are at risk. We have seen the damage in 2008 with the US market tanking badly on the back of these fancy zero down payment type of lending products. Hope the Dutch Banks are managing their exposures well!!

[Jesper-Igor Prikken]

The Netherlands is a great country for companies. Because of the low taxes and deals being closed. However, normal citizens pay too much tax, which means that life is not exactly pleasant for certain groups.

[News React]

@RetroDuke You are not well informed about the reality Mr or Mrs crappy.

[VintageCR]

this right here.

[Dean Ryan]

Facts

[p v]

@RetroDuke jij snapt het

[AcousticSong - Guitar & Co]

In the Netherlands for years house owners could get loans based on the added value of their houses without paying back the loan, just the interests. This could go on for YEARS. So actually lots of people lived on credit, which might be good for the economy, but they’re spending money they don’t really have. This became a problem when the house market crumbled after 2008.

[First]

I'm Dutch and have spend time in other countries for work and the number one reason why we ended up like this is because we just work harder with our no bs mentality. You want something, you stick in the hours. And honestly most other eu countries aren't like this. Waaay more laid back.

[Nekroido]

As a Ukrainian that moved to NL 5 years I learned that Dutch workers actually know how to maintain their productivity at reasonable levels and take their time to relax. I used to see that as a quite laid-back work attitude ngl. Most Ukrainians just bust their asses off. Now, while I still recover from a burnout, this skill of work-life balance is something I'm trying to learn myself.

[Patrick Patrick]

@Nekroido becarefull to much en hard work can cost you health. I am dutchmen en life in Romania

[Arthur Otte]

As an economist, this video made me curious. And you did an amazing job. It is fast, not boring, accurate, highlighting good points and bad points. In short: great job!

[Economic Raven]

Thank you 🙏

[Horowitz]

As a dutchie, I can say he missed a lot of details and clearly focused on "The Randstad", even though the Netherlands has 12 provinces instead of 3.

[Phil Sarkol]

Well this is a very informative video of the Netherlands economy. It looks good, we are a rich nation. Question now is; how do we regulate this wealth. The government had it's yearly annual king's presentation of the governmental plans. So allthough it looks good, there are real serious issues we have to adress. In the past decade, there was this shift in balance , the government , wanted to cut into the budget for governmental tasks such as healthcare, education, public services. The idea that the government could slim down in order to save money , letting the open commercial market take over some of these public services, is now backfiring. The social problems are mounting up. Prices of living are rising to fast , to high in a short time. The housing market has been de-regulated the past 10 years, giving rich entrepeneurs the chance to buy a lot of houses, whilst there's a shortage in houses. Our natural gas resources are still vast, but we don't pull up our own gas, due to earthquakes in the gasregion, we still have to compensate the damage to the houses in the gasregion Groningen. We import gas now, so the price of heating is way up, to unbearable hights. Then we have the big tax- scandal in this subsidiary child-care mock-up. The dutch government mis-used all it's power, to get her money back from mothers with young children, who received childcare support. The thought frrom the taxman was; these women are fraudes, they wrongfully and willingly gave false information. Hence; this inquisition like operation, threw all of these mothers in a decade long dark pit-hole, they had to pay back. These people were wrongfully accused and punnished by a government who wasn there to protect them. So concluding; A decade long liberal policies have made our economy strong and prosperous. But; the liberal thought of small government, free market, free entrepeneurship, let the free market solve problems within the market, loosen up regulation within our econemy is causing a lot of problems, that were mentioned above. Trust from the people in politics is very low . And to top it off ; we don't have an official kabinet, to tackle these issues. So we need a team fast, or getting new elections. (9-10-2021)

[irfai afham]

The largest Dutch colony was Indonesia and the Netherlands was very dependent to the plantations before diversify their economy. It was a gruesome process of exploitation.

[munawir]

Yak betul bro

[Remco Janssen]

Would have loved to hear the mentioning of "Brainport" which is the smartest region in the world with giant hightech companies like ASML and NXP

[Turgay Y.]

You wish, smartest region in the western world is Cambridge, MA. Seoul, Tokyo, Shenzhen all have more innovative companies than the Netherlands as well

[Roderick Gerard]

@Turgay Y. The Smartest Region in he world in 2011 was Eindhoven Netherlands, Known as Brainport, idk about 2021, or if it is Cambridge I didn't find any data for 2021. Also more innovative companies does not equal better companies in the sector, but I am not knowledgable on such matters reagrding quantity vs quality in tuhis sector of the economy

[Andries Quast]

@Roderick Gerard If you believe that kind of nonsense then you are called a “normie”. Now go and get your soy latte coffee.

[Roderick Gerard]

@Andries Quast bro if you can't backup your claims it's called being uneducated, whilst generalising people shows your inability to see past what social media and news tells you

[OneBigSnowball]

@Turgay Y. Yeah, I wonder why the 3 of the biggest cities in the world have many innovative companies. Keep crying your country is declining. Besides, the Netherlands has better relations with SK and JP than wherever you live will ever have, so it really wouldn't matter.

[Chris Cooperman]

I am a Brit and came to Holland for a look 28 yrs ago and within a year came back to live. I realised very quickly that I had made a smart decision. Never been short of work if wanted and well paid too, although the cost of living is slightly higher than UK. Quality of life is great and love the pragmatic live and let live mentality. Cant see me ever leaving. You can make out like a bandit if discrete and understand the benefits system which suits a lazy assed pot head like me.

[Oosterhout’s Finest]

Another fortune seeker, you’re one of the main reasons our taxlevels and retirement-age are outrageous

[Valerio Cugia]

Well done video, thank you. Regarding jobs, the Netherlands has long encouraged women to work part-time rather than pursue full careers (till the 1960's women had to abandon their work once they got married). As a consequence there is also a substantial differences in pensions between men and women.

[Specoos]

Actually, Dutch women prefer parttime work, it's one of the reasons we currently have trouble in 2 female--dominated fields:: education and healthcare where we can't motivate them to work longer hours, even though there is a shortage and work pressure is high

[John Richards]

Amazing innovative kingdom that has continued to try to right its wrongs and still have the right mix of progress and tradition.

[Marijn Paans]

Great video, however, I think it would’ve been nice if you covered a bit more on our healthcare system and wealth tax (+-1%).

[Mark Pinkhassov]

Living here 5 years, when he said “transport relatively inexpensive” i screamed 😭

[Vishnu Kumar]

Disposable household income is dropping drastically each year. It is becoming alarming now. everything has become quite expensive. House prices, energy prices, insurance prices, grocery etc have risen sharply.

[smurfiennes blue]

It’s not how much you earn, it’s always been how much you spend. I’ve seen in poor countries, hawkers can send their kids to uni with zero help from their government

[Blind Spot]

It´s quite a drop from what we are used to, but we can still manage. I wouldn´t call it alarming yet.

[Steven Yoo]

Coming from Korea where everything’s based on tradition and nothing really makes logical sense, it feels like basically everything in NL is based on scientific/philosophical knowledge so everything makes sense.

[HET GROTE TWENTE]

Unless you see the government

[Jort Peters]

The reality is that no country is really based on scientific/philosophical knowledge. Science nowadays is so complex that scientist like me often have to focus on one narrow subsection of their field. And are nowhere near expert on other fields. Imaging then how little lawmakers know about different scientific fields. Just look at how the corona crisis was handled here in Europe. Mostly just on popular opinion and guided by tradition. Of course they ask experts, but the problem often is that most experts acknowledge that their point of view is just one of many based on contradicting evidence. So even when there is a scientific consensus. People will always point out that maybe scientist are wrong. So this means science is almost intrinsically confusing, and then it has to be interpreted by people who don't understand shit about it to make laws ;)

[Cheryl Shirin]

The dutch is wealthy because they stole from my ancestors and other cultures smh 🤦🏾‍♀️

[NL Luke]

@Cheryl Shirin het was niet oke vind ik maar, als jullie de zelfde macht en kennis hadden als ons hadden jullie het zelfde gedaan…. En anders zaten jullie nog in de steentijd… En wij wilde gewoon handelen maar jullie hadden niet veel dus gaf jullie koning/opperhoofd ons slaven.

[Cheryl Shirin]

@NL Luke ik praat niet alleen over de slaventijd. Ik heb het over het hele plaatje. Im not going to start a discussion with your proud self cause its going to be “just another” slavery discussion. En gezien je al praat in “jullie” en “wij”, Jullie houden ervan om letterlijk te nieuwsgierigen, bemoeien en zoeken tussen zaken die niet van “jullie” zijn om daar een slaatje uit te slaan. De ene noemt het opportunisme, de ander noemt het bemoeizucht, en genoeg noemen het diefstal. Whatever you wanna call it, fact is that it runs through your dna, that’s how you guys are programmed and that’s your style of moving through life. Kennis of niet sommige dingen hebben gewoon met het stukje respect te maken. Maar die manier van handelen domineert, so they cant help it 🤷🏾‍♀️

[Benjamin Badger]

It's the people. I worked with Netherlands people for seven years. Their approach to work is something midway between the Germans and the Americans. In Canada, the Dutch are regarded among the most highly respected immigrants.

[Goat Goaterson]

That's so great to hear, I'm going to move to Canada in a few years

[Blind Spot]

I think this might be a remnant of the Calvinistic work ethos. Dutch people often forget they work to live and not live to work. As someone who has just popped out of that, I can tell you, it´s not a pleasant state of mind to be in. But it does create anxious people that are law-abiding and never feel they are useful enough or worthy, so that can be very handy. My mantra to ween people of this is: "you are enough, you do enough, you bath enough" Most people are quite happy about their personal hygiene, so the last one gets a laugh, driving home how self-made the painfull other feelings are and punching through the wall of self disparagement.

[Jan]

The most important reason for the high household debt is not only high house rent in Amsterdam. Everywhere in the country are rents very high. And the house prices are also skyrocketing. And manny young people do have huge debt from their studie.

[Yvo]

i have lived in the netherlands my whole life to this moment, and i have learned more about my country in this single video then i have in the 14 years i've lived here xD

[Rob Feldkamp]

that's alarming.

[Yves Lemen]

The reason Netherlands is rich is because almost every people's goal in life is to earn money, and this is different in the countries around it, which they take advantage of.

[Krat]

I just realized the Dutch kind of dodged the whole slave trade allegation by privatization. Just like they did with health care, public housing and their gass fields (ask Norway).

[Mr.Holland]

Dodged the whole slave trade allegation? We sure as hell didn't lmao

[crypto crypto]

I wish i had slaves, if you was my slave you shall make food for me.Pppfff the good old days

[Krat]

@Mr.HollandOfc we didn't really, but they are still pretending. I believe Rutte said something along the lines of 'i won't condemn slave trader x cus in his time it was just normal and he was a great Dutch hero' imean, the dude is dead, just do it. Also the church at the time was not liking it at all, so it's not like he did not know anny better. Plenty of contemporaries judged him for it.

[mohamed karim]

One of our historical heros in Algeria had a Dutch origin, his Arabic name is Mourad Rais (Rais means chief or prince of the sea) his dutch name is Jan Janszoon van Haarlem, he was a pirate who attacked European ships while working for Algiers governor, he was very audacious and made a fortune, another wealthy dutch, he was a legend 😁

[Otto Normalverbrauch]

Never heard of him here in Haarlem. I'll see if I can look him up somewhere.

[Mugetz]

Wait a few months. The energy/gas prices went up very much (like 50-100%). My coworkers started getting offers for new contracts, starting pricing from 350-600 euro's a month for electricity and gas.

[tuyl v.g.]

As a Dutch freelancer it’s really demotivating seeing these big companies use the Netherlands as a tax heaven while I see 31% of my profits disappear in thin air…

[Blind Spot]

My trick is to not count them as profits until you´ve payed taxes. Then you won´t be disappointed. Treat the government as an irritating, but necessary cost. Because those are just the rules and we´ll have to deal with them. If it is not them, it´s another type of organized crime, which might turn out worse. It´s a package deal in which we can be freelancers, which, good or bad, suits our temperament. If I learned anything from this movie, it´s that without the tax haven, the economic climate would change drastically. It´s all interconnected and you really can´t change one thing, even if you had the power to do so.. so why dwell on it?

[Adriaan Schep]

well, you can apply the same tax rules as the big companys do. Just make sure you don't make profit. Like a business lunch every day with a new company to do a job for ;) There is 30% of feed write off from the business. Stay in hotels for conferencing -> housing from business. and the list goes on

[MrSeriousSmoker]

@Blind Spot word!

[Animiles]

10:11 I don't know how our government projects the decision about the gas production at Groningen towards other countries, but within the Netherlands there has been a lot of news coverage on the earthquakes and there have been many protests to stop the gas production because of the damage caused by the earthquakes. Therefore it is common knowledge for us that the environment was just a small factor instead of the main reason.

[Wu Wei]

There are no real earthquakes. Its just a spin. My parents live in the center of the gas bubble. They never had an earthquake. But many benefits for compensation to their "damaged" house. You can basically rebuild and improve your house without paying anything. Just accept the narrative of "earthquakes", get into cognitive dissonance and pretend you are an earthquake victim. You can even buy up an old shack, get it categorized as damaged by "earthquakes", make it into a bed and breakfast. All paid for by the NAM. There are many people who use it this way. The media will spin it with their richter schale 1 "earthquakes". (A category 1 earthquake compared to a real one is like comparing a paper folded boat to an oil tanker and just pretend it is the same thing)

[palantir135]

It doesn’t rain that often in the Netherlands. We only complain about every drop of rain. There’s more rain in the coastal provinces and Nord Holland, where Amsterdam is, is one of them.

[zeki]

Buying houses and rent is way too high in the netherlands there are many other factors that people struggle in the netherlands

[Johan NL]

Renting not in the North-East.

[k1348]

Crazy prices indeed

[Leith Aslan]

right

[Syrxen]

I'm 22 and I just want to live on my own, rent is crazy here in Amsterdam :(

[Thing0]

Idk what to say on this but i want to say that us Dutch people can do things that i cannot believe we did.

[BASS SI3G3]

One of the reasons a lot of us work part time is also, I believe at least, due to being legally obliged to study to your 18th if you have finished high-school, but 21 if you have no diploma's whatsover. Which in turn won't allow full time jobs as there will be time needed for both work and studying

[Edo Pronk]

I like the nuances in the agricultural theme, that we aren't the biggest food producers. Still, it's sad we are the biggest meat producer. And all those flower fields look nice, but I am sceptic how natural it is, or in other words, how much pesticides and fertilizers it needs. The roses on Valentine's day would need to go in the chemical waste, if one checks the pesticides on it.

[Travel Filming]

Dutchman here. The high household debt is in large part because anyone who can afford it buys a house. It is considered a great investment as house prices are amongst the highest in the EU and are currently rising by 15-20% a year. This is due to a ‘perfect storm’ of a severe housing shortage, new European co2 regulation which makes it difficult to build new ones and a shortage of skilled laborers. Very low interest rates and mortgage payments entitling home owners to tax breaks further build a case for keeping an amount of debt.

[Gordon Bos]

Sorry, but that's leftist political talk. Buying your home is a smart investment because you effectively `freeze` your monthly payments whereas renting will confront you with increasing costs keeping up with inflation. There is also a small tax advantage as the net worth of your home is taxed lower than money in the bank, especially now that it gains practically no interest at all. Obviously there is also no benefit whatsoever in the price of your home becoming higher as you can't sell it without requiring replacement (which has risen by at least the same factor). With respect to these rising prices, the main cause for that is income disparity levelling enforced by the government. The truth is that in leftist thinking home ownership should not exist at all, however they endorse it because studies have shown that people tend to treat both their home and neighbourhood better when it is their property compared to having it in use. That doesn't change the fundamental thought though that people who can pay more should in fact pay more. Thus when mortgage interests drop and cause the resulting monthly payments to become lower than the rent for homes that are reserved for poor people that would be considered extremely undesirable. And that is the sole reason why prices are significantly higher today than a few years ago.

[K M]

@Punjabi Man but sometimes also with incomes also you cannot buy a house ?.?.i don’t understand where the success from this country…?

[Mars]

@K M ATM, the house market is fcked.. example i bought a new house 6-7 years ago, im at a surplus value 300k+.. that is cool for me but not cool for the younger generation. avg. new house here are about 400-500k. and they predict it with increase a other 6-7% due the low stock on the house markets..( i think it will take a other 5-6 years) And the succes from this country are from the big companys like shell,Unilever, Philips, PWC, and many bank companys.

[Grace Njuguna]

Very interesting. Looks like a lovely country. As an African, I always assumed that like other 15th and 17th century slave owning countries, the Dutch made lots of initial capital from colonisation, hence their initial growth.

[Mountain Tree]

Tulip 🌷 came to Turkey from Kazakhstan, actually. But not many people know that part of history. 🙂🙏❤️🇰🇿 Wild tulips grow in Kazakhstn.

[The Troll Slayer]

Tulip came from Central Asia. The end.

[Furious Doe]

But Kazakhstan where not so clever to sell the product as local speciality …. The Dutch did and got richer.

[Mountain Tree]

@Furious Doe we gave it to Turkish. Since they come from same tribe we treated them as our brothers. Kazakhs truely believe in respect and promised words. It was like that forever. Dutch got 🌷 onion from Turkish in exchange of gold. I am happy that Kazakh tulip is known now through Dutch. Love from Kazakhstan 🇰🇿❤️🙏🏻

[wilfred vanvalkenburgh]

Thank you, from the United States. I had heard that my Dutch ancestors had gotten tulips from Turkey, but now I know where Turkey got them. I have also heard that the ancient Egyptians used onions as a form of money. Do onions also grow wild in Kazakhstan? Do you think the Egyptians might have gotten them from Central Asia? I've heard DNA testing has shown mummified falcons from Iceland were found in Egypt. This suggested the Ancient Egyptians traded with Vikings, or those who traded with them.

[Mountain Tree]

@wilfred vanvalkenburgh thank you for your message. Yes, tulips are wildly grown in Kazakh steps.

[perp1exed]

Cool video, but I'm a little disappointed (given the thumbnail) in the lack of mention of slavery and privateering in the historic wealth of the country. You did mention the VOC, but somehow neglected to mention that it was the first multi-national corporation to offer shares to the public, thereby creating the first "modern" stock exchange. Beyond that, I approve 10/10. Goed gedaan! 👏

[Sharon M]

God bless Netherlands and it's people with his mercy. My siblings and myself completed our post graduation with the help of word and deed broad in Netherlands. Thank you so much our sponsors

[Anneke Kramer]

I'm glad to now hear from someone in person about Woord en Daad. I'm glad the money was well spend on you guys! Now that you completed your education, please help your country and do the same to others! :-D

[Sharon M]

@Anneke Kramer thank you for your response for my comment.

[Sharon M]

@Anneke Kramer I'm very delighted for response given by the guys who are so familiar and feeling responsible for word and deed broad. Once again thank you guys

[Jhunn Ramones]

Love it. Very informative