Rich-Poor Gap Grows

According to a study of the Citizen Perspectives of the Social and Cultural Planning Office (SCP), many older people think that in the Netherlands the difference between the rich and poor has grown too big. The report, presented on Friday, also states that in the last quarter, people older than 55 (42% of respondents) believe that their financial position in the coming years will deteriorate than do young people (17%). Older people (nearly 75%) also think that the difference between the rich and the poor in the Netherlands has grown too large. That view is shared by about 50% of the people between 18 and 34 years. Moreover, the elderly complain about an unfair distribution of the cuts, that too much power has gone to Brussels and that they are not heard by politicians. More Dutch respondents, than in the previous quarter, say that the difference between the rich and the poor has grown too big. The researchers emphasize, however, that in the fourth quarter people were actually very positive, so the difference is not very surprising.