Green party adds conditions to €10,000 starting capital for 18-year-olds

GroenLinks made some adjustments to its plans to give all young people 10 thousand euros as a gift to use to start their adult lives on their 18th birthday. Instead of them being able to use the money as they want immediately, they can only use it for studies and training until they are 23 years old, RTL Nieuws reports.

The green party's plans caused quite a stir two months ago, with critics arguing that such a gift could disrupt families, and some saying it's good for young people to start out with little and build their own way. Other's thought the starting capital should be higher.

Over the past weeks, GroenLinks and its youth division worked on the plan a bit. They decided to limit the starting capital to only be used for studies and training for the first five years. From the age of 23, when many young people leave home, they can use the money as they want.

"Young people indicated that 18 years old is sometimes too young to make wise choices and that at this age it can put too much pressure on families with debt problems," GroenLinks leader Jesse Klaver explained.

He still wants to fund this plan by taxing the rich. Millionaires will pay 1 percent extra tax on their assets per year, and multi-millionaires 2 percent.

"In the past decade, insecurity and inequality among young people have increased," Klaver said. GroenLinks therefore wants to promote equal opportunities for young people. "With our plan for a start-up capital, we have put growing equity on the map. More and more people are finding that your chances in the Netherlands too are determined by where you were born, what your parents earn and whether you are going to study."